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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Elsie Dinsmore, by Martha Finley

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Title: Elsie Dinsmore

Author: Martha Finley

Release Date: September, 2004 [EBook #6440]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
[This file was first posted on December 14, 2002]

Edition: 10

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ELSIE DINSMORE ***




Produced by Vital Debroey, Charles Franks
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.






ELSIE DINSMORE

BY

MARTHA FINLEY




CHAPTER FIRST


   "I never saw an eye so bright,
     And yet so soft as hers;
   It sometimes swam in liquid light,
     And sometimes swam in tears;
   It seemed a beauty set apart
     For softness and for sighs."
                                 --MRS. WELBY.


The school-room at Roselands was a very pleasant apartment; the
ceiling, it is true, was somewhat lower than in the more modern
portion of the building, for the wing in which it was situated
dated back to the old-fashioned days prior to the Revolution,
while the larger part of the mansion had not stood more than
twenty or thirty years; but the effect was relieved by windows
reaching from floor to ceiling, and opening on a veranda which
overlooked a lovely flower-garden, beyond which were fields and
woods and hills. The view from the veranda was very beautiful, and
the room itself looked most inviting, with its neat matting, its
windows draped with snow-white muslin, its comfortable chairs, and
pretty rosewood desks.

Within this pleasant apartment sat Miss Day with her pupils, six
in number. She was giving a lesson to Enna, the youngest, the
spoiled darling of the family, the pet and plaything of both
father and mother. It was always a trying task to both teacher and
scholar, for Enna was very wilful, and her teacher's patience by
no means inexhaustible.

"There!" exclaimed Miss Day, shutting the book and giving it an
impatient toss on to the desk; "go, for I might as well try to
teach old Bruno. I presume he would learn about as fast."

And Enna walked away with a pout on her pretty face, muttering
that she would "tell mamma."

"Young ladies and gentlemen," said Miss Day, looking at her watch,
"I shall leave you to your studies for an hour; at the end of
which time I shall return to hear your recitations, when those who
have attended properly to their duties will be permitted to ride
out with me to visit the fair."

"Oh! that will be jolly!" exclaimed Arthur, a bright-eyed,
mischief-loving boy of ten.

"Hush!" said Miss Day sternly; "let me hear no more such
exclamations; and remember that you will not go unless your
lessons are thoroughly learned. Louise and Lora," addressing two
young girls of the respective ages of twelve and fourteen, "that
French exercise must be perfect, and your English lessons as well.
Elsie," to a little girl of eight, sitting alone at a desk near
one of the windows, and bending over a slate with an appearance of
great industry, "every figure of that example must be correct,
your geography lesson recited perfectly, and a page in your
copybook written without a blot."

"Yes, ma'am," said the child meekly, raising a pair of large soft
eyes of the darkest hazel for an instant to her teacher's face,
and then dropping them again upon her slate.

"And see that none of you leave the room until I return,"
continued the governess. "Walter, if you miss one word of that
spelling, you will have to stay at home and learn it over."

"Unless mamma interferes, as she will be pretty sure to do,"
muttered Arthur, as the door closed on Miss Day, and her
retreating footsteps were heard passing down the hall.

For about ten minutes after her departure, all was quiet in the
school-room, each seemingly completely absorbed in study. But at
the end of that time Arthur sprang up, and flinging his book
across the room, exclaimed, "There! I know my lesson; and if I
didn't, I shouldn't study another bit for old Day, or Night
either."

"Do be quiet, Arthur," said his sister Louise; "I can't study in
such a racket."

Arthur stole on tiptoe across the room, and coming up behind
Elsie, tickled the back of her neck with a feather.

She started, saying in a pleading tone, "Please, Arthur, don't."

"It pleases me to do," he said, repeating the experiment.

Elsie changed her position, saying in the same gentle, persuasive
tone, "O Arthur! _please_ let me alone, or I never shall be
able to do this example."

"What! all this time on one example! you ought to be ashamed. Why,
I could have done it half a dozen times over."

"I have been over and over it," replied the little girl in a tone
of despondency, "and still there are two figures that will not
come right."

"How do you know they are not right, little puss?" shaking her
curls as he spoke.

"Oh! please, Arthur, don't pull my hair. I have the answer--that's
the way I know."

"Well, then, why don't you just set the figures down. I would."

"Oh! no, indeed; that would not be honest."

"Pooh! nonsense! nobody would be the wiser, nor the poorer."

"No, but it would be just like telling a lie. But I can never get
it right while you are bothering me so," said Elsie, laying her
slate aside in despair. Then taking out her geography, she began
studying most diligently. But Arthur continued his persecutions--
tickling her, pulling her hair, twitching the book out of her
hand, and talking almost incessantly, making remarks, and asking
questions; till at last Elsie said, as if just ready to cry,
"Indeed, Arthur, if you don't let me alone, I shall never be able
to get my lessons."

"Go away then; take your book out on the veranda, and learn your
lessons there," said Louise. "I'll call you when Miss Day comes."

"Oh! no, Louise, I cannot do that, because it would be
disobedience," replied Elsie, taking out her writing materials.

Arthur stood over her criticising every letter she made, and
finally jogged her elbow in such a way as to cause her to drop all
the ink in her pen upon the paper, making quite a large blot.

"Oh!" cried the little girl, bursting into tears, "now I shall
lose my ride, for Miss Day will not let me go; and I was so
anxious to see all those beautiful flowers."

Arthur, who was really not very vicious, felt some compunction
when he saw the mischief he had done. "Never mind, Elsie," said
he. "I can fix it yet. Just let me tear out this page, and you can
begin again on the next, and I'll not bother you. I'll make these
two figures come right too," he added, taking up her slate.

"Thank you, Arthur," said the little girl, smiling through her
tears; "you are very kind, but it would not be honest to do
either, and I had rather stay at home than be deceitful."

"Very well, miss," said he, tossing his head, and walking away,
"since you won't let me help you, it is all your own fault if you
have to stay at home."

"Elsie," exclaimed Louise, "I have no patience with you! such
ridiculous scruples as you are always raising. I shall not pity
you one bit, if you are obliged to stay at home."

Elsie made no reply, but, brushing away a tear, bent over her
writing, taking great pains with every letter, though saying sadly
to herself all the time, "It's of no use, for that great ugly blot
will spoil it all."

She finished her page, and, excepting the unfortunate blot, it all
looked very neat indeed, showing plainly that it had been written
with great care. She then took up her slate and patiently went
over and over every figure of the troublesome example, trying to
discover where her mistake had been. But much time had been lost
through Arthur's teasing, and her mind was so disturbed by the
accident to her writing that she tried in vain to fix it upon the
business in hand; and before the two troublesome figures had been
made right, the hour was past and Miss Day returned.

"Oh!" thought Elsie, "if she will only hear the others first, I
may be able to get this and the geography ready yet; and perhaps,
if Arthur will be generous enough to tell her about the blot, she
may excuse me for it."

But it was a vain hope. Miss Day had no sooner seated herself at
her desk, than she called, "Elsie, come here and say that lesson;
and bring your copybook and slate, that I may examine your work."

Elsie tremblingly obeyed.

The lesson, though a difficult one, was very tolerably recited;
for Elsie, knowing Arthur's propensity for teasing, had studied it
in her own room before school hours. But Miss Day handed back the
book with a frown, saying, "I told you the recitation must be
perfect, and it was not."

She was always more severe with Elsie than with any other of her
pupils. The reason the reader will probably be able to divine ere
long.

"There are two incorrect figures in this example," said she,
laying down the slate, after glancing over its contents. Then
taking up the copy-book, she exclaimed, "Careless, disobedient
child! did I not caution you to be careful not to blot your book!
There will be no ride for you this morning. You have failed in
everything. Go to your seat. Make that example right, and do the
next; learn your geography lesson over, and write another page in
your copy-book; and, mind, if there is a blot on it, you will get
no dinner."

Weeping and sobbing, Elsie took up her books and obeyed.

During this scene Arthur stood at his desk pretending to study,
but glancing every now and then at Elsie, with a conscience
evidently ill at ease. She cast an imploring glance at him, as she
returned to her seat; but he turned away his head, muttering,
"It's all her own fault, for she wouldn't let me help her."

As he looked up again, he caught his sister Lora's eyes fixed on
him with an expression of scorn and contempt. He colored
violently, and dropped his eyes upon his book.

"Miss Day," said Lora, indignantly, "I see Arthur does not mean to
speak, and as I cannot bear to see such injustice, I must tell you
that it is all his fault that Elsie has failed in her lessons; for
she tried her very best, but he teased her incessantly, and also
jogged her elbow and made her spill the ink on her book; and to
her credit she was too honorable to tear out the leaf from her
copy-book, or to let him make her example right; both which he
very generously proposed doing after causing all the mischief."

"Is this so, Arthur?" asked Miss Day, angrily.

The boy hung his head, but made no reply.

"Very well, then," said Miss Day, "you too must stay at home."

"Surely," said Lora, in surprise, "you will not keep Elsie, since
I have shown you that she was not to blame."

"Miss Lora," replied her teacher, haughtily, "I wish you to
understand that I am not to be dictated to by my pupils."

