where the strange little child had come from that they had seen in the garden, with her foreign nurse.

Miss l'Estrange had taken her up in her arms, but had received a slap in return from the tiny hand, together with peremptory orders to set her down again; and little Nannette had presented a paper of sugar-plums, but the intractable infant had scattered them over the grass, and thrown away the paper.

What she suspected or why she was so averse to our companionship we did not know; perhaps she felt herself in some manner wronged and deceived by her mother's absence, and had some childish glimmering of the truth, that she was at the mercy of strangers.

Caroline had finished reading her letter: "And so," she exclaimed, giving a slight toss to her graceful head, "and so Mrs. Merton expects me, or at least wishes me, to devote myself to this little female nabob. Here is a long account of how she hopes I will always be a friend to the child. Ridiculous! am I to bear with all her whims, because ten years ago our fathers were in the same regiment? And she shall always be grateful, I dare say! No, I never could bear children at such an early age. If this had been a girl as old as myself it might have been a different matter; but a spoilt baby like this, I wonder how she could be so absurd; and actually it seems that the child was sent here principally on papa's recommendation, and because I am here. How tiresome! here she comes.'

Here she came, indeed, in her ayah's arms, and Belle ran up to her as girls will do to little children and begged a kiss. "Do kiss me," said Belle. The child shook her head. "Why not?" asked Belle.

"Because I don't like you," said the little creature, in a sweet treble voice.

"Not like me! why not?"

"Because, because," looking at her to find a reason; "because you've got an ugly bonnet on."

"Well, kiss me, then," said Caroline, a little tartly; “look, I have no bonnet at all on."

Another pause for reflection, and then in a pettish tone, "Because you are a cross lady."

"did ever

"There!" exclaimed Caroline triumphantly, anyone see such a capricious little thing? Oh! very well; I don't at all want to kiss you. Yes! the idea of my devoting

myself to that child, and being her school mamma; I shall not think of it-let any of you take her in hand that like."

"Oh! Carry," said Belle, "it would be very little trouble indeed, to be her school mamma; she has this nurse of her own to attend to all her whims, and in school-hours she would be in a different class to yours."

"And she would go to bed long before you," added Miss Ward.

"That does not signify," said Caroline; "I do not consider that her mamma had any right to expect me to be more interested in her than I am in any of you. I like to do kind.. ness spontaneously; but to have it represented that I ought to do it, takes away all the pleasure of it; something that one is to be blamed for if one does not perform, but not to be praised if one does! So, Mrs. Merton, you must look somewhere else for your monthly accounts of the health and progress of this little spoilt pet-though to be sure it will be no great trouble just to write the letters. I will do that, and that I think is enough for a person whom I have never

seen.

"I cannot understand how you got this letter," said Miss Ward; "it seems to have followed the visit with marvellous

rapidity."

"Oh, it was written here," replied Caroline; "when Mrs. Merton found that I was out, Massey says she sat down directly and wrote this, and said it was to be given to me on my return."

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'Well, Carry," said Belle; "it is very flattering that she should consider your patronage of so much consequence for the child; don't you think so, Sophia?'

"So flattering," I replied, "that I only wish some one would flatter me in the same way; I think it would make me quite devote myself to the little creature, though she may be rather spoilt at present."

"The fairy wishes to patronize another fairy!" exclaimed Caroline.

Upon this the elder girls laughed, and Miss l'Estrange snatched me up in her arms, and in spite of my resistance persisted in carrying me about in her arms, caressing me and pretending to sing me to sleep, as nurses do to babies.

I was very angry, though I could not help laughing; and when I had contrived to struggle down again, I informed my friend and patroness that now I was fourteen years and eight months old-eight months, mind-so that I should soon be fifteen, I did not choose to be carried about any longer; and

perhaps offended dignity might have induced me to march out of the room, if I had not been arrested by the sound of fits of infantine laughter, and behold, the little stranger was pointing to us with her finger, and laughing till her pretty face and neck were tinged with carnation. She evidently thought this little scene was got up for her special diversion, and cried out, "Do it again, do it again, great tall lady.”

It would, no doubt, have been repeated, in spite of my resistance, if a clear voice within the room had not arrested our attention.

"Vhat do I see, ladies? for what do you teaze Miss Sophia?" said Madame. Her neat figure is still before me, the pale green ribbons and feather which adorned her tasteful bonnet, and which so many of her nation are fond of placing next to their rich brown skins and dark eyes; the delicate light shawl of mulberry colour, which she held so elegantly, and her rustling lilac silk dress. "Comment," she exclaimed, "what noise do I hear?"

Madame was intending then to speak English, a thing she never did excepting on a holiday, on which joyous occasions she so far relaxed from her ordinary manner as even to joke with us.

