account. The reader may perhaps remember that she had been much
startled by a proposition that had been made to her in reference
to her future life. Her aunt had suggested to her that she should
become--Mrs. Gibson. She had not as yet given any answer to that
proposition, and had indeed found it to be quite impossible to speak
about it at all. But there can be no doubt that the suggestion had
opened out to her altogether new views of life. Up to the moment
of her aunt's speech to her, the idea of her becoming a married
woman had never presented itself to her. In her humility it had
not occurred to her that she should be counted as one among the
candidates for matrimony. Priscilla had taught her to regard
herself,--indeed, they had both so regarded themselves,--as born to
eat and drink, as little as might be, and then to die. Now, when she
was told that she could, if she pleased, become Mrs. Gibson, she was
almost lost in a whirl of new and confused ideas. Since her aunt had
spoken, Mr. Gibson himself had dropped a hint or two which seemed to
her to indicate that he also must be in the secret. There had been
a party, with a supper, at Mrs. Crumbie's, at which both the Miss
Frenches had been present. But Mr. Gibson had taken her, Dorothy
Stanbury, out to supper, leaving both Camilla and Arabella behind
him in the drawing-room! During the quarter of an hour afterwards
in which the ladies were alone while the gentlemen were eating
and drinking, both Camilla and Arabella continued to wreak their
vengeance. They asked questions about Mrs. Trevelyan, and suggested
that Mr. Gibson might be sent over to put things right. But Miss
Stanbury had heard them, and had fallen upon them with a heavy hand.

"There's a good deal expected of Mr. Gibson, my dears," she said,
"which it seems to me Mr. Gibson is not inclined to perform."

"It is quite indifferent to us what Mr. Gibson may be inclined to
perform," said Arabella. "I'm sure we shan't interfere with Miss
Dorothy."

As this was said quite out loud before all the other ladies, Dorothy
was overcome with shame. But her aunt comforted her when they were
again at home.

"Laws, my dear; what does it matter? When you're Mrs. Gibson, you'll
be proud of it all."

Was it then really written in the book of the Fates that she, Dorothy
Stanbury, was to become Mrs. Gibson? Poor Dorothy began to feel
that she was called upon to exercise an amount of thought and
personal decision to which