Lora bit her lip, but said nothing, and Miss Day went on hearing
the lessons without further remark.

In the meantime the little Elsie sat at her desk, striving to
conquer the feelings of anger and indignation that were swelling
in her breast; for Elsie, though she possessed much of "the
ornament of a meek and quiet spirit," was not yet perfect, and
often had a fierce contest with her naturally quick temper. Yet it
was seldom, very seldom that word or tone or look betrayed the
existence of such feelings; and it was a common remark in the
family that Elsie had no spirit.

The recitations were scarcely finished when the door opened and a
lady entered dressed for a ride.

"Not through yet, Miss Day?" she asked.

"Yes, madam, we are just done," replied the teacher, closing the
French grammar and handing it to Louise.

"Well, I hope your pupils have all done their duty this morning,
and are ready to accompany us to the fair," said Mrs. Dinsmore.
"But what is the matter with Elsie?"

"She has failed in all her exercises, and therefore has been told
that she must remain at home," replied Miss Day with heightened
color and in a tone of anger; "and as Miss Lora tells me that
Master Arthur was partly the cause, I have forbidden him also to
accompany us."

"Excuse me, Miss Day, for correcting you," said Lora, a little
indignantly; "but I did not say _partly,_ for I am sure it
was _entirely_ his fault."

"Hush, hush, Lora," said her mother, a little impatiently; "how
can you be sure of any such thing; Miss Day, I must beg of you to
excuse Arthur this once, for I have quite set my heart on taking
him along. He is fond of mischief, I know, but he is only a child,
and you must not be too hard upon him."

"Very well, madam," replied the governess stiffly, "you have of
course the best right to control your own children."

Mrs. Dinsmore turned to leave the room.

"Mamma," asked Lora, "is not Elsie to be allowed to go too?"

"Elsie is not my child, and I have nothing to say about it. Miss
Day, who knows all the circumstances, is much better able than I
to judge whether or no she is deserving of punishment," replied
Mrs. Dinsmore, sailing out of the room.

"You will let her go, Miss Day?" said Lora, inquiringly.

"Miss Lora," replied Miss Day, angrily, "I have already told you I
was not to be dictated to. I have said Elsie must remain at home,
and I shall not break my word."

"Such injustice!" muttered Lora, turning away.

"Lora," said Louise, impatiently, "why need you concern yourself
with Elsie's affairs? for my part, I have no pity for her, so full
as she is of nonsensical scruples."

Miss Day crossed the room to where Elsie was sitting leaning her
head upon the desk, struggling hard to keep down the feelings of
anger and indignation aroused by the unjust treatment she had
received.

"Did I not order you to learn that lesson over?" said the
governess, "and why are you sitting here idling?"

Elsie dared not speak lest her anger should show itself in words;
so merely raised her head, and hastily brushing away her tears,
opened the book. But Miss Day, who was irritated by Mrs.
Dinsmore's interference, and also by the consciousness that she
was acting unjustly, seemed determined to vent her displeasure
upon her innocent victim.

"Why do you not speak?" she exclaimed, seizing Elsie by the arm
and shaking her violently. "Answer me this instant. Why have you
been idling all the morning?"

"I have _not_," replied the child hastily, stung to the quick
by her unjust violence. "I have tried hard to do my duty, and you
are punishing me when I don't deserve it at all."

"How dare you? there! take that for your impertinence," said Miss
Day, giving her a box on the ear.

Elsie was about to make a still more angry reply; but she
restrained herself, and turning to her book, tried to study,
though the hot, blinding tears came so thick and fast that she
could not see a letter.

"De carriage am waiting, ladies, an' missus in a hurry," said a
servant, opening the door; and Miss Day hastily quitted the room,
followed by Louise and Lora; and Elsie was left alone.

She laid down the geography, and opening her desk, took out a
small pocket Bible, which bore the marks of frequent use. She
turned over the leaves as though seeking for some particular
passage; at length she found it, and wiping away the blinding
tears, she read these words in a low, murmuring tone:

"For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God
endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if, when
ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if
when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is
acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called; because
Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should
follow His steps."

"Oh! I have not done it. I did not take it patiently. I am afraid
I am not following in His steps," she cried, bursting into an
agony of tears and sobs.

"My dear little girl, what is the matter?" asked a kind voice, and
a soft hand was gently laid on her shoulder.

The child looked up hastily. "O Miss Allison!" she said, "is it
you? I thought I was quite alone."

"And so you were, my dear, until this moment" replied the lady,
drawing up a chair, and sitting down close beside her. "I was on
the veranda, and hearing sobs, came in to see if I could be of any
assistance. You look very much distressed; will you not tell me
the cause of your sorrow?"

Elsie answered only by a fresh burst of tears.

"They have all gone to the fair and left you at home alone;
perhaps to learn a lesson you have failed in reciting?" said the
lady, inquiringly.

"Yes, ma'am," said the child; "but that is not the worst;" and her
tears fell faster, as she laid the little Bible on the desk, and
pointed with her finger to the words she had been reading. "Oh!"
she sobbed, "I--I did not do it; I did not bear it patiently. I
was treated unjustly, and punished when I was not to blame, and I
grew angry. Oh! I'm afraid I shall never be like Jesus! never,
never."

The child's distress seemed very great, and Miss Allison was
extremely surprised. She was a visitor who had been in the house
only a few days, and, herself a devoted Christian, had been
greatly pained by the utter disregard of the family in which she
was sojourning for the teachings of God's word. Rose Allison was
from the North, and Mr. Dinsmore, the proprietor of Roselands, was
an old friend of her father, to whom he had been paying a visit,
and finding Rose in delicate health, he had prevailed upon her
parents to allow her to spend the winter months with his family in
the more congenial clime of their Southern home.

"My poor child," she said, passing her arm around the little one's
waist, "my poor little Elsie! that is your name, is it not?"

"Yes, ma'am; Elsie Dinsmore," replied the little girl.

"Well, Elsie, let me read you another verse from this blessed
book. Here it is: 'The blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanseth us
from _all_ sin.' And here again: 'If any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous.' Dear Elsie,
'if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins.'"

"Yes, ma'am," said the child; "I have asked Him to forgive me, and
I know He has; but I am so sorry, oh! _so_ sorry that I have
grieved and displeased Him; for, O Miss Allison! I _do_ love
Jesus, and want to be like Him always."

"Yes, dear child, we must grieve for our sins when we remember
that they helped to slay the Lord. But I am very, very glad to
learn that you love Jesus, and are striving to do His will. I love
Him too, and we will love one another; for you know He says, 'By
this shall men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one
to another,'" said Miss Allison, stroking the little girl's hair,
and kissing her tenderly.

"Will you love me? Oh! how glad I am," exclaimed the child
joyfully; "I have nobody to love me but poor old mammy."

"And who is mammy?" asked the lady.

"My dear old nurse, who has always taken care of me. Have you not
seen her, ma'am?"

"Perhaps I may. I have seen a number of nice old colored women
about here since I came. But, Elsie, will you tell me who taught
you about Jesus, and how long you have loved Him?"

"Ever since I can remember," replied the little girl earnestly;
"and it was dear old mammy who first told me how He suffered and
died on the cross for us." Her eyes filled with tears and her
voice quivered with emotion. "She used to talk to me about it just
as soon as I could understand anything," she continued; "and then
she would tell me that my own dear mamma loved Jesus, and had gone
to be with Him in heaven; and how, when she was dying, she put me
--a little, wee baby, I was then not quite a week old--into her
arms, and said, 'Mammy, take my dear little baby and love her, and
take care of her just as you did of me; and O mammy! be sure that
you teach her to love God.' Would you like to see my mamma, Miss
Allison?"

And as she spoke she drew from her bosom a miniature set in gold
and diamonds, which she wore suspended by a gold chain around her
neck, and put it in Rose's hand.

It was the likeness of a young and blooming girl, not more than
fifteen or sixteen years of age. She was very beautiful, with a
sweet, gentle, winning countenance, the same soft hazel eyes and
golden brown curls that the little Elsie possessed; the same
regular features, pure complexion, and sweet smile.

Miss Allison gazed at it a moment in silent admiration; then
turning from it to the child with a puzzled expression, she said,
"But, Elsie, I do not understand; are you not sister to Enna and
the rest, and is not Mrs. Dinsmore own mother to them all?"

"Yes, ma'am, to all of them, but not to me nor my papa. Their
brother Horace is my papa, and so they are all my aunts and
uncles."

"Indeed," said the lady, musingly; "I thought you looked very
unlike the rest. And your papa is away, is he not, Elsie?"

"Yes, ma'am; he is in Europe. He has been away almost ever since I
was born, and I have never seen him. Oh! how I do wish he would
come home! how I long to see him! Do you think he would love me,
Miss Allison? Do you think he would take me on his knee and pet
me, as grandpa does Enna?"

"I should think he would, dear; I don't know how he could help
loving his own dear little girl," said the lady, again kissing the
little rosy cheek. "But now," she added, rising, "I must go away
and let you learn your lesson."

Then taking up the little Bible, and turning over the leaves, she
asked, "Would you like to come to my room sometimes in the
mornings and evenings, and read this book with me, Elsie?"

