with my girls!
Joseph, did you ever see a brighter or more bewitching little soul
than our Jasmine?"

"Our Jasmine?" repeated Mr. Ellsworthy; "she is by no means ours yet,
my love. Well, I trust your plan will succeed--they are nice girls,
and I like to feel I am doing a kindness to poor Mainwaring's
daughters. I shall be very pleased indeed if they make your life any
happier, Kate."

Mrs. Ellsworthy stooped down and kissed her husband's brow--she was
all impatience for the morning to arrive, for surely early then would
come an answer to the letter she had written.

But Mrs. Ellsworthy was doomed to disappointment. The next day brought
no answer from the Mainwaring girls. The good little lady bore her
suspense as best she could until noon, then she ordered her carriage
and drove into the village.

Jasmine herself opened the cottage door for her. Jasmine was looking
excited, and there were red rings round her eyes as if she had been
crying, and yet at the same time those bright eyes of hers were
shining, and her lips were quivering between smiles and tears.

"Oh, you have come!" she exclaimed; "Primrose is in the village--she
has gone to Mr. Danesfield about our money. Please come into the
drawing-room. We are rather upset, for we are beginning to pack, and
Hannah is washing out the anti-macassars and the white muslin
curtains, for we think the muslin curtains will look so nice in our
cheap lodgings. We are very busy, awfully busy, but do come in and sit
down. Eyebright, here is Mrs. Ellsworthy. Mrs. Ellsworthy, isn't
Eyebright a silly?--she is quite fretting because she won't see those
last seeds of hers come up in the garden. Now, if she was asked to
leave the Pink I would say nothing, but of course the Pink comes too."

"Yes, dear, and Daisy shall have plenty of garden ground for fresh
seeds. Oh! my dear children," continued Mrs. Ellsworthy, "I shall be
so delighted to welcome you all to Shortlands, only I think you might
have replied to my letter."

Mrs. Ellsworthy was by this time seated in a low arm-chair by the
window, and Jasmine was standing before her, while Daisy sat demurely
on the floor, and folded up the anti-macassars.

"We might have answered your letter?" repeated Jasmine. "Well now, do
you know, to be quite frank and open, your letter was a little bit of
a lecture. You did give it to darling old Primrose, and somehow or
other you made Daisy cry. You spoke about a plan, and you said it was
a