The sun., 1893-11-23

was not ueSuneu 10 proceed Iufthef III
concrete form than the line, "Oh,
l,llybell! Sweet lillybell!"
Meanwhile Mrs. Jack tore open the
letter. 1t was addressed to j. L., Office
Of the Codlington Chronicle, and con-
tanned a request that the lady, whose
advertisement, numbered thirty
had appeared in last weeks Chronicle,
would be kind enough to call the fol-
lowing day on Mrs. Boddington, Beech
Grove, Codlington.
Bell rushed breathlessly down stairs
with the letter in her hand to show it
to Barney" Brit Barney was out,
aS she might have known would be
the case if she had taken time to think
for moment Failing Barney, Bell
ran into the kitchen to tell Mrs Petite
rick her news. Somebody she must
confide in.
Mrs. Petherick was duly Interested,
end paused in the act of rolling out the
taste for budding to listen to the
letter. Lard! Mrs. Jack" she said,
heartily, I'm as pleased as Punch to
see you pleased, but l can't abear to
think of you toiling and mOiling and
trapsing out wet or dry to give les
sons"
Mrs. Jack was too pleased and excit-
ed to discuss the point. But who is
Mrs. Boddington, Mrs. Petherick?" she
added, eagerly. Mrs. Petherick did not
know; but she knew that Beech Grove
was pretty house, with garden,
standing about half mile from the
town, on the London Road. Perhaps
this lady is q newcomer" said Mrs.
Jack. "All the better. l would rather
be employed by a stranger to Codling-
ton. l wonder how many children she
has! l hope she's nice. lis a nice let
ter, don't you think so, Mrs. Pether-
ick?'
Mrs. Petherick grayely gave her opin-
ion that it was VERY nice letter in
deed" And then Bell ran up stairs
again, and seizing Popsy-who had just
come in from her mornings Walk-by
both hands, performed a wild dance of
delight, jumping round and round with
her rather stolid and very fat partner
Popsy's mode of joining in the dance
was to swing herself up by her moth
er'S supporting hands, with both feet
off the ground at once, and to come
fat down on the square-tOed little feet
again, with bang.
Mother and child were in the midst
of this performance, when they were
brought to q sudden standstill by the
&c und Of a well known voice,
Il did knock, Bell" said the voice,
''but I suppose you did not hear me-
I wonder you did not hear the carriage
drive up.H
Bell faced rO- nd, flushed, painting and
disheyelled, and confronted her mother
in-law and Rpbecca
Mrs. Lilly face evinced no kind of
emotion. Rebecca looked at her with
slightly raised eyebrows. Rebecca was
lot i'll natured at bottom. She never
said the spiteful things which Emma
was apt to launch at her Sister-in=law.
But Rebecca had q way of assuming
a tolerant kind of superiority which
Bell sometimes resented with quick,
impulsive indignation. Bells anger was
usually a fire Of straw, however, and,
on the whole, she had a stronger re-
gard for Rebecca than for any other
member OF the Lilly family. Neverthe=
less she was nettled ON this occasion
by Rebecca's raised eyebrows and the
tone in which she said:
i am glad to find you in such good
spirits, Bell"
It did seem rather hard to be caught
capering about as if she had not q
care in the world when only half an
hour ago she had been oppressed by
the sense of her money difficulties, and
painfully pondering how to pay her
debts. If Mrs. Lilly and Rebecca had
but come half an hour sooner they
would have seen for themselves that
she was neither insensible nor careless
But it seems as if was destined to
look like a thoughtless fool before the
Lillys," thought poor Bell. And now,
If plead poverty and debt, and ask
them to help me, know exactly what
they will say"
However, 1t proved unnecessary for
her to plead her cause this time, for
Mrs Lilly began at once with the an
nouncement that she had come pre-
pared to settle any outstanding bills
that might be owing by her daughter
in-law up to that date.
II should have told you of this SOON
er, Bell" said Mrs. Lilly, ''but put it
off day by day thinking to see you at
Percival House. I knew you We're not
i'll, for ! heard of your being seen
about in the streets very often. How
ever, as yo4 would not come to nae,
l have come to yeu:"
Il meant to come this very day;
did, indeed" said Bell. Again she felt
that circumstances had combined to
place her in an unfavorable light with
Eer mother-in-law. After all, Mrs. Lilly
bad been feeling friendly toward her,
and had meant TO do her a kindness
all this time, while she had been sulk-
ing and keeping Gloof. Bell was al
ways anxious to meet kindness more
than half way.
II can assure ya4," she said, ::::that I
shall be very thankful to get these bills
paid They have been making nae quite
unhappy"
ooh! but you seem to bear up very
well, Bell. Sometimes think it must
be blessing to have such very care
less temperament as yours. Nothing
weighs you down"
Bell went silently to her desk and
took out q memorandum. This is the
gross amount" she said:::I have added
right = &f' = -
Mrs. Lilly put her glass to her eye
and looked at the figures. Hat very
well, Bell" she said slowly. Now, If
you please, 1 should like to see the
items. Give me the various bills. Mr..
Lilly particularly desired me to go over
them myself"
Again Bell went silently to her desk,
and took from it q bundle Of trades
mems bills, which she laid before Mrs.
Lilly, who inspected them one by one
with perfect GOODNESS and attention.
Meanwhile Rebecca was endeavOring
to ingratiate herself with her niece.
Miss Henrietta Lilly, famliliarly called
PQpsY, was a stout, strong child, who
looked more like Q boy than girl.
She had none Of her mothers flexible
grace or deliGaey OF feature. She was
healthy, round-faced, and looked stead
lily at the world and the inhabitants
thereof with a.pair of large blue, fear
less eyes, She received her aunt's ad-
vances with equanimity, Indeed, Pop
sy and her grandmother were the only
absolutely unembarrassed persons of
the party. Even Rebecca seemed lit
tie ashamed and put out Of countenance
by her mothers uncompromisingly hard
manner of comforting favor on Bell.
Mrs, Lily at lagt finished her exam