"Oh! yes, ma'am, dearly!" exclaimed the child, her eyes sparkling
with pleasure.

"Come then this evening, if you like; and now goodbye for the
present." And pressing another kiss on the child's cheek, she left
her and went back to her own room, where she found her friend
Adelaide Dinsmore, a young lady near her own age, and the eldest
daughter of the family. Adelaide was seated on a sofa, busily
employed with some fancy work.

"You see I am making myself quite at home," she said, looking up
as Rose entered. "I cannot imagine where you have been all this
time."

"Can you not? In the school-room, talking with little Elsie. Do
you know, Adelaide, I thought she was your sister; but she tells
me not."

"No, she is Horace's child. I supposed you knew; but if you do
not, I may just as well tell you the whole story. Horace was a
very wild boy, petted and spoiled, and always used to having his
own way; and when he was about seventeen--quite a forward youth he
was too--he must needs go to New Orleans to spend some months with
a schoolmate; and there he met, and fell desperately in love with,
a very beautiful girl a year or two younger than himself, an
orphan and very wealthy. Fearing that objections would be made on
the score of their youth, etc., etc., he persuaded her to consent
to a private marriage, and they had been man and wife for some
months before either her friends or his suspected it.

"Well, when it came at last to papa's ears, he was very angry,
both on account of their extreme youth, and because, as Elsie
Grayson's father had made all his money by trade, he did not
consider her quite my brother's equal; so he called Horace home
and sent him North to college. Then he studied law, and since that
he has been traveling in foreign lands. But to return to his wife;
it seems that her guardian was quite as much opposed to the match
as papa; and the poor girl was made to believe that she should
never see her husband again. All their letters were intercepted,
and finally she was told that he was dead; so, as Aunt Chloe says,
'she grew thin and pale, and weak and melancholy,' and while the
little Elsie was yet not quite a week old, she died. We never saw
her; she died in her guardian's house, and there the little Elsie
stayed in charge of Aunt Chloe, who was an old servant in the
family, and had nursed her mother before her, and of the
housekeeper, Mrs. Murray, a pious old Scotch woman, until about
four years ago, when her guardian's death broke up the family, and
then they came to us. Horace never comes home, and does not seem
to care for his child, for he never mentions her in his letters,
except when it is necessary in the way of business."

"She is a dear little thing," said Rose. "I am sure he could not
help loving her, if he could only see her."

"Oh! yes, she is well enough, and I often feel sorry for the
lonely little thing, but the truth is, I believe we are a little
jealous of her; she is so extremely beautiful, and heiress to such
an immense fortune. Mamma often frets, and says that one of these
days she will quite eclipse her younger daughters."

"But then," said Rose, "she is almost as near; her own grand-
daughter."

"No, she is not so very near," replied Adelaide, "for Horace is
not mamma's son. He was seven or eight years old when she married
papa, and I think she was never particularly fond of him."

"Ah! yes," thought Rose, "that explains it. Poor little Elsie! No
wonder you pine for your father's love, and grieve over the loss
of the mother you never knew!"

"She is an odd child," said Adelaide; "I don't understand her; she
is so meek and patient she will fairly let you trample upon her.
It provokes papa. He says she is no Dinsmore, or she would know
how to stand up for her own rights; and yet she has a temper, I
know, for once in a great while it shows itself for an instant--
only an instant, though, and at very long intervals--and then she
grieves over it for days, as though she had committed some great
crime; while the rest of us think nothing of getting angry half a
dozen times in a day. And then she is forever poring over that
little Bible of hers; what she sees so attractive in it I'm sure I
cannot tell, for I must say I find it the dullest of dull books."

"Do you," said Rose; "how strange! I had rather give up all other
books than that one. 'Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage
forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart,' 'How sweet are
thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.'"

"Do you _really_ love it so, Rose?" asked Adelaide, lifting
her eyes to her friend's face with an expression of astonishment;
"do tell me why?"

"For its exceeding great and precious promises Adelaide; for its
holy teachings; for its offers of peace and pardon and eternal
life. I am a sinner, Adelaide, lost, ruined, helpless, hopeless,
and the Bible brings me the glad news of salvation offered as a
free, unmerited gift; it tells me that Jesus died to save sinners
--just such sinners as I. I find that I have a heart deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked, and the blessed Bible
tells me how that heart can be renewed, and where I can obtain
that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. I find
myself utterly unable to keep God's holy law, and it tells me of
One who has kept it for me. I find that I deserve the wrath and
curse of a justly offended God, and it tells me of Him who was
made a curse for me. I find that all my righteousnesses are as
filthy rags, and it offers me the beautiful, spotless robe of
Christ's perfect righteousness. Yes, it tells me that God can be
just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus."

Rose spoke these words with deep emotion, then suddenly clasping
her hands and raising her eyes, she exclaimed, "'Thanks be unto
God for His unspeakable gift!'"

For a moment there was silence. Then Adelaide spoke:

"Rose," said she, "you talk as if you were a great sinner; but I
don't believe it; it is only your humility that makes you think
so. Why, what have you ever done? Had you been a thief, a
murderer, or guilty of any other great crime, I could see the
propriety of your using such language with regard to yourself; but
for a refined, intelligent, amiable young lady, excuse me for
saying it, dear Rose, but such language seems to me simply
absurd."

"Man looketh upon the outward appearance, but the Lord pondereth
the heart," said Rose, gently. "No, dear Adelaide, you are
mistaken; for I can truly say 'mine iniquities have gone over my
head as a cloud, and my transgressions as a thick cloud.' Every
duty has been stained with sin, every motive impure, every thought
unholy. From my earliest existence, God has required the undivided
love of my whole heart, soul, strength, and mind; and so far from
yielding it, I live at enmity with Him, and rebellion against His
government, until within the last two years. For seventeen years
He has showered blessings upon me, giving me life, health,
strength, friends, and all that was necessary for happiness; and
for fifteen of those years I returned Him nothing but ingratitude
and rebellion. For fifteen years I rejected His offers of pardon
and reconciliation, turned my back upon the Saviour of sinners,
and resisted all the strivings of God's Holy Spirit, and will you
say that I am not a great sinner?" Her voice quivered, and her
eyes were full of tears.

"Dear Rose," said Adelaide, putting her arm around her friend and
kissing her cheek affectionately, "don't think of these things;
religion is too gloomy for one so young as you."

"Gloomy, dear Adelaide!" replied Rose, returning the embrace; "I
never knew what true happiness was until I found Jesus. My sins
often make me sad, but religion, never.

   "'Oft I walk beneath the cloud,
    Dark as midnight's gloomy shroud;
    But when fear is at the height,
    Jesus comes, and all is light.'"




CHAPTER SECOND


   "Thy injuries would teach patience to blaspheme,
    Yet still thou art a dove."
                             --BEAUMONT'S _Double Marriage._


   "When forced to part from those we love,
      Though sure to meet to-morrow;
    We yet a kind of anguish prove
      And feel a touch of sorrow.
    But oh! what words can paint the fears
      When from these friends we sever,
    Perhaps to part for months--for years--
      Perhaps to part forever."
                                 --ANON.


When Miss Allison had gone, and Elsie found herself once more
quite alone, she rose from her chair, and kneeling down with the
open Bible before her, she poured out her story of sins and
sorrows, in simple, child-like words, into the ears of the dear
Saviour whom she loved so well; confessing that when she had done
well and suffered for it, she had not taken it patiently, and
earnestly pleading that she might be made like unto the meek and
lowly Jesus. Low sobs burst from her burdened heart, and the tears
of penitence fell upon the pages of the holy book. But when she
rose from her knees, her load of sin and sorrow was all gone, and
her heart made light and happy with a sweet sense of peace and
pardon. Once again, as often before, the little Elsie was made to
experience the blessedness of "the man whose transgression is
forgiven, whose sin is covered."

She now set to work diligently at her studies, and ere the party
returned was quite prepared to meet Miss Day, having attended
faithfully to all she had required of her. The lesson was recited
without the smallest mistake, every figure of the examples worked
out correctly, and the page of the copy-book neatly and carefully
written.

Miss Day had been in a very captious mood all day, and seemed
really provoked that Elsie had not given her the smallest excuse
for fault-finding. Handing the book back to her, she said, very
coldly, "I see you can do your duties well enough when you
choose."

Elsie felt keenly the injustice of the remark, and longed to say
that she had tried quite as earnestly in the morning; but she
resolutely crushed down the indignant feeling, and calling to
mind the rash words that had cost her so many repentant tears, she
replied meekly, "I am sorry I did not succeed better this morning,
Miss Day, though I did really try; and I am still more sorry for
the saucy answer I gave you; and I ask your pardon for it."

"You _ought_ to be sorry," replied Miss Day, severely, "and I
hope you are; for it was a very impertinent speech indeed, and
deserving of a much more severe punishment than you received. Now
go, and never let me hear anything of the kind from you again."

Poor little Elsie's eyes filled with tears at these ungracious
words, accompanied by a still more ungracious manner; but she
turned away without a word, and placing her books and slate
carefully in her desk, left the room.

Rose Allison was sitting alone in her room that evening, thinking
of her far-distant home, when hearing a gentle rap at her door,
she rose and opened it to find Elsie standing there with her
little Bible in her hand.

