the sides of her little
"boudoir." The urn stood exactly behind it. The sugar-basin formed, on
one side of the tray, a _pendant_ to the cream-jug on the other, and
inasmuch as the cream-jug was small, a toast-rack was coupled with it to
constitute the necessary balance. So, too, with the cups: they were
placed equidistant from the teapot, the sides of the tray, and each
other, while a salver of cake on one side of the table was scrupulously
balanced by a plate of buns on the other side.

"There she is--the _darling_!" exclaimed Miss Pritty, with a little skip
and (excuse the word) a giggle as the bell rang.

"Miss Aileen Hazlit," announced Miss Pritty's small and only domestic,
who flung wide open the door of the boudoir, as its owner was fond of
styling it.

Whereupon there entered "an angel in blue, with a straw hat and ostrich
feather."

We quote from the last, almost dying, speech of a hopeless youth in the
town--a lawyer's clerk--whose heart was stamped over so completely with
the word "Aileen" that it was unrecognisable, and practically useless
for any purpose except beating--which it did, hard, at all times.

Aileen was beautiful beyond compare, because, in her case, extreme
beauty of face and feature was coupled with rare beauty of expression,
indicating fine qualities of mind. She was quiet in demeanour, grave in
speech, serious and very earnest in thought, enthusiastic in action,
unconscious and unselfish.

"Pooh! Perfection!" I hear some lady reader ejaculate.

No, fair one, not quite that, but as near it as was compatible with
humanity. Happily there are many such in the world--some with more and
some with less of the external beauty--and man is blessed and the world
upheld by them.

The chief bond that bound Aileen and Miss Pritty together was a text of
Scripture, "Consider the poor." The latter had strong sympathy with the
poor, being herself one of the number. The former, being rich in faith
as well as in means, "considered" them. The two laid their heads
together and concerted plans for the "raising of the masses," which
might have been food for study to _some_ statesmen. For instance, they
fed the hungry and clothed the naked; they encouraged the well-disposed
and reproved the evil; they "scattered seeds of kindness" wherever they
went; they sowed the precious Word of God in all kinds of ground--good
and bad; they comforted the sorrowing; they visited the sick and the
prisoner; they