Margaret took her place, and poured the tea in silence. She felt as if a
weight were on her eyelids; she could not lift her eyes; she could not
speak, and yet she must. She shook herself, and made a great effort.

"How do you like your tea, Cousin Sophronia?" she asked, in a voice that
tried to sound cheerful and unconcerned. And, when she had spoken, she
managed, with another effort, to look up. Cousin Sophronia was smiling
and composed, and met her timid glance with an affectionate nod.

"Weak, my dear, if you please,--weak, with cream and sugar. Yes,--that
will be excellent, I have no doubt. I have to be a little exact about my
tea, my nerves being what they are. The nights I have, if my tea is not
precisely the right shade! It seems absurd, but life is made up of
little things, my dear John. And very right and wise, to have the dear
child learn to do these things, and practise on us, even if it is a
little trying at first. Is that the beef tea, Elizabeth? Thank you. I
told Frances to make me some beef tea, John; I knew hers could be
depended on, though I suppose she has grown rusty in a good many ways,
with this hermit life of yours,--so bad for a cook, I always think.
Yes, this is fair, but not quite what I should have expected from
Frances. I must see her in the morning, and give her a good rousing; we
all need a good rousing once in awhile. Frances and I have always been
the best of friends; we shall get on perfectly, I have no doubt. Ah! The
old silver looks well, John. Where did that sugar-bowl come from? Is it
Montfort, or Paston? Paston, I fancy! The Montfort silver is heavier,
eh?"

"Possibly!" said Mr. Montfort. "That sugar-bowl is neither one nor the
other, however. It is Dutch."

"Really! Vanderdecken? I didn't know you had any Vanderdecken silver,
John. Grandmother Vanderdecken left all her silver, I thought, to our
branch. Such a mistake, I always think, to scatter family silver. Let
each branch have _all_ that belongs to it, I always say. I feel very
strongly about it."

"This is not Vanderdecken," said Mr. Montfort, patiently. "I bought it
in Amsterdam."

"Oh! in Amsterdam! indeed! boughten silver never appeals to me. And
speaking of silver, I have wished for years that I could find a trace of
the old Vanderdecken porringer. You remember it, surely, John, at
Grandmother Vanderdecken's? She had her plum porridge in it every night,
and I used to play with the cow on the cover. I have tried and t