Rosamond, eagerly catching her husband by
the arm.

Warned by the trembling of her hand, Mr.
Frankland laid his fingers lightly on her
temples and on her heart.

"Good Heavens, Rosamond! what has
happened? I left you quiet and comfortable,
and now—"

"I've been frightened, dear —dreadfully
frightened, by the new nurse. Don't be hard
on her, poor creature; she is not in her right
senses —I am certain she is not. Only get
her away quietly —only send her back at
once to where she came from. I shall die of
the fright, if she stops here. She has been
behaving so strangely, she has spoken such
words to me -- Lenny! Lenny! don't let go
of my hand. She came stealing up to me so
horribly, just where you are now; she knelt
down at my ear, and whispered —Oh, such
words!"

"Hush, hush, love!" said Mr. Frankland,
getting seriously alarmed by the violence of
Rosamond's agitation. "Never mind repeating
the words now; wait till you are calmer
—I beg and entreat of you, wait till you are
calmer. I will do everything you wish, if
you will only lie down and be quiet, and try
to compose yourself before you say another
word. It is quite enough for me to know
that this woman has frightened you, and
that you wish her to be sent away with as
little harshness as possible. We will put off
all further explanations till to-morrow morning.
I deeply regret now that I did not persist
in carrying out my own idea of sending
for a proper nurse from London. Where is
the landlady?"

The landlady placed herself by Mr. Frankland's
side.

"Is it late?" asked Leonard.

"Oh no, sir; not ten o'clock yet."

"Order a fly to be brought to the door,
then, as soon as possible, if you please.
Where is the nurse?"

"Standing behind you, sir, near the wall,"
said the maid.

As Mr. Frankland turned in that direction,
Rosamond whispered to him: "Don't be
hard on her, Lenny."

The maid, looking with contemptuous
curiosity at Mrs. Jazeph, saw the whole expression
of her countenance alter, as those words
were spoken. The tears rose thick in her eyes,
and flowed down her cheeks. The deathly
spell of stillness that had lain on her face
was broken in an instant. She drew back
again, close to the wall, and leaned against it
as before. "Don't be hard on her!" the
maid heard her repeat to herself, in a low
sobbing voice. "Don't be hard on her! Oh,
my God! she said that kindly —she said that
kindly, at least!"

"I have no desire to speak to you, or to
use you unkindly," said Mr. Frankland,
imperfectly hearing what she said. "I know
nothing of what has happened, and I make
no accusations. I only see Mrs. Frankland
violently agitated and frightened; I hear her
connect that agitation with you — not angrily,
but compassionately—, and instead of
speaking harshly, I prefer leaving it to your own
sense of what is right, to decide whether
your attendance here ought not to cease at
once. I have provided the proper means for
your conveyance from this place; and I
would suggest that you should make our
apologies to your mistress, and say nothing
more than that circumstances have
happened which oblige us to dispense with your
services."

"You have been considerate towards me,
sir," said Mrs. Jazeph, speaking quietly, and
with a certain gentle dignity in her manner,
"and I will not prove myself unworthy of
your forbearance by saying what I might
say in my own defence."  She advanced into
the middle of the room, and stopped where
she could see Rosamond plainly. Twice she
attempted to speak, and twice her voice failed
her. At the third effort, she succeeded in
controlling herself.

"Before I go, ma'am," she said, " I hope
you will believe that I have no bitter feeling
against you, for sending me away. I
am not angry—pray remember always that
I was not angry, and that I never
complained."

There was such a forlornness in her face,
such a sweet, sorrowful resignation in every
tone of her voice, during the utterance of
these few words, that Rosamond's heart smote
her.

"Why did you frighten me?" she asked,
half relenting.

"Frighten you? How could I frighten
you? Oh me! of all the people in the world,
how could I frighten you?"  Mournfully
saying these words, the nurse went to the
chair on which she had placed her bonnet
and shawl, and put them on. The landlady
and the maid, watching her with curious
eyes, detected that she was again weeping
bitterly, and noticed with astonishment, at
the same time, how neatly she put on her
bonnet and shawl. The wasted hands were
moving mechanically, and were trembling
while they moved, — and yet, slight thing
though it was, the inexorable instinct of
propriety guided their most trifling actions
still!

On her way to the door, she stopped again
at passing the bedside, looked through her
tears at Rosamond and the child, struggled
a little with herself, and then spoke her
farewell words—

"God bless you, and keep you and your
child happy and prosperous," she said. "I
am not angry at being sent away. If you
ever think of me again, after to-night, please
to remember that I was not angry, and that
I never complained."

She stood for a moment longer, still weeping,
and still looking through her tears at