her mother had hopelessly spoiled � made a fool of her was her exact phrase she considered that when a good looking six foot high with a lovely voice and a tremendous following in the congregation with private means and a decent family behind him condescended to look at a little fool like ought to have been made to see which way her duty and her interests lay and had proved herself absolutely she didn t like mr nothing should induce her to marry mr she had even gone so far in impertinence as to suggest that might take him in hand and had hinted quite plainly that would make an excellent parson s wife while she would prove an failure in the same capacity considered that mrs would only have been doing her bare duty by the a ring girl had she insisted upon her accepting mr as her lover but alas mrs had proved as as herself she said that if didn t like the young man that made an end of it as if knew her own mind � a baby like that after sitting for some little time put down her work and with a word of excuse went off to her own room there she locked the door behind her and sitting down at the dressing table looked at herself long and earnestly in the toilet glass so he had passed her over had she been mistaken oh surely not surely not for a whole year past she had up every little sign of love every little trifle that he had given her � a flower a song some new quaint toy sold on the london streets odd numbers of the more expensive ladies papers all the small change with which a bachelor the hospitality which he cannot return in kind and all the time his happy looks his serious intentions had been for who never in her life had given expression to an original thought that little soft blushing creature who had scarcely seemed the happier for his coming oh it was to think that the man she loved could be so mistaken in what was best for him to think that he could be content to pass all the rest of his life with that empty headed little doll she was very sweet very good � oh yes but there was nothing in her and yet it was to her that he had come in the hour of his triumph and had been so sure so sure that harry lived only for her � love and twenty well it was no use sitting there thinking over what was and could not be changed she had to accept the horrid truth she must swallow the she must make up her mind to what she could not alter she must hide the gaping wound in her heart she had no right that her heart should have a wound of any kind and yet she told herself we cannot help our hearts they are not always in our own control there was only one thing for her to do now � to accept the inevitable to put a bold face upon it to always wear a smile to have a gay word for all who might cross her path and to hide from the fact that she had given her love chapter ii at the end of the month harry turned his back upon and his sweetheart and set out for the new life which awaited him in south america to it had been a glorious month a magic month she had lived every minute of the time from the moment that she opened her dove eyes in the morning until she closed them again at night and now she was left with nothing but a big engagement ring upon her left hand and the consciousness that harry loved her still she was very happy she gave herself little airs and graces she assumed little shades of superiority over which was absolutely powerless to withstand she started what girls in a i a ring poorer rank call a bottom drawer she was for ever making little odds and ends when she was through the day s portion of more serious which in reality meant her harry will like this harry won t like the other was continually on her lips her mother was indulgent as mothers are hasn t she got any idea in her head but harry said impatiently one day about a fortnight after the lover s departure my dear it s natural said mrs thinking of the day when she too had existed for a harry i don t see any sense in living in a dream world said shortly after a while she ll find out the truth well my dear she ll find out the truth anyhow let her dream her dream while she can so life in the little house in went on the mother indulgent the sister contemptuous the little heroine in oh how wonderful youth is were ever such letters as those that harry first wrote to his little e she wore them next to her heart by day and hid them under her pillow by night she read them and re read them some favourite bits she to her mother and to one or two other intimate girl friends but seemed as if her common sense had entirely dried up in her breast all the milk of human kindness she never imparted to one word of the contents of harry s letters so a whole year went by harry was firmly fixed in his and thoroughly liked his life and love and twenty work in the new country his descriptions glowing his accounts of the extreme and hospitality of those with whom he ha become acquainted since his arrival at most enthusiastic i am sorry for one thing he wrote when h had been out a little 