"Come in, darling," she said, stooping to give the little one a
kiss; "I am very glad to see you."

"I may stay with you for half an hour, Miss Allison, if you like,"
said the child, seating herself on the low ottoman pointed out by
Rose, "and then mammy is coming to put me to bed."

"It will be a very pleasant half-hour to both of us, I hope,"
replied Rose, opening her Bible.

They read a chapter together--Rose now and then pausing to make a
few explanations--and then kneeling down, she offered up a prayer
for the teachings of the Spirit, and for God's blessing on
themselves and all their dear ones.

"Dear little Elsie," she said, folding the child in her arms, when
they had risen from their knees, "how I love you already, and how
very glad I am to find that there is one in this house beside
myself who loves Jesus, and loves to study His word, and to call
upon His name."

"Yes, dear Miss Allison; and there is _more_ than one, for
mammy loves Him, too, very dearly," replied the little girl,
earnestly.

"Does she, darling? Then I must love her, too, for I cannot help
loving all who love my Saviour."

Then Rose sat down, and drawing the little girl to a seat on her
knee, they talked sweetly together of the race they were running,
and the prize they hoped to obtain at the end of it; of the battle
they were fighting, and the invisible foes with whom they were
called to struggle--the armor that had been provided, and of Him
who had promised to be the Captain of their salvation, and to
bring them off more than conquerors. They were pilgrims in the
same straight and narrow way, and it was very pleasant thus to
walk a little while together. "Then they that feared the Lord
spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened and heard it;
and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that
feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be
mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my
jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that
serveth him."

"That is mammy coming for me," said Elsie, as a low knock was
heard at the door.

"Come in," said Rose, and the door opened, and a very nice colored
woman of middle age, looking beautifully neat in her snow-white
apron and turban, entered with a low courtesy, asking, "Is my
little missus ready for bed now?"

"Yes," said Elsie, jumping off Rose's lap; "but come here, mammy;
I want to introduce you to Miss Allison."

"How do you do, Aunt Chloe? I am very glad to know you, since
Elsie tells me you are a servant of the same blessed Master whom I
love and try to serve," said Rose, putting her small white hand
cordially into Chloe's dusky one.

"'Deed I hope I is, missus," replied Chloe, pressing it fervently
in both of hers. "I's only a poor old black sinner, but de good
Lord Jesus, He loves me jes de same as if I was white, an' I love
Him an' all His chillen with all my heart."

"Yes, Aunt Chloe," said Rose, "He is our peace, and hath made both
one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
so that we are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-
citizens with the saints and of the household of God; and are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus
Christ himself being the chief corner-stone."

"Yes, missus, dat's it for sure; ole Chloe knows dat's in de
Bible; an' if we be built on dat bressed corner-stone, we's safe
ebery one; I'se heard it many's de time, an' it fills dis ole
heart with joy an' peace in believing," she exclaimed, raising her
tearful eyes and clasping her hands. "But good night, missus; I
must put my chile to bed," she added, taking Elsie's hand.

"Good-night, Aunt Chloe; come in again," said Rose. "And good-
night to you, too, dear little Elsie," folding the little girl
again in her arms.

"Ain't dat a bressed young lady, darlin'!" exclaimed Chloe,
earnestly, as she began the business of preparing her young charge
for bed.

"O mammy, I love her so much! she's so good and kind," replied the
child, "and she loves Jesus, and loves to talk about Him."

"She reminds me of your dear mamma, Miss Elsie, but she's not so
handsome," replied the nurse, with a tear in her eye; "ole Chloe
tinks dere's nebber any lady so beautiful as her dear young missus
was."

Elsie drew out the miniature and kissed it, murmuring, "Dear,
darling mamma," then put it back in her bosom again, for she
always wore it day and night. She was standing in her white night-
dress, the tiny white feet just peeping from under it, while Chloe
brushed back her curls and put on her night-cap.

"Dere now, darlin', you's ready for bed," she exclaimed, giving
the child a hug and a kiss.

"No, mammy, not quite," replied the little girl, and gliding away
to the side of the bed, she knelt down and offered up her evening
prayer. Then, coming back to the toilet table, she opened her
little Bible, saying, "Now, mammy, I will read you a chapter while
you are getting ready for bed."

The room was large and airy, and Aunt Chloe, who was never willing
to leave her nursling, but watched over her night and day with the
most devoted affection, slept in a cot bed in one corner.

"Tank you, my dear young missus, you's berry good," she said,
beginning the preparations for the night by taking off her turban
and replacing it by a thick night-cap.

When the chapter was finished Elsie got into bed, saying, "Now,
mammy, you may put out the light as soon as you please; and be
sure to call me early in the morning, for I have a lesson to learn
before breakfast."

"That I will, darlin'," replied the old woman, spreading the cover
carefully over her. "Good-night, my pet, your ole mammy hopes her
chile will have pleasant dreams."

Rose Allison was an early riser, and as the breakfast hour at
Roselands was eight o'clock, she always had an hour or two for
reading before it was time to join the family circle. She had
asked Elsie to come to her at half-past seven, and punctually at
the hour the little girl's gentle rap was heard at her door.

"Come in," said Rose, and Elsie entered, looking as bright and
fresh and rosy as the morning. She had her little Bible under her
arm, and a bouquet of fresh flowers in her hand. "Good-morning,
dear Miss Allison," she said, dropping a graceful courtesy as she
presented it. "I have come to read, and I have just been out to
gather these for you, because I know you love flowers."

"Thank you, darling, they are very lovely," said Rose, accepting
the gift and bestowing a caress upon the giver. "You are quite
punctual," she added, "and now we can have our half-hour together
before breakfast."

The time was spent profitably and pleasantly, and passed so
quickly that both were surprised when the breakfast bell rang.

Miss Allison spent the whole fall and winter at Roselands; and it
was very seldom during all that time that she and Elsie failed to
have their morning and evening reading and prayer together. Rose
was often made to wonder at the depth of the little girl's piety
and the knowledge of divine things she possessed. But Elsie had
had the best of teaching. Chloe, though entirely uneducated, was a
simple-minded, earnest Christian, and with a heart full of love to
Jesus, had, as we have seen, early endeavored to lead the little
one to Him, and Mrs. Murray--the housekeeper whom Adelaide had
mentioned, and who had assisted Chloe in the care of the child
from the time of her birth until a few months before Rose's
coming, when she had suddenly been summoned home to Scotland--had
proved a very faithful friend. She was an intelligent woman and
devotedly pious, and had carefully instructed this lonely little
one, for whom she felt almost a parent's affection, and her
efforts to bring her to a saving knowledge of Christ had been
signally owned and blessed of God; and in answer to her earnest
prayers, the Holy Spirit had vouchsafed His teachings, without
which all human instruction must ever be in vain. And young as
Elsie was, she had already a very lovely and well-developed
Christian character. Though not a remarkably precocious child in
other respects, she seemed to have very clear and correct views on
almost every subject connected with her duty to God and her
neighbor; was very truthful both in word and deed, very strict in
her observance of the Sabbath--though the rest of the family were
by no means particular in that respect--very diligent in her
studies, respectful to superiors, and kind to inferiors and
equals; and she was gentle, sweet-tempered, patient, and forgiving
to a remarkable degree. Rose became strongly attached to her, and
the little girl fully returned her affection.

Elsie was very sensitive and affectionate, and felt keenly the
want of sympathy and love, for which, at the time of Rose's
coming, she had no one to look to but poor old Chloe, who loved
her with all her heart.

It is true, Adelaide sometimes treated her almost affectionately,
and Lora, who had a very strong sense of justice, occasionally
interfered and took her part when she was very unjustly accused,
but no one seemed really to care for her, and she often felt sad
and lonely. Mr. Dinsmore, though her own grandfather, treated her
with entire neglect, seemed to have not the slightest affection
for her, and usually spoke of her as "old Crayson's grandchild."
Mrs. Dinsmore really disliked her, because she looked upon her as
the child of a stepson for whom she had never felt any affection,
and also as the future rival of her own children; while the
governess and the younger members of the family, following the
example of their elders, treated her with neglect, and occasionally
even with abuse. Miss Day, knowing that she was in no danger of
incurring the displeasure of her superiors by so doing, vented upon her
all the spite she dared not show to her other pupils; and continually
she was made to give up her toys and pleasures to Enna, and even
sometimes to Arthur and Walter. It often cost her a struggle, and
had she possessed less of the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit,
her life had been wretched indeed.

But in spite of all her trials and vexations, little Elsie was the
happiest person in the family; for she had in her heart that peace
which the world can neither give nor take away; that joy which the
Saviour gives to His own, and no man taketh from them. She
constantly carried all her sorrows and troubles to Him, and the
coldness and neglect of others seemed but to drive her nearer to
that Heavenly Friend, until she felt that while possessed of His
love, she could not be unhappy, though treated with scorn and
abuse by all the world.

   "The good are better made by ill,
    As odors crushed are sweeter still;"

And even so it seemed to be with little Elsie; her trials seemed
to have only the effect of purifying and making more lovely her
naturally amiable character.

