day; there was no occasion for incivility or unkindness,— they had simply to let well alone, and the chances were a hundred to one against a suspicion of the propinquity of the Scotch cousins coming to the Charles Newbattles' ears. Except in the matter of actual distance, they were in every way more entirely cut off and severed from these relations than when three hundred miles lay between the families.

"I think," she suggested, easily, "that we will not all at once look up our multifarious kindred, Kate. I have several here and there, with whom, by-and-by, I will communicate; and you and Marjorie have the Charles Newbattles"But I told them we were coming."

“How unfortunate! Did you mention the day?" "No; for I did not know it myself."

"So far well. We can escape a little longer. I should not have named the project had I been you; but young people are hasty, I know. Had you waited a little

66

66

"of

If you

Why should I wait? I am longing to see them." Oh," said Lady Olivia, somewhat discomfited; course, if that be the case, I have nothing to say. are 'longing' to see them, very well. But are you quite sure, my love," more gently, "that they are equally 'longing' to see you? When people live in a very small way, they do not always care to be hunted up, and put to inconvenience, unless they can in some way be benefited. At present we can do nothing for your-ahem-cousins, literally nothing. At Carnochan it was different; there, one could really show them kindness. If," softly,-"if you would think it over, we could call before we left, and arrange with them to pay us a nice long visit in November, just when they are always so glad to get out of London

Kate laughed. "No, no; I cannot wait till November, nor even till just before we go," she said. "What! Be here for three months, and not see more of them than that! I wonder what they would think! Besides which, I have been looking forward to seeing Dora as to one of my principal pleasures, and Marjorie is just as anxious to be with Josephine. Are you not, Marjorie ?"

"Oh yes," said Marjorie, doubtfully; "but if mamma thinks it is a pity, perhaps we had better

"What? Better what?"

"It would be easier not to go there at all, than to find we could not do anything more," continued Marjorie, looking

from one to the other. "Since it is so far away where they live

"I thought you had been really fond of Josephine."

"So I am fond of Josephine,-only she does wear such hats! Don't look at me like that, Kate,-I don't mean any harm; but we could not exactly have them at our parties, you know; and would you not think it unfair to have people when we were by ourselves, and not when we had anything going on?"

The colour mantled to her sister's cheek. It was plain she was, in the language of horsemen, about to bolt, and another word or phrase would have been the signal for her riding roughshod over all opposition. But experience had taught Lady Olivia to know the symptom, and quick as thought she interposed: the Charles Newbattles, hats and all, should be permitted to visit in Chirk Street, rather than that Kate should fly off at a tangent, and take her to task for certain other matters as to which it was absolutely necessary that she should have her own way. It was of vastly more importance that no demur should be made to her renewing the acquaintance of divers lively and not overscrupulous associates of her youth, than that there should now and then be the risk of a nobody being met on her staircase. By giving in to her impetuous step-daughter on this point she would gain the other.

"Say no more, Marjorie," cried she, gaily. "Your sister will ask whom she chooses to this house; I shall do the same and we shall both endeavour to make it pleasant to the other's guests. We agreed beforehand that ours was to be a joint-stock concern, did we not? We must each do our part, each contribute our share to the general fund,-in the matter of friends. Who will you produce, Maidie? Whom are we to look to you for?"

Of course Maidie had nobody, being ashamed to mention poor Neddy Maclure and his sisters, who were up in London for a fortnight, seeing sights and buying finery,-and who, she knew, would have been overjoyed to have seen even once and away in Town, the people whom they saw every week of their lives in the country.

The Maclures lived within a mile of Carnochan, being the only near neighbours the Newbattles had; and as it had been their habit from time immemorial to regard Alice and Kate as the "glass of fashion and the mould of form," they

had been amicably looked down upon, and permitted to come and go at will.

It was not till the two younger Miss Newbattles grew up that the intimacy with the Maclure family was felt to be unfortunate. Bertha and Marjorie made too much of the girls, and were rather inclined to find Neddy amusing, to the secret rage of Kate, who could not endure that a vapid, underbred youth, however good-looking and assiduous, should be a magnet to attract her sisters to the cottage, and to make them put fresh ribbons in their hair.