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So, La petite does not like to pass for a fée,” she exclaimed; "for what should she not; les fées-the fairiesare very pretty little things.'

"Yes, Madame," said Miss l'Estrange, "much prettier than the Amazons.'

Madame smiled, and looking up at the stately height of her pupil, replied with a French proverb which intimates that though little things are pretty, great things are sublime; but at this moment the group of girls parted and showed, seated among her toys, the new arrival, and her submissive ayah. The latter arose, as if perceiving at once that this was the mistress of the house, and made a graceful salaam.

Madame did not seem so much surprised as might have been expected; the fact was, she had met the travelling-carriage on its way to the railway, and had spent a short time with the child's parents at the station.

"And for what are they shown into this dull apartment?" asked Madame.

Dull it certainly was, for the upper shutters of the room were closed, and the blinds drawn down; the bed was pinned up in brown holland covers, and the carpets were rolled back into a corner.

Madame desired us to open the shutters, and when the

sunshine was let in, she sat down, and said, "Come to me, little one."

The child arose and stood at her knees, answering several simple questions with that respect which Madame scarcely ever failed to inspire. When she had done talking to her she lifted her up, and said, "Kiss me." She was obeyed, and the little creature being set down again, looked at her attentively, and as if to inform her that the kiss had been given under protest, lisped out in the sweetest of silvery tones, "But I don't love you."

"Do you know who I am?" said Madame, very gravely. No," said the child hesitating.

Madame told her, and added, "Little girls never say that to me; little girls must be good in my house."

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her.

"Yes," said the child, whose hands were clasped behind

"Then you may take hold of my hand, and come with me to see your pretty bed."

The little creature in the most docile manner did as she was bidden, only looking rather wistfully at her toys; upon which Madame made a sign to the ayah to bring them, and at the same time said, "The ladies of the second class may follow also."

So we followed to our own large bed-room, beyond which was another wide room, hitherto unoccupied; the door of this room, to which ours was a thoroughfare, was now open. Massey was in it, and we found that it was fitted up like a nursery, indeed it had formerly been used as such; and it now contained a rocking-horse, some children's chairs, and two beds, one of which was adorned with muslin curtains, tied back by pink ribbons.

Madame's French taste was very evident in all the decorations of this airy room; she now looked at it with much approval; so apparently did the child.

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Is that a pretty bed?" asked Madame.

"Yes," said the little creature, with a delighted smile.

"I told you to come up, ladies," said Madame, turning towards us, "to inform you that you have free leave from me to come in here and play with this dear little girl, so long as she is good and you do not abuse the privilege.'

She said this in French, but repeated something like it in English, for the benefit of the child; and I remember being struck at the time with the truth of what I had heard the

elder girls say, namely, that in cases where Madame could secure obedience she was firmly determined to be obeyed; but that in cases where she could not, she would grant permission to do things that she would rather not have allowed, simply that none of the pupils might find themselves able to elude her vigilance or thwart her with impunity.

There was no entrance to this room but through ours, and as the ayah could not speak English, Madame perhaps thought we should have been induced, by the facilities offered, to come and play with the child, and that she might have learnt to conceal our visits, which would have been a bad thing both for us and for her.

But we were to go in whenever we pleased: so accordingly that same night, as we were undressing, we were pleased to open the door softly and peep in. There lay the little creature fast asleep in her embroidered night-dress, and there lay her ayah fast asleep also, not in the bed that had been prepared for her but on the carpet at the foot of the child's bed, and rolled up in the checked tablecloth of red and blue that she had taken from its place.

"I am glad Madame has said nothing to me about taking any particular notice of the child," said Caroline;" and I am sure when everyone else is so much interested there can be no need for me to exert myself."

I thought Caroline said this as if she felt somewhat injured by the notice taken of the little creature, and at first I remember feeling ashamed of myself and reproaching myself for the notice I had taken, as if it was a kind of treason to one in whom I had professed such an absorbing interest myself; but afterwards I began to reflect that it would be unamiable in Caroline to have such feelings as I had imputed to her; consequently, as she was so very charming and so amiable, I decided that she had them not.

So this matter passed. I think it was on the 2nd of August that the little pupil came to us, and from that day for three weeks she received every morning a short lesson from the English teacher, her ayah standing beside her. She was perfectly good and docile in the school-room, but during playhours she behaved just as she had done at first, declining to be caressed or played with by the elder girls, though she would sometimes amuse herself with Madame's two little girls, provided her ayah stood beside her the whole time.

I could sometimes hear her talking to this devoted woman about her mamma: "Would she soon come back?

"Oh yes, very soon."

"Would she come to-day?"