Elsie talked much and thought more of her absent and unknown
father, and longed with an intensity of desire for his return
home. It was her dream, by day and by night, that he had come,
that he had taken her to his heart, calling her "his own darling
child, his precious little Elsie;" for such were the loving
epithets she often heard lavished upon Enna, and which she longed
to hear addressed to herself. But from month to month, and year to
year, that longed-for return had been delayed until the little
heart had grown sick with hope deferred, and was often weary with
its almost hopeless waiting. But to return.

"Elsie," said Adelaide, as Miss Allison and the little girl
entered the breakfast-room on the morning after Elsie's
disappointment, "the fair is not over yet, and Miss Allison and I
are going to ride out there this afternoon; so, if you are a good
girl in school, you may go with us."

"Oh! thank you, dear Aunt Adelaide," exclaimed the little girl,
clapping her hands with delight; "how kind you are! and I shall be
so glad."

Miss Day frowned, and looked as if she wanted to reprove her for
her noisy demonstrations of delight, but, standing somewhat in awe
of Adelaide, said nothing.

But Elsie suddenly relapsed into silence, for at that moment Mrs.
Dinsmore entered the room, and it was seldom that she could utter
a word in her presence without being reproved and told that
"children should be seen and not heard," though her own were
allowed to talk as much as they pleased.

Miss Day seemed cross, Mrs. Dinsmore was moody and taciturn,
complaining of headache, and Mr. Dinsmore occupied with the
morning paper; and so the meal passed off in almost unbroken
silence. Elsie was glad when it was over, and hastening to the
school-room, she began her tasks without waiting for the arrival
of the regular hour for study.

She had the room entirely to herself, and had been busily engaged
for half an hour in working out her examples, when the opening of
the door caused her to look up, and, to her dismay, Arthur
entered. He did not, however, as she feared, begin his customary
course of teasing and tormenting, but seated himself at his desk,
leaning his head upon his hand in an attitude of dejection.

Elsie wondered what ailed him, his conduct was so unusual, and she
could not help every now and then sending an inquiring glance
toward him, and at length she asked, "What is the matter, Arthur?"

"Nothing much," said he, gruffly, turning his back to her.

Thus repulsed, she said no more, but gave her undivided attention
to her employment; and so diligent was she, that Miss Day had no
excuse whatever for fault-finding this morning. Her tasks were all
completed within the required time, and she enjoyed her promised
ride with her aunt and Miss Allison, and her visit to the fair,
very much indeed.

It was still early when they returned; and finding that she had
nearly an hour to dispose of before tea-time, Elsie thought she
would finish a drawing which she had left in her desk in the
school-room. While searching for it and her pencil, she heard
Lora's and Arthur's voices on the veranda.

She did not notice what they were saying, until her own name
struck her ear.

"Elsie is the only person," Lora was saying, "who can, and
probably will, help you; for she has plenty of money, and she is
so kind and generous; but, if I were you, I should be ashamed to
ask her, after the way you acted toward her."

"I wish I hadn't teased her so yesterday," replied Arthur,
disconsolately, "but it's such fun, I can't help it sometimes."

"Well, I know I wouldn't ask a favor of anybody I had treated so,"
said Lora, walking away.

Elsie sat still a few moments, working at her drawing and
wondering all the time what it was Arthur wanted, and thinking how
glad she would be of an opportunity of returning him good for
evil. She did not like, though, to seek his confidence, but
presently hearing him heave a deep sigh, she rose and went out on
the veranda.

He was leaning on the railing in an attitude of dejection, his
head bent down and his eyes fixed on the floor. She went up to
him, and laying her hand softly on his shoulder, said, in the
sweet, gentle tones natural to her. "What ails you, Arthur? Can I
do anything for you? I will be very glad if I can."

"No--yes--" he answered hesitatingly; "I wouldn't like to ask you
after--after--"

"Oh! never mind," said Elsie, quickly; "I do not care anything
about that now. I had the ride to-day, and that was better still,
because I went with Aunt Adelaide and Miss Allison. Tell me what
you want."

Thus encouraged, Arthur replied, "I saw a beautiful little ship
yesterday when I was in the city; it was only five dollars, and
I've set my heart on having it, but my pocket money's all gone,
and papa won't give me a cent until next month's allowance is due;
and by that time the ship will be gone, for it's such a beauty
somebody'll be sure to buy it."

"Won't your mamma buy it for you?" asked Elsie.

"No, she says she hasn't the money to spare just now. You know
it's near the end of the month, and they've all spent their
allowances except Louise, and she says she'll not lend her money
to such a spendthrift as I am."

Elsie drew out her purse, and seemed just about to put it into his
hand; but, apparently changing her mind, she hesitated a moment,
and then returning it to her pocket, said, with a half smile, "I
don't know, Arthur; five dollars is a good deal for a little girl
like me to lay out at once. I must think about it a little."

"I don't ask you to _give_ it," he replied scornfully; "I'll
pay it back in two weeks."

"Well, I will see by to-morrow morning," she said, darting away,
while he sent an angry glance after her, muttering the word
"stingy" between his teeth.

Elsie ran down to the kitchen, asking of one and another of the
servants as she passed, "Where's Pompey?" The last time she put
the question to Phoebe, the cook, but was answered by Pompey
himself. "Here am Pomp, Miss Elsie; what does little missy want
wid dis chile?"

"Are you going to the city to-night, Pompey?"

"Yes, Miss Elsie, I'se got some arrants to do for missus an' de
family in ginral, an' I ben gwine start in 'bout ten minutes.
Little missy wants sumpin', eh?"

Elsie motioned to him to come close to her, and then putting her
purse into his hands, she told him in a whisper of Arthur's wish,
and directed him to purchase the coveted toy, and bring it to her,
if possible, without letting any one else know anything about it.
"And keep half a dollar for yourself, Pompey, to pay you for your
trouble," she added in conclusion.

"Tank you, little missy," he replied, with a broad grin of
satisfaction; "dat be berry good pay, and Pomp am de man to do dis
business up for you 'bout right."

The tea-bell rang, and Elsie hastened away to answer the summons.
She looked across the table at Arthur with a pleasant smile on her
countenance, but he averted his eyes with an angry scowl; and with
a slight sigh she turned away her head, and did not look at him
again during the meal.

Pompey executed his commission faithfully; and when Elsie returned
to her own room after her evening hour with Miss Rose, Chloe
pointed out the little ship standing on the mantel.

"Oh! it's a little beauty," cried Elsie, clapping her hands and
dancing up and down with delight; "how Arthur will be pleased!
Now, mammy, can you take it to the school-room, and put it on
Master Arthur's desk, without anybody seeing you?"

"Ole Chloe'll try, darlin," she said, taking it in her hands.

"Oh! wait one moment," exclaimed Elsie, and taking a card, she
wrote on it, "A present to Arthur, from his niece Elsie." Then
laying it on the deck of the little vessel. "There, mammy," she
said, "I think that will do; but please look out first to see
whether any one is in the hall."

"Coast all clear, darlin'," replied Chloe, after a careful survey;
"all de chillens am in bed before dis time, I spec." And taking a
candle in one hand and the little ship in the other, she started
for the school-room. She soon returned with a broad grin of
satisfaction on her black face, saying, "All right, darlin', I put
him on Massa Arthur's desk, an' nobody de wiser."

So Elsie went to bed very happy in the thought of the pleasure
Arthur would have in receiving her present.

She was hurrying down to the breakfast-room the next morning, a
little in advance of Miss Rose, who had stopped to speak to
Adelaide, when Arthur came running up behind her, having just come
in by a side door from the garden, and seizing her round the
waist, he said, "Thank you, Elsie; you're a real good girl! She
sails beautifully. I've been trying her on the pond. But it
mustn't be a _present;_ you must let me pay you back when I
get my allowance."

"Oh! no, Arthur, that would spoil it all," she answered quickly;
"you are entirely welcome, and you know my allowance is so large
that half the time I have more money than I know how to spend."

"I should like to see the time that would be the case with me,"
said he, laughing. Then in a lower tone, "Elsie, I'm sorry I
teased you so. I'll not do it again soon."

Elsie answered him with a grateful look, as she stepped past him
and quietly took her place at the table.

Arthur kept his word, and for many weeks entirely refrained from
teasing Elsie, and while freed from that annoyance she was always
able to have her tasks thoroughly prepared; and though her
governess was often unreasonable and exacting, and there was
scarcely a day in which she was not called upon to yield her own
wishes or pleasures, or in some way to inconvenience herself to
please Walter or Enna, or occasionally the older members of the
family, yet it was an unusually happy winter to her, for Rose
Allison's love and uniform kindness shed sunshine on her path. She
had learned to yield readily to others, and when fretted or
saddened by unjust or unkind treatment, a few moments alone with
her precious Bible and her loved Saviour made all right again, and
she would come from those sweet communings looking as serenely
happy as if she had never known an annoyance. She was a wonder to
all the family. Her grandfather would sometimes look at her as,
without a frown or a pout, she would give up her own wishes to
Enna, and shaking his head, say, "She's no Dinsmore, or she would
know how to stand up for her own rights better than that. _I_
don't like such tame-spirited people. She's not Horace's child; it
never was an easy matter to impose upon or conquer him. He was a
boy of spirit."

