or twice at Dr. Evans's, the medical man of the
neighbourhood. He had a general idea that she
was the daughter of an invalid widow, and that
she was the eldest of a flock of brown healthy-
looking children, to whom she acted as foster-
mother, owing to the inability of their real
mother to do anything but lie on her sofa, and
sigh for ease from pain and poverty.

He had so far noticed little Gatty Bland (who,
by-the-by, was twenty-three years old, perhaps
more) as to admire her eyes, soft and brown,
the exact colour of her hair. As she now sat
in the enchanted chair, he was surprised at
himself for never having noticed that she was
really pretty. Her sweet innocent face had a
bewitching air about it that peculiarly pleased
him. And really, her tiny hands and her graceful
movements strongly reminded him of the ways
of the little Lady Verita.

"Mamma has sent me here this morning, Mr.
Blorage, to beg your acceptance of the loan of a
beautiful china bowl. There is not another like
it in England, and she fancied it would be just
the thing to hold a Trifle to-night."

"I thank her very much; but how did she know
that I was going to have a Trifle to-night?"

"Oh, we know it very well. You give a ball
to-night, and from our house we can see the
lights, and faintly hear the music. Jenny and
Albert are to sit up to-night a little longer than
usual that they may watch the carriages."

"Then if I accept the loan of the beautiful
china bowl, I must ask a favour in return."

"I will promise to perform it, Mr. Blorage,
for I feel sure you will not ask anything that I
may not promise to perform."

"I am proud of being so trusted. I should
wish to beg the favour of your company
tonight, to see how well the Trifle looks in the
beautiful china bowl."

"Ah, how I wish we could come! But we
are very poor, and mamma is too great an
invalid to take us out. We shall find much
pleasure, though, in watching your gaiety from
our window, and we shall be delighted to think
that our china bowl has helped to ornament
your supper-table. Mamma was sure you would
not consider the offer of it an impertinence."

No, indeed! Dick was an adept in the happy
art of accepting a kindness in the spirit in which
it was offered.

"Mamma has had great pleasure in watching
the building of your house, Mr. Blorage. She
said, a good man is going to inhabit it, and a
good man always benefits a neighbourhood."

"Your mamma is very kind," murmured
Dick, a little confused, and beginning to blush.
He was admiring Gatty Bland so much, that he
had forgotten she was a prisoner, and
unconscious of the frankness of her words.

"Mamma is very good, Mr. Blorage, as we,
her children, know. And I ought to return to
her. I promised not to be absent more than
half an hour, and it must be that now."

But though she looked distressed and anxious,
poor Gatty could no more move until Mr.
Blorage released her, than the house could move.

He wiped his brow, ran his fingers through
his hair, and prepared for action.

"And so your mamma is glad to have a near
neighbour?"

"She is glad that you are our neighbour.
When it pleases Heaven to release her from
trouble and pain, and to begin our lonelier life of
struggle, she thinks that the sunshine of a good
man's heart may sometimes fall on her poor
children in the shade."

"So it shall, my dear, please God! But,
Gatty, you must marry.—Would you like to
marry?"

"I don't know, Mr. Blorage; but I fear few
will care to marry a little plain girl, with a turn-
up nose, and a heart full of her own people,
and who wants a nomination for——"

"Have you ever seen any one you would like
to marry?'" interrupted Dick, pleased with his
wealth of questions.

"Only one, and that is you, Mr. Blorage!
Good-by. I must run all the way home."

Finding herself released, Gatty sprang up,
and ran out of the room: leaving Mr. Blorage
turning from his natural colour to white, from
white to pink, from pink to crimson, from
crimson to purple.

"Poor little dear thing, that I could have been
so base and dishonourable as to ask her such a
delicate question, when I had so many safe
questions to ask—her age, her brothers' and sisters'
names and ages, her godfathers and godmothers
—if she liked new milk, cheese, eggs. Gracious
Heaven! that I should have dared to put so
preposterous a question, and receive such a—such
a—such a—— " Dick could not bring himself
to name the quality of the answer. "But it's
very pleasant to be so undeservedly appreciated
—to be liked and loved for one's own sake. She
is a nice little thing; she is a pretty little thing.
Her nose certainly turns up; but I believe there
never was a silly person known with a turned-up
nose. She is very graceful. She flitted out of
the room like a bird out of a rose-bush. I
wonder what nomination she wanted!"

For the first time since it was enchanted, Mr.
Blorage looked complacently at the chair; but
his meditations were interrupted by a respectful
intimation from Penge that his master would
oblige everybody by getting out of the way,
because the market-gardener had arrived with his
flowers and decorations, the carpenter was waiting
with his nails and ruler, and the Mr. Gunter
of those parts was frantic to begin setting up his
lights. So, Mr. Blorage got out of the way for
the rest of the day, and reappeared at dinner-
time in due course, and afterwards became the
observed of all observers, as he led out the (in
those parts) highly renowned and celebrated
Lady Fitzcluck to open his ball with an old-
fashioned country-dance.

Everything had gone off well, up to the proud
moment when Mr. Blorage drew on his new kid
gloves for the (in those parts) eminently aristocratic
Lady Fitzcluck. She was bulky, but she
was light in hand, and she and Mr. Blorage
danced with a spirit worthy of the occasion.