to the gate to superintend the dislodging
of her luggage.

Her " large box," as she called it (it was
indeed large!) had been secured behind
the vehicle in some wonderful and
ingenious manner, and was now the subject
of animated dispute between her and the
driver.

Daisy had a gardener, but he was old
and crippled; Mr. Stewart assisted the
flyman in getting the "large box" through
the garden-gate, and up the garden-path.
In her excitement concerning her luggage
Miss Brown had not yet paid that attention
to Mr. Stewart which any man, as a
man, generally received from her; she had
jumped at the conclusion that he was
Aunt Daisy's "butler, or something;" and
Daisy was both mortified and amused to
notice that she addressed and directed him
with the same mixture of familiarity and
imperious command she used towards the
fly-driver.

"You can't think how glad I am to see
a prospect of getting something to eat,
Aunt Daisy. I'm most uncommonly
hungry!" was Miss Brown's remark, as
they went into the breakfast-room.

She dashed off her hat, and ran her
fingers over her most picturesque dishevelment
of hair, and then, putting her hands
patronisingly on Daisy's shoulders, she
said:

"Why, what a little young thing you
look! I expected to see a gaunt old maid.
Of course, if I had thought, I might have
known that you could not be old; but
thinking is a folly that I'm not often guilty
of, Aunt Daisy."

Then she turned her attention upon
Mr. Stewart, whose easy attitude and
amused smile had shown her he was not a
servant. The air with which she regarded
him would have been supercilious if her
regard had been turned upon a woman;
but no man was held by Miss Brown as
quite unworthy some amount of
complaisance.

"You have not done me the honour of
introducing me to your niece," Mr. Stewart
said to Daisy.

Daisy went through the ceremony.

"I'm sure I beg Mr. Stewart's pardon.
In the bustle and confusion about that
ridiculous big box which I hope, by-the-
bye, hasn't terribly alarmed you as to the
proposed length of my stay, Aunt Daisy
I took Mr. Stewart for your butler. I
didn't look at him, mind you. I hope you
aren't offended, Mr. Stewart?"

"Not in the least, Miss Brown; I should
feel honoured to serve your aunt in any
capacity."

"That is very pretty I'm sure, Aunt
Daisy."

Here Daisy said a few words, explaining
that she had only just had her niece's
letter; that, therefore, nothing was
prepared for her.

"Don't mind me, Aunt Daisy; I don't
want to be made a stranger of: there was
no need of preparation," Miss Brown was
so good as to say.

Daisy left the room to give some hasty
instructions to her servants. When she
came back she found Myrrha chattering
away to Mr. Stewart, questioning him
about the neighbourhood, and telling him
of her journey; talking to him as to a
familiar friend. It seemed she had come
from no further than London, where she
had been staying some time.

"Mr. Stewart is just going to take me
round the garden, Aunt Daisy; I suppose
he may: he seems quite at home here."

Myrrha's glance was saucy and
investigating. This was a case of old maid
and old bachelor courtship, she decided;
she thought that, possibly, some
"distraction," some "fun," might be got out
of interfering with it, if there should
seem to be great dearth of amusement in
the place. Besides, in Mr. Stewart's
expression there was something that provoked
her to wish to add him to the number of
her "conquests;" he looked "stuck-up,"
she thought, and his regard of her seemed
to have in it more of curiosity and criticism,
than of admiration, as yet! After going
outside with Mr. Stewart, Myrrha dashed
back to say to Daisy:

"Is he your doctor, your parson, or your
lawyer, Aunt Daisy? I ask that I may
know what to talk to him about."

"He is neither."

"What, besides you, is he much
interested in?"

"He is interested in most things. He
is fond of gardening, for instance."

"Dear me, and I don't know much about
it. How unfortunate; but then I can ask
him to teach me." And she danced down
the garden-path to where Mr. Stewart was
waiting for her.

Daisy's chief servant and manager, who
had been her cousin's more than servant all
her suffering life, having just encountered
Myrrha, as she came in to rearrange the
breakfast-table, stood aghast.

"Well, ma'am, I never; do tell now, is