"What a strange child Elsie is?" Adelaide remarked to her friend
one day. "I am often surprised to see how sweetly she gives up to
all of us; really she has a lovely temper. I quite envy her; it
was always hard for me to give up my own way."

"I do not believe it was easy for her at first," said Rose. "I
think her sweet disposition is the fruit of a work of grace in her
heart. It is the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which God
alone can bestow."

"I wish I had it, then," said Adelaide, sighing.

"You have only to go to the right source to obtain it, dear
Adelaide," replied her friend, gently.

"And yet," said Adelaide, "I must say I sometimes think that, as
papa says, there is something mean-spirited and cowardly in always
giving up to other people."

"It would indeed be cowardly and wrong to give up
_principle_," replied Rose, "but surely it is noble and
generous to give up our own wishes to another, where no principle
is involved."

"Certainly, you are right," said Adelaide, musingly. "And now I
recollect that, readily as Elsie gives up her own wishes to others
on ordinary occasions, I have never known her to sacrifice
principle; but, on the contrary, she has several times made mamma
excessively angry by refusing to romp and play with Enna on the
Sabbath, or to deceive papa when questioned with regard to some of
Arthur's misdeeds; yet she has often borne the blame of his
faults, when she might have escaped by telling of him. Elsie is
certainly very different from any of the rest of us, and if it is
piety that makes her what she is, I think piety is a very lovely
thing."

Elsie's mornings were spent in the school-room; in the afternoon
she walked, or rode out, sometimes in company with her young
uncles and aunts, and sometimes alone, a negro boy following at a
respectful distance, as a protector. In the evening there was
almost always company in the parlor, and she found it pleasanter
to sit beside the bright wood-fire in her own room, with her fond
old nurse for a companion, than to stay there, or with the younger
ones in the sitting-room or nursery. If she had no lesson to
learn, she usually read aloud to Chloe, as she sat knitting by the
fire, and the Bible was the book generally preferred by both; and
then when she grew weary of reading, she would often take a stool,
and sitting down close to Chloe, put her head in her lap, saying,
"Now, mammy, tell me about mamma."

And then for the hundredth time or more the old woman would go
over the story of the life and death of her "dear young missus,"
as she always called her; telling of her beauty, her goodness, and
of her sorrows and sufferings during the last year of her short
life.

It was a story which never lost its charm for Elsie; a story which
the one never wearied of telling, nor the other of hearing. Elsie
would sit listening, with her mother's miniature in her hand,
gazing at it with tearful eyes, then press it to her lips,
murmuring, "My own mamma; poor, dear mamma." And when Chloe had
finished that story she would usually say, "Now, mammy, tell me
all about papa."

But upon this subject Chloe had very little information to give.
She knew him only as a gay, handsome young stranger, whom she had
seen occasionally during a few months, and who had stolen all the
sunshine from her beloved young mistress' life, and left her to
die alone; yet she did not blame him when speaking to his child,
for the young wife had told her that he had not forsaken her of
his own free choice; and though she could not quite banish from
her own mind the idea that he had not been altogether innocent in
the matter, she breathed no hint of it to Elsie; for Chloe was a
sensible woman, and knew that to lead the little one to think ill
of her only remaining parent would but tend to make her unhappy.

Sometimes Elsie would ask very earnestly, "Do you thing papa loves
Jesus, mammy?" And Chloe would reply with a doubtful shake of the
head, "Dunno, darlin'; but ole Chloe prays for him ebery day."

"And so do I," Elsie would answer; "dear, dear papa, how I wish he
would come home!"

And so the winter glided away, and spring came, and Miss Allison
must soon return home. It was now the last day of March, and her
departure had been fixed for the second of April. For a number of
weeks Elsie had been engaged, during all her spare moments, in
knitting a purse for Rose, wishing to give her something which was
the work of her own hands, knowing that as such it would be more
prized by her friend than a costlier gift. She had just returned
from her afternoon ride, and taking out her work she sat down to
finish it. She was in her own room, with no companion but Chloe,
who sat beside her knitting as usual.

Elsie worked on silently for some time, then suddenly holding up
her purse, she exclaimed, "See, mammy, it is all done but putting
on the tassel! Isn't it pretty? and won't dear Miss Allison be
pleased with it?"

It really was very pretty indeed, of crimson and gold, and
beautifully knit, and Chloe, looking at it with admiring eyes,
said, "I spec she will, darlin'. I tink it's berry handsome."

At this moment Enna opened the door and came in.

Elsie hastily attempted to conceal the purse by thrusting it into
her pocket, but it was too late, for Enna had seen it, and running
toward her, cried out, "Now, Elsie, just give that to me!"

"No, Enna," replied Elsie, mildly, "I cannot let you have it,
because it is for Miss Rose."

"I will have it," exclaimed the child, resolutely, "and if you
don't give it to me at once I shall just go and tell mamma."

"I will let you take it in your hand a few moments to look at it,
if you will be careful not to soil it, Enna," said Elsie, in the
same gentle tone; "and if you wish, I will get some more silk and
beads, and make you one just like it; but I cannot give you this,
because I would not have time to make another for Miss Rose."

"No, I shall just have that one; and I shall have it to keep,"
said Enna, attempting to snatch it out of Elsie's hand.

But Elsie held it up out of her reach, and after trying several
times in vain to get it, Enna left the room, crying and screaming
with passion.

Chloe locked the door, saying, "Great pity, darlin', we forgot to
do dat 'fore Miss Enna came. I'se 'fraid she gwine bring missus
for make you gib um up."

Elsie sat down to her work again, but she was very pale, and her
little hands trembled with agitation, and her soft eyes were full
of tears.

Chloe's fears were but too well founded; for the next moment hasty
steps were heard in the passage, and the handle of the door was
laid hold of with no very gentle grasp; and then, as it refused to
yield to her touch, Mrs. Dinsmore's voice was heard in an angry
tone giving the command, "Open this door instantly."

Chloe looked at her young mistress.

"You will have to," said Elsie, tearfully, slipping her work into
her pocket again, and lifting up her heart in prayer for patience
and meekness, for she well knew she would have need of both.

Mrs. Dinsmore entered, leading the sobbing Enna by the hand; her
face was flushed with passion, and addressing Elsie in tones of
violent anger, she asked, "What is the meaning of all this, you
good-for-nothing hussy? Why are you always tormenting this poor
child? Where is that paltry trifle that all this fuss is about?
let me see it this instant."

Elsie drew the purse from her pocket, saying in tearful, trembling
tones, "It is a purse I was making for Miss Rose, ma'am; and I
offered to make another just like it for Enna; but I cannot give
her this one, because there would not be time to make another
before Miss Rose goes away."

"You _can_ not give it to her, indeed! You _will_ not,
you mean; but I say you _shall;_ and I'll see if I'm not
mistress in my own house. Give it to the child this instant; I'll
not have her crying her eyes out that you may be humored in all
your whims. There are plenty of handsomer ones to be had in the
city, and if you are too mean to make her a present of it, I'll
buy you another to-morrow."

"But that would not be my work, and this is," replied Elsie, still
retaining the purse, loath to let it go.

"Nonsense! what difference will that make to Miss Rose?" said Mrs.
Dinsmore; and snatching it out of her hand, she gave it to Enna,
saying, "There, my pet, you shall have it. Elsie is a naughty,
mean, stingy girl, but she shan't plague you while your mamma's
about."

Enna cast a look of triumph at Elsie, and ran off with her prize,
followed by her mother, while poor Elsie hid her face in Chloe's
lap and cried bitterly.

It required all Chloe's religion to keep down her anger and
indignation at this unjust and cruel treatment of her darling, and
for a few moments she allowed her to sob and cry without a word,
only soothing her with mute caresses, not daring to trust her
voice, lest her anger should find vent in words. But at length,
when her feelings had grown somewhat calmer, she said soothingly,
"Nebber mind it, my poor darlin' chile. Just go to de city and buy
de prettiest purse you can find, for Miss Rose."

But Elsie shook her head sadly. "I wanted it to be my own work,"
she sobbed, "and now there is no time."

"Oh! I'll tell you what, my pet," exclaimed Chloe suddenly,
"dere's de purse you was aknittin' for your papa, an' dey wouldn't
send it for you; you can get dat done for de lady, and knit
another for your papa, 'fore he comes home."

Elsie raised her head with a look of relief, but her face clouded
again, as she replied, "But it is not quite done, and I haven't
the beads to finish it with, and Miss Rose goes day after to-
morrow."

"Nebber mind dat, darlin'," said Chloe, jumping up; "Pomp he been
gwine to de city dis berry afternoon, an' we'll tell him to buy de
beads, an' den you can get de purse finished 'fore to-morrow
night, an' de lady don't go till de next day, an' so it gwine all
come right yet."

"Oh! yes, that will do; dear old mammy, I'm so glad you thought of
it," said Elsie, joyfully. And rising, she went to her bureau, and
unlocking a drawer, took from it a bead purse of blue and gold,
quite as handsome as the one of which she had been so ruthlessly
despoiled, and rolling it up in a piece of paper, she handed it to
Chloe, saying: "There, mammy, please give it to Pomp, and tell him
to match the beads and the silk exactly."

