THE PANELLED HOUSE. 67

| of poor Escott, who has never been allowed to go

to school, only sent up every day to be tutorized by
Mr. Smith, a St. Bees man, and a Leeds shop-
keeper’s son!”

Winny was not sure that Mr. Smith need be a
worse tutor for being a shopkeeper’s son, but she
was too curious to hear more of Flora’s story to
dispute the point, and it was not possible to her to
show disapproval by gravity and silence, as Nest
would have done. So | she laughed, and said, ‘‘ Did
he tutorize you too ?”

“Gracious! No, I should hope not,” said Flora.
“T have never been educated at all. Papa has
taught me French, and made me read Arnold’s
*“Rome’ and that sort of thing, and I don’t know
which of us hated it the most. I am not the least
accomplished: I believe I could sing if I had
lessons, but as I wished it of course I was not
allowed them.”

“But you will be now, of course,” said Winny.

“There is no of course, as you will see when
you know papa. He thinks Escott and me the
most wicked and worthless creatures on the face
of the earth. There, now, I have shocked you in
good earnest,” as Winny looked up with eyes
quite round with wonder, “and you will think me
so too for telling you. But please don’t give me
up, Winny. You will stand my friend, won’t
you?”

Winny was surprised. She did not like Flora
much, but at the same time she was interested and
a little touched: for the girl’s bitterness, which
Nest would have taken as merely exhibiting ill
temper, Winny’s quick eyes read at once as pro-
eeeding from a heart ill at ease, from some cause
or other; and Winny never could see any one
unhappy without trying to comfort them in some
way.

“Yes, indeed I will,” she said. “But do you
know, I can’t think that things can be really as
you say. Aunt Hermy likes your father so much.

Don’t you think it may be that he was really |
pressed for money, and that now that he is better

off it will be different ?”

“Oh, it is not only money that is so uncomfort-
able,” said Flora. ‘It is every thing. What do
you think of his insisting on dragging us down to
Erconbury every day in the rain, to the cathedral
service? He did that till last Saturday, when my
throat got quite sore, and since then he has let me
stay at home when I say so. I do hope your aunt

_ will persuade him to be sensible ; she is sensible,
is she not?”

« Aunt Hermy ? Ishould think so !” said Winny
indignantly, for it was not a matter of indifference
to her to hear those she loved depreciated.

“ Well, all aunts are not, you know: but I am
quite willing to believe that she is,” said Flora.

>»

“One thing I am quite sure of,” she added after
a pause; “that the Manor House will not be as
horrid as I thought it would, because I shall have
a friend here.”

“TI don’t believe you will find ibs horrid at all
when you get used to it,” said Winny, who always
looked at the bright side of things.

“Tt is so some said Flora ; “poor gvandmamma
says she is sure she seul never be able to ‘stand the
fog from that pond.’

“All places are more or less damp in Novem-
ber,” said Winny. “I would sooner live at the
Manor House than any where else except here.”

“Do you really mean you would not mind living
all your life in this deadly-lively place ?”

“TY love Lyke, and I would not live any where
else for a hundred thousand million pounds,” said
Winny ; “and if you use disrespectful words of
it I won’t be your friend.”

But Winny laughed as she spoke, and did not
look very fierce : and Flora drew her towards her,
and kissed her, saying, “ Well, I won’t vex you;
you are a dear little thing.”

Winny did not mind being kissed, but Nest did.
The elder sister, who was naturally very reserved
to strangers, never kissed any but her most in-
timate friends: and she opened the door just in
time to see this concluding caress. Her face was
a study to behold, as she caught Winny’s saucy
triumphant glance. She did not at all like Flora
—there was a natural repulsion between them :
and it needed all her sense of propriety, hospitality,
and the promise she had given to Colonel Armyn,
to make her overcome her dislike so far as to be
decently civil. She thought she was exremely
civil, for Nest had not learnt the ways of the
world enough to know how very easily half
hearted courtesy is detected, and how warm it is
necessary to be in one’s manner if one wishes not
to betray dislike.

“Your brother is come,” she said to Flora; “and
my aunt told me to come and say that they have
ordered afternoon tea.”

This caused a break, and for the next half-hour

Nest, with a most praiseworthy intention of doing

her duty, conversed with Flora. The conversation
was not remarkably interesting ; and Nest was apt
to lack fresh subjects to start when a pause came,
since she was not gifted with small talk. She was
a little distracted, too, by trying to catch what
Winny and Escott were talking about. They ap-
peared to be having quite an animated conversation
on their side of the room: she heard snatches like
this, “I was awfully frightened, for I could not
think what had happened to the dog :” and then
again, “So the keeper said if that was all, he
would not mention it this time.’ Winny sat
really interested as it seemed.
¥ 2

smiling and listening,

rrr nn UE