She thought the Maclures should have let invitations alone, as they had formerly done,-never dreaming of projecting schemes, nor of asking her and Alice down to their little noisy house, but waiting modestly to be taken notice of, and accepting hospitalities, without seeing the necessity for offering any return. In short, they had known their place.

But now all was changed, and the alteration was in a great measure owing to this smartly-dressed, talking, singing, vapouring Neddy. She stormed to herself when his figure was seen in the avenue, and when at the sight Marjorie would colour and smile, and show herself as conscious of being the attraction as any peacock flaunting its train before an audience.

Yet she was not angry with her sister, as she ought to have been; it was only the happy Neddy whom she longed to shake till the teeth rattled in his head. He meant no harm,—she did not suppose that he had really presumed to lift his eyes beyond the present moment; but it was bad enough that he should lay claim even to that.

"Here he is again!" One day the exclamation had escaped her lips when Mrs Popham was sitting by.

She would not have said so much perhaps would at least have taken care not to say it before that astute visitor -had it not been that, from various symptoms, distinct though minute, which had been going on from early morning from the fresh flowers in the glasses, and the fresh braiding of Marjorie's hair, together with a particular song having been left on the open piano, and a walk having been declined, from these all, separately, and put together, she had gathered who was expected.

"Here he is again!" she had cried, unable to help herself, when Neddy, true to time, was seen approaching.

Marjorie had caught the words and Mrs Popham's smile, and now she knew better than to name the Maclures when called upon to add her quota to the sum of eligible acquaintance which was being made up.

She had told Neddy at parting that they would be sure to meet, and had talked of being at the same places at the same time, and of making up parties to go hither and thither; but even at Carnochan, after that smile of Mrs Popham's, there had arisen in her breast a conviction of the desirability of not carrying such projects ultimately in effect-a conviction which led her to refrain, even as she spoke, from committing herself to anything special; while two days of London, and of Lady Olivia in London, where she expanded like a blossom in her native air, impregnating the atmosphere on every side with her precepts and wisdom, was sufficient to make the apt pupil shrink from even a casual

"I cannot think why you should make a fuss about going to see Dora and Josephine, when you are always so bad to the poor Maclures," Marjorie did just say, however, when, on the morning following the confab, she saw her sister preparing to set forth for Fitzroy Square.

"I do not understand," replied Kate, "why you should compare the two."

"Because any one can see that you think the Maclures beneath you, and yet I am sure they are no worse than the Charles Newbattles."

66

Marjorie !"

"Not a bit worse," said Marjorie, obstinately.

"To name them in the same day! Dora is as delightful a creature as ever lived; and though I do not care quite so much for Josephine, I always thought you did. The Maclures are"her face showed what.

66

They are a great deal better dressed."

"Dressed dressed!" cried her sister, impatiently. "Dressed! You silly Marjorie!"

"But what is it all about, then? You are never at all kind to poor Selina; and I always thought it was because they were poor, and had to live in a small house, and could not afford to do as we do."

"If you thought anything of the kind, you were very unjust. Poor!' 'Small house!' As if that mattered!"

"What is it, then? We know them so well, and they are so fond of us!"

"We only know them well because we have to know them well. We cannot help ourselves. We have not a taste or a feeling in common. I scarcely ever go to the cottage without being disgusted."

"What a shame!" Marjorie looked quite dazzling, with the shifting roses in her cheek, the moisture in her blue eyes, and the pout on her lip,-she stood up and abashed the frowning elder sister, who, as usual, was right, and yet was made to feel herself in the wrong. The part of champion of the oppressed,--that part which suited her so well, and which she had so often played,-was stolen, and played by her opponent, and here was she in the garb of the oppressor ! One little triumph, however, she had. "Well," she said, "Marjorie, they are your friends, and you know what I think of them. So herewith I promise that I will not say another word against any one of the three the whole time I am here, -I really cannot answer for myself at Carnochan, where they provoke me at every turn, but here in London, I think I can say I will not mention their names; and if you want to ask them, tell me, and I shall get out of the way." "Oh-" said Marjorie, and stopped.

"Well?"

"I did not mean that."

"You do not want them here, yourself?" "N-no."

"I thought as much.

Your eyes are opened in London;

you see that they are unfit company for you, directly that you can get better. You would not have them meet the fine