Chloe hastened in search of Pomp, but when she found him, he
insisted that he should not have time to attend to Miss Elsie's
commission and do his other errands; and Chloe, knowing that he,
in common with all the other servants, was very fond of the little
girl, felt satisfied that it was not merely an excuse, therefore
did not urge her request. She stood a moment in great perplexity,
then suddenly exclaimed, "I'll go myself. Miss Elsie will spare
me, an' I'll go right long wid you, Pomp."

Chloe was entirely Elsie's servant, having no other business than
to wait upon her and take care of her clothing and her room; and
the little girl, of course, readily gave her permission to
accompany Pomp and do the errand.

But it was quite late ere Chloe returned, and the little girl spent the
evening alone in her own room. She was sadly disappointed that she
could not even have her hour with Miss Rose, who was detained in
the parlor with company whom she could not leave, and so the evening
seemed very long and wore away very slowly.

But at last Chloe came, and in answer to her eager inquiries
displayed her purchases with great satisfaction, saying, "Yes,
darlin', I'se got de berry t'ings you wanted."

"Oh! yes," said Elsie, examining them with delight; "they are just
right; and now I can finish it in a couple of hours."

"Time to get ready for bed now, ain't it, pet?" asked Chloe; but
before the little girl had time to answer, a servant knocked at
the door, and handed in a note for her. It was from Miss Allison,
and, hastily tearing it open, she read:

"DEAR ELSIE--I am very sorry that we cannot have our reading
together this evening; but be sure, darling, to come to me early
in the morning; it will be our last opportunity, for, dear child,
I have another disappointment for you. I had not expected to leave
before day after to-morrow, but I have learned this evening that
the vessel sails a day sooner than I had supposed, and therefore I
shall be obliged to start on my journey to-morrow.

"Your friend,                                              ROSE."

Elsie dropped the note on the floor and burst into tears.

"What de matter, darlin'?" asked Chloe, anxiously.

"Oh! Miss Rose, dear, _dear_ Miss Rose is going tomorrow,"
she sobbed. Then hastily drying her eyes, she said: "But I have no
time for crying. I must sit up and finish the purse to-night,
because there will not be time to-morrow."

It was long past her usual hour for retiring when at last her
task, or rather her labor of love, was completed. Yet she was up
betimes, and at the usual hour her gentle rap was heard at Miss
Allison's door.

Rose clasped her in her arms and kissed her tenderly.

"O Miss Rose! _dear, dear_ Miss Rose, what shall I do without
you?" sobbed the little girl. "I shall have nobody to love me now
but mammy."

"You have another and a better friend, dear Elsie, who has said,
'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,'" whispered Rose, with
another tender caress.

"Yes," said Elsie, wiping away her tears; "and He is your Friend,
too; and don't you think, Miss Rose, He will bring us together
again some day?"

"I hope so indeed, darling. We must keep very close to Him, dear
Elsie; we must often commune with Him in secret; often study His
word, and try always to do His will. Ah! dear child, if we can
only have the assurance that that dear Friend is with us--that we
have His presence and His love, we shall be supremely happy,
though separated from all earthly friends. I know, dear little
one, that you have peculiar trials, and that you often feel the
want of sympathy and love; but you may always find them in Jesus.
And now we will have our reading and prayer as usual."

She took the little girl in her lap, and opening the Bible, read
aloud the fourteenth chapter of John, a part of that touching
farewell of our Saviour to His sorrowing disciples; and then they
knelt to pray. Elsie was only a listener, for her little heart was
too full to allow her to be anything more.

"My poor darling!" Rose said, again taking her in her arms, "we
will hope to meet again before very long. Who knows but your papa
may come home, and some day bring you to see me. It seems not
unlikely, as he is so fond of traveling."

Elsie looked up, smiling through her tears, "Oh! how delightful
that would be," she said. "But it seems as though my papa would
never come," she added, with a deep-drawn sigh.

"Well, darling, we can hope," Rose answered cheerfully. "And, dear
child, though we must be separated in body for a time, we can
still meet in spirit at the mercy-seat. Shall we not do so at this
hour every morning?"

Elsie gave a joyful assent.

"And I shall write to you, darling," Rose said; "I will write on
my journey, if I can, so that you will get the letter in a week
from the time I leave; and then you must write to me; will you?"

"If you won't care for the mistakes, Miss Rose. But you know I am
a very little girl, and I wouldn't like to let Miss Day read my
letter to you, to correct it. But I shall be so very glad to get
yours. I never had a letter in my life."

"I sha'n't care for mistakes at all, dear, and no one shall see
your letters but myself," said Rose, kissing her. "I should be as
sorry as you to have Miss Day look at them."

Elsie drew out the purse and put it in her friend's hand, saying:
"It is all my own work, dear Miss Rose; I thought you would value
it more for that."

"And indeed I shall, darling," replied Rose, with tears of
pleasure in her eyes. "It is beautiful in itself, but I shall
value it ten times more because it is your gift, and the work of
your own dear little hands."

But the breakfast-bell now summoned them to join the rest of the
family, and, in a few moments after they left the table, the
carriage which was to take Rose to the city was at the door. Rose
had endeared herself to all, old and young, and they were loath to
part with her. One after another bade her an affectionate
farewell. Elsie was the last. Rose pressed her tenderly to her
bosom, and kissed her again and again, saying, in a voice half
choked with grief, "God bless and keep you, my poor little
darling; my dear, dear little Elsie!"

Elsie could not speak; and the moment the carriage had rolled away
with her friend, she went to her own room, and locking herself in,
cried long and bitterly. She had learned to love Rose very dearly,
and to lean upon her very much; and now the parting from her, with
no certainty of ever meeting her again in this world, was the
severest trial the poor child had ever known.




CHAPTER THIRD


   "The morning blush was lighted up by hope--
    The hope of meeting him."
                                 --Miss LANDON.

   "Unkindness, do thy office; poor heart, break."


A week had now passed away since Miss Allison's departure, and
Elsie, to whom it had been a sad and lonely one, was beginning to
look eagerly for her first letter.

"It is just a week to-day since Rose left," remarked Adelaide at
the breakfast table, "and I think we ought to hear from her soon.
She promised to write on her journey. Ah! here comes Pomp with the
letters now," she added, as the servant man entered the room
bearing in his hand the bag in which he always brought the letters
of the family from the office in the neighboring city, whither he
was sent every morning.

"Pomp, you are late this morning," said Mrs. Dinsmore.

"Yes, missus," replied the negro, scratching his head, "de horses
am berry lazy; spec dey's got de spring fever."

"Do make haste, papa, and see if there is not one from Rose," said
Adelaide coaxingly, as her father took the bag, and very
deliberately adjusted his spectacles before opening it.

"Have patience, young lady," said he. "Yes, here is a letter for
you, and one for Elsie," tossing them across the table as he
spoke.

Elsie eagerly seized hers and ran away to her own room to read it.
It was a feast to her, this first letter, and from such a dear
friend, too. It gave her almost as much pleasure for the moment as
Miss Rose's presence could have afforded.

She had just finished its perusal and was beginning it again, when
she heard Adelaide's voice calling her by name, and the next
moment she entered the room, saying: "Well, Elsie, I suppose you
have read your letter; and now I have another piece of news for
you. Can you guess what it is?" she asked, looking at her with a
strange smile.

"Oh! no, Aunt Adelaide; please tell me. Is dear Miss Rose coming
back?"

"O! nonsense; what a guess!" said Adelaide. "No, stranger than
that. My brother Horace--your papa--has actually sailed for
America, and is coming directly home."

Elsie sprang up, her cheeks flushed, and her little heart beating
wildly.

"O Aunt Adelaide!" she cried, "is it really true? is he coming?
and will he be here soon?"

"He has really started at last; but how soon he will be here I
don't know," replied her aunt, turning to leave the room. "I have
told you all I know about it."

Elsie clasped her hands together, and sank down upon a sofa, Miss
Rose's letter, prized so highly a moment before, lying unheeded at
her feet; for her thoughts were far away, following that unknown
parent as he crossed the ocean; trying to imagine how he would
look, how he would speak, what would be his feelings toward her.

"Oh!" she asked, with a beating heart, "_will_ he _love_
me? My own papa! will he let me love him? will he take me in his
arms and call me his own darling child?"

But who could answer the anxious inquiry? She must just wait until
the slow wheels of time should bring the much longed-for, yet
sometimes half-dreaded arrival.

Elsie's lessons were but indifferently recited that morning, and
Miss Day frowned, and said in a tone of severity that it did not
agree with her to receive letters; and that, unless she wished her
papa to be much displeased with her on his expected arrival, she
must do a great deal better than that.

She had touched the right chord then; for Elsie, intensely anxious
to please that unknown father, and, if possible, gain his
approbation and affection, gave her whole mind to her studies with
such a determined purpose that the governess could find no more
cause for complaint.

But while the child is looking forward to the expected meeting
with such longing affection for him, how is it with the father?

