ted. The
iniquitous injustice and cruelty of it all made her sick and sorry for
men, and reluctant to believe it.

* * * * *

A few days after Mrs. Kilroy's visit, Mrs. Carne called on Beth. Mrs.
Carne always followed the county people. To her they were a sacred
set. Her faith in all they did was touching and sincere. The stupidest
remark of the stupidest county lady impressed her more than the most
brilliant wit of a professional man's wife. When she stayed at a
country-house, whatever the tone of it, she felt like a shriven saint,
so uplifted was she by reverence for rank. On finding, therefore, that
some of the most influential ladies in the county were diffidently
anxious to win Beth into their set, rather than prepared to admit her
with confident patronage, as Mrs. Carne would have expected, it was
natural that she should revise her own opinion of Beth, and also seek
to cultivate her acquaintance.

She called in the morning by way of being friendly; but Beth, who was
hard at work at the time, did not feel grateful for the attention.
Minna showed Mrs. Carne straight into the dining-room, where Beth
usually worked now that Bertha was on the premises. Bertha happened to
be out that morning, and Mrs. Carne surprised Beth sitting alone at a
table covered with books and papers.

"And so the little woman is going to be a great one!" Mrs. Carne
exclaimed playfully. "Well, I _was_ surprised to hear it! I know I am
not flattering to my own discernment when I say so; but there! I
should never have supposed you were a genius. You are such a quiet
little mouse, you know, you don't give yourself away much, if you will
excuse the expression! I always say what I think."

"I hope you will not call me a genius again, Mrs. Carne," Beth said
stiffly. "All exaggeration is distasteful to me."

"And to me, too, my dear child," Mrs. Carne hastened to assure her
blandly. "But I always say what I think, you know."

Beth fixed her eyes on the clock absently.

When Dan came in to lunch that day, he seemed pleased to hear that
Mrs. Carne had been.

"What had she to say for herself?" he asked.

"She said 'I always say what I think,'" Beth replied; "until it
struck me that 'I always say what I think' is a person who only thinks
disagreeable things."

"Well, _I_ like her," said Dan; "and I always get on with her. If
she's going to show up friendly at last, I hope you won't snub her. We
can't afford to