own sake as warmly as wildly as he loved her but there was more method in her madness she looked beyond the morrow and was desirous in her poor way to make some for the future she understood quite clearly what an enormous obstacle to her union with richard existed in the person of her step father george and she perceived that though there was little social inconvenience in the fact of his wife being richard s foster mother there would be very great objection to her becoming his mother in law and again she was not ignorant of her own y slight for the position of e iv ax t� � tower less black than we re painted neither of these first two matters could be bat it was possible she thought to make herself less unworthy of her lover � that i in a social point of view for she had no mock humility with respect to other things she knew herself to be very beautiful she herself with cleverness good sense and virtue and she loved the lad with all her honest heart at the risk of exciting more scorn than pity for our heroine we must confess that she by no means perceived her own to its full extent but imagined such was her ignorance that the devotion of her bright young being to a single object � namely dick � was not without its material value yet as we have said she did feel herself unworthy she knew that in ten thousand things she must presently find herself for the part she designed to occupy and in one or two of these at least she thought she might improve herself beforehand in the first place she knew that accomplishments went for a good deal and being aware that nature had given her a fine voice she was desirous to cultivate it indeed she had long a certain ambition in this direction it was the only means as she imagined she possessed for the highest value she attached to her beauty at that time was that it pleased richard of acquiring distinction and this it that had caused her as we shall hear to fall a prey to a very simple piece of on the part of sister richard s letter brought a reply by return of post dick � i am very glad to hear from you at last though i see you are angry with me for in london poor not reckon as an accomplishment or perhaps was ignorant that she did not possess it of i would rather be at oh if i had you by my side as the song says how happy i should feel but i am sure things are better as are your ant miss � sister she calls herself which is for i don think she would like me to be her sister nor even her niece � has been very kind to me she heard it seems from ant each of these great gave a sting to dick as he met with them for though he was no better at himself than any other ordinary boy there are degrees in these matters about my singing and told me what a pity it would be if i did not do what i could to improve my voice she to give me lessons and mother and ant both seemed to wish it but i said no thank you because i felt too proud to take the money from your ant then she said i might pay her back again if i pleased when my voice began to bring me in money so that i need be under no here dick was dreadfully shocked he had never felt any so painful and then the master of st s came who called my voice an organ and said it only wanted to do all sorts of things and dear dick i am so happy about my voice on your account they say i shall do great things with it so that perhaps you will not need to be very much ashamed of your poor after all my is something astonishing i am told and it would be foolish to neglect such opportunities as i at present i am going home for a few hours next week to get my things for of i had never meant to stay in london and oh how sad will look without you only be sure dear dick it is all for the best everybody is very kind to me here and of and ant also i must say though she is so much too good for yours truly that she makes me feel quite wicked and mr though he has a the church is more crowded than ever all because of my singing only i wish it was some instead of a church for there would be more chance of seeing you there dear richard i love you so and you must forgive me for away from you i sometimes feel that it is better for us every way to be apart just now and all the more likely that we shall some day meet never to part what the deuce does she mean by that r thought dick how can it be better and now dear dick hoping this finds you as well as it leaves i am for ever and ever yours fondly p s � as you say you are going to hill on thursday it is just possible we may catch a of one another the trains i see will just fit in so that i can stop an hour or two at the and i will be under the hill where the stands � you know where � at three o clock on the chance of seeing you dear dick chapter xiv the fi s seat the of s letter seemed to richard worth all the rest of it and 