Horace Dinsmore was, like his father, an upright, moral man, who
paid an outward respect to the forms of religion, but cared
nothing for the vital power of godliness; trusted entirely to his
morality, and looked upon Christians as hypocrites and deceivers.
He had been told that his little Elsie was one of these, and,
though he would not have acknowledged it even to himself, it had
prejudiced him against her. Then, too, in common with all the
Dinsmores, he had a great deal of family pride; and, though old
Mr. Grayson had been a man of sterling worth, intelligent, honest,
and pious, and had died very wealthy, yet because he was known to
have begun life as a poor boy, the whole family were accustomed to
speak as though Horace had stooped very much in marrying his
heiress.

And Horace himself had come to look upon his early marriage as a
piece of boyish folly, of which he was rather ashamed; and so
constantly had Mr. Dinsmore spoken in his letters of Elsie as "old
Grayson's grandchild," that he had got into the habit of looking
upon her as a kind of disgrace to him; especially as she had
always been described to him as a disagreeable, troublesome child.

He had loved his wife with all the warmth of his passionate
nature, and had mourned bitterly over her untimely death; but
years of study, travel and worldly pleasures had almost banished
her image from his mind, and he seldom thought of her except in
connection with the child for whom he felt a secret dislike.

Scarcely anything but the expected arrival was now spoken or
thought of at Roselands, and Elsie was not the only one to whom
old Time seemed to move with an unusually laggard pace.

But at length a letter came telling them that they might look upon
it as being but one day in advance of its writer; and now all was
bustle and preparation.

"O mammy, mammy!" exclaimed Elsie, jumping up and down, and
clapping her hands for joy, as she came in from her afternoon
ride, "just think! papa, dear papa, will be here to-morrow
morning."

She seemed wild with delight; but suddenly sobered down, and a
look of care stole over the little face, as the torturing question
recurred to her mind, "_Will he love me?_"

She stood quite still, with her eyes fixed thoughtfully, and
almost sadly, upon the floor, while Chloe took off her riding
dress and cap and smoothed her hair. As she finished arranging her
dress she clasped the little form in her arms, and pressed a fond
kiss on the fair brow, thinking to herself that was the sweetest
and loveliest little face she had ever looked upon.

Just at that moment an unusual bustle was heard in the house.

Elsie started, changed color, and stood listening with a throbbing
heart.

Presently little feet were heard running rapidly down the hall,
and Walter, throwing open the door, called out, "Elsie, he's
come!" and catching her hand, hurried her along to the parlor
door.

"Stop, stop, Walter," she gasped as they reached it; and she
leaned against the wall, her heart throbbing so wildly she could
scarcely breathe.

"What is the matter?" said he, "are you ill? come along;" and
pushing the door open, he rushed in, dragging her after him.

So over-wrought were the child's feelings that she nearly fainted;
everything in the room seemed to be turning round, and for an
instant she scarcely knew where she was.

But a strange voice asked, "And who is this?" and looking up as
her grandfather pronounced her name, she saw a stranger standing
before her--very handsome, and very youthful-looking, in spite of
a heavy dark beard and mustache--who exclaimed hastily, "What!
this great girl _my_ child? really it is enough to make a man
feel old."

Then, taking her hand, he stooped and coldly kissed her lips.

She was trembling violently, and the very depth of her feelings
kept her silent and still; her hand lay still in his, cold and
clammy.

He held it an instant, at the same time gazing searchingly into
her face; then dropped it, saying in a tone of displeasure, "I am
not an ogre, that you need be so afraid of me; but there, you may
go; I will not keep you in terror any longer."

She rushed away to her own room, and there, throwing herself upon
the bed, wept long and wildly. It was the disappointment of a
lifelong hope. Since her earliest recollection she had looked and
longed for this hour; and it seemed as though the little heart
would break with its weight of bitter anguish.

She was all alone, for Chloe had gone down to the kitchen to talk
over the arrival, not doubting that her darling was supremely
happy in the possession of her long looked-for parent.

And so the little girl lay there with her crushed and bleeding
heart, sobbing, mourning, weeping as though she would weep her
very life away, without an earthly friend to speak one word of
comfort.

"O papa, papa!" she sobbed, "my own papa, you do not love me; me,
your own little girl. Oh! my heart will break. O mamma, mamma! if
I could only go to you; for there is no one here to love me, and I
am so lonely, oh! _so_ lonely and desolate."

And thus Chloe found her, when she came in an hour later, weeping
and sobbing out such broken exclamations of grief and anguish.

She was much surprised, but comprehending at once how her child
was suffering, she raised her up in her strong arms, and laying
the little head lovingly against her bosom, she smoothed the
tangled hair, kissed the tear-swollen eyes, and bathed the
throbbing temples, saying, "My precious pet, my darlin' chile,
your ole mammy loves you better dan life; an' did my darlin'
forget de almighty Friend dat says, _I_ have loved thee with
an everlasting love,' an' 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee'? He sticks closer dan a brudder, precious chile, and
says,'though a woman forget her sucking child, He will not forget
_His_ chillen.' Mothers love dere chillens better dan fathers,
darlin', and so you see Jesus' love is better dan all other love; and I
_knows_ you hes got dat."

"O mammy! ask Him to take me to Himself, and to mamma--for oh! I
am very lonely, and I want to die!"

"Hush, hush, darlin'; old Chloe nebber could ask dat; dis ole
heart would break for sure. Yous all de world to your old mammy,
darlin'; and you know we must all wait de Lord's time."

"Then ask Him to help me to be patient," she said, in a weary
tone. "And O mammy!" she added, with a burst of bitter tears, "ask
Him to make my father love me."

"I will, darlin', I will," sobbed Chloe, pressing the little form
closer to her heart; "an' don't you go for to be discouraged right
away; for I'se sure Massa Horace must love you, fore long."

The tea-bell rang, and the family gathered about the table; but
one chair remained unoccupied.

"Where is Miss Elsie?" asked Adelaide of one of the servants.

"Dunno, missus," was the reply.

"Well, then, go and see," said Adelaide; "perhaps she did not hear
the bell."

The servant returned in a moment, saying that Miss Elsie had a bad
headache and did not want any supper. Mr. Horace Dinsmore paused
in the conversation he was carrying on with his father, to listen
to the servant's announcement. "I hope she is not a sickly child,"
said he, addressing Adelaide; "is she subject to such attacks?"

"Not very," replied his sister dryly, for she had seen the
meeting, and felt really sorry for Elsie's evident disappointment;
"I imagine crying has brought this on."

He colored violently, and said in a tone of great displeasure,
"Truly, the return of a parent _is_ a cause for grief; yet I
hardly expected my presence to be quite so distressing to my only
child. I had no idea that she had already learned to dislike me so
thoroughly."

"She doesn't," said Adelaide, "she has been looking and longing
for your return ever since I have known her."

"Then she has certainly been disappointed in me; her grief is not
at all complimentary, explain it as you will."

Adelaide made no reply, for she saw that he was determined to put
an unfavorable construction upon Elsie's conduct, and feared that
any defence she could offer would only increase his displeasure.

It was a weary, aching head the little girl laid upon her pillow
that night, and the little heart was sad and sore; yet she was not
altogether comfortless, for she had turned in her sorrow to Him
who has said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and
forbid them not," and she had the sweet assurance of _His_
love and favor.

It was with a trembling heart, hoping yet fearing, longing and yet
dreading to see her father, that Elsie descended to the breakfast-
room the next morning. She glanced timidly around, but he was not
there.

"Where is papa, Aunt Adelaide?" she asked.

"He is not coming down to breakfast, as he feels quite fatigued
with his journey," replied her aunt; "so you will not see him this
morning, and perhaps not at all to-day, for there will be a good
deal of company here this afternoon and evening."

Elsie sighed, and looked sadly disapponted. She found it very
difficult to attend to her lessons that morning, and every time
the door opened she started and looked up, half hoping it might be
her papa.

But he did not come; and when the dinner hour arrived, the
children were told that they were to dine in the nursery, on
account of the large number of guests to be entertained in the
dining-room. The company remained until bedtime; she was not
called down to the parlor; and so saw nothing of her father that
day.

But the next morning Chloe told her the children were to breakfast
with the family, as all the visitors had left excepting one or two
gentlemen. So Elsie went down to the breakfast-room, where, to her
surprise, she found her papa sitting alone, reading the morning
paper.

He looked up as she entered.

"Good-morning, papa," she said, in half-trembling tones.

He started a little--for it was the first time he had ever been
addressed by that title, and it sounded strange to his ears--gave
her a glance of mingled curiosity and interest, half held out his
hand, but drawing it back again, simply said, "Good-morning,
Elsie," and returned to his paper.

Elsie stood irresolutely in the middle of the floor, wanting, yet
not daring to go to him.

But just at that instant the door opened, and Enna, looking rosy
and happy, came running in, and rushing up to her brother, climbed
upon his knee, and put her arms around his neck, saying, "Good-
morning, brother Horace. I want a kiss."

"You shall have it, little pet," said he, throwing down his paper.

Then, kissing her several times and hugging her in his arms, he
said, "_You_ are not afraid of me, are you? nor sorry that I
have come home?"

"No, indeed," said Enna.

He glanced at Elsie as she stood looking at them, her large soft
eyes full of tears. She could not help feeling that Enna had her
place, and was receiving the caresