Year: 1877

done it all.


While my friend and his wife were en-
bracing and thanking the children, had
time to notice the governess. She was very
young, almost child herself. A mass of
bright hair was gathered up in great waves
at each stde of her head, and fastened in a
loose thick loop behind. The bright curls
were so arranged as to reveal the ear. The
ear and cheek were, should rather say they
are like those painted by Leighton in his
Painters Honeymoon" Need say more
of their ravishing loveliness But the pretty
blue eyes looked as if they had cried a good
deal, and there had been recent tears, for the
eyelids were somewhat swollen. She was
not sad, however, for she played on the piano
for the children and for me, their old god
father, to dance to, and she joined with us in
game of blind mans buff. When the
children retired, she retired also.


What charming person." I said.


" She is most excellent" said my friend.


Although she is so young, Miss is
the bread provider of the family. Her father
and mother have, according to the cant
phrase, seen better days in fact, they are
people of good birth, and once had a good
fortune. They have a son and daughter
the son is a fine fellow also. Both the son
and daughter give the greater part of their
earnings to their parents; but the son has
not been very fortunate. My little COVER
ness, she is only seventeen, (my children are
so young they do not require prm regular
governess,) does more with her salary,
mediocre as it is, than her brother can do
with his hard work. He is a clerk in a
bank"


I" And she helps him also, suppose ?"


/" I dare say she does, but l have never
inquired, for she is full of reticence and
reserve on these points, l only know she
would set up all night, and work like a horse
all day, to help both her parents and her
brother. She is going home tomorrow
and he, fear, cannot afford the expense of
the journey. The parents live now in
Scotland"


"Could we not help him ?" I said, bash
fully.


My friend smiled. Both brother and
sister spent Christmas at home.


My good fortune threw me good deal
after this with my friends governess. Must
l say from that Christmas Eve was never
heart whole


The following Easter we were engaged,
and before the Christmas Eve which followed
we were married. What an aim and hope
my life has now acquitted


We have little suburban home, and l
leave my wife every morning to pursue my
editorial labors, and return every evening,
forgetting my work and my worries, knowing
that the sweetest heart and the fairest face
have ever known await me in my modest
but happy home. never heard again from
the author of the manuscript which had so
much interested me and, true to tell, had
never thought of her since that Christmas
Eve. Two or three years have passed since
then, and we have two babies.


Their mother is always playing with them.
She often puts her delicate, slender white
hands under my baby girls foot, and the
baby makes believe to stand on it. What
a picture it is; it is like a rosebud laid on a
white camelia.


As ! walked up and down the room read
ing scratchy, scrawly manuscript, and
fumbling over it in desperation, for the
tiresome person who had sent it had by some
ingenious carelessness muleted it of its last
page, my thoughts flew far and wide, and,
by some association l cannot attempt to
explain, the pretty manuscript from the
youthful writer who had sent me no more
was recalled to me.


Unconsciously the manuscript l held
faded from my mind, and the other was
present with me. l wondered what had
become of her-had she written any more
where and how was she ?


Every moment became more and more
possessed with the memory. was so happy
myself that felt for ali who seemed to have
Ntt4N anu oAl A5AC III Allcll llNNS lOohNAl bub
the address to which / had written before,
and wrote to the unknown a few lines. /
said that time had passed, that the youthful
inexperience which had prevented the paper
she had sent from being accepted must now
be corrected, and that ! should be glad and
willing to see anything else she had written,
if she had written anything since then.


Within few days had an answer. The
writing was in a feigned hand, quite unlike
the round, hesitating, girlish hand remem-
bered The words were, however, as sweet
and innocent as the first had been. The note
ran as follows


1t is so good of you to remember me, but
I do not write anymore, l am so happy.
have a dear, good, noble husband. [Oh,these
womanly exaggerations, l thought, as l sat
in my editorial chairl. And such darling
babies I wrote, for | wanted to help my
dear ones, but they have been better helped
by others than could ever have hoped to
help them. God has given them better
! 7 1, l. L.. l..