Spring Days

him, and she took him of

n you. What have you been doing-amus

I have been studying very hard. I on

ieve about t

d to breakfast every morning in the garden-fresh eggs, new bread, an omelette, such as only a Frenchwoman can make, a cutlet, or a piece of chicken. The wine, too, so fresh and generous. I don't know how it is, but Burgund

ish it here? Haven

he Seine is

dour do? The ri

picture represents a girl lying in a hammock, foot hanging over, showing such a pretty piece of black stocking. There a

d coarsely a

g at?" he asked, feel

eople will think i

truly for herself alone, the other only loves her because she is a pretty girl. I

ammock

hangin

ove's br

mmock I

me and t

h to d

mmock I

hangin

nd they tell the story of the picture. I wi

ice, if you will. The only t

t you one. I'll send

the triolets, and very loya

t I never can understand poetry or pi

ut of an unperceived association of ideas, he said: "What a clever girl your sister is. I had once a long talk

n I am; but if you knew her as well as I do, you would f

o you

pretend she understands what she knows no

w do you get on

-the stories she tells the Grahams, the Prestons, the Wells. She told Mrs. Wells that I fell in love with every young man that came to Southwick. She said awful things about me. As for that

ere that you wanted to finish a co

d evasively. "I would not care if I never saw him again; but I couldn't get on if I we

ave flirte

aggie. Last summer she was hanging round his neck ev

the sycamores. I daresay Maggie has a

sure you I

say a man nev

. I haven't kissed

id kis

ly eighteen. He was a married

I had

him; he was a be

ing Frank. "How candid she is to tell me-to confide in me!" Sally was handsome now; the evening suited her dark skin and coal black eyes, an

rised. Cer

ation of saying something foolish, he sai

s very silly. I shouldn

ondered why he had tried to kiss her.

leasures in a deep bass; nor did he pretend to take any interest in the crude militia officer who sometimes broke the silence by a declaration that he did not care for politics or poetry, that he liked history better. The young ladies listened devoutly to all that the young men said; Mr. Brookes carved valiantly at the head of the table and appeared resigned. Bouquets were fixed in button-holes in the billiard-room and the 'bus was announced. A greasy oil-lamp hung from the roof. Sometimes Sally rubbed the windows and said she

scarcely twenty people present. It was very cold, and the men

who stood warming themselves, their dresses relieved upon the masses of laurel with which

nd sit there; or shall we

s dan

shuddered in his evenin

room, "how upset father seemed at dinner? I thought he was g

larly to upset him this time. Meason is away at se

d? I only heard it through a friend, but I know for a fact th

say so; I a

ome down to dinner. I don't fancy he knows more than that thi

hought he was junior partner i

the mischief was done, but I k

mean by all

and-that father let him dr

is ver

, and only cares about making money. Just look at him now; he wanders a

N

e he did not catch, and whose face he had not noticed. He had danced twice with her, only twice; she was distracted, she did not look at him, her eyes wandered all over the room, she answered his questions indifferently. Sally, on the contrary, had devoted herself to him, and on several occasions he thought that her blunt straightforward manner was better than the other's slyness. The 'bus c

p father he will never let us go to a ball again

e; the decanters are on the tabl

like a glass of somet

the

make a nois

ld be good form to come forward in the Conservative interest at the next election; but every one was too tired, they could not laugh, and amid a few general re

upstairs; she lingered, undecided, and then went down the passage to Frank's room. He had forgotten a shirt stud; on the chest of drawers there was a crumpled white tie and a soiled pair of white gloves. "How careless he is!" she thought, "I must send him this," and she put the stud in her pocket. She straightened out the gloves and determined to send the necktie to the wash.

ing there will be t

. Three pairs of sheets,

ems absurd to send these she

indeed

come in. "I want a pair of fresh

-I was going

w what right you have

nd you have done nothing else. You did no

dance. You went off to hide; no one

say you did

d keep my promise. I am not like you. I want

too big fo

ome time. Finding her strength failing her, she loosed her hold, letting her sister fall against the wall, and

h round the bed, but Maggie fled through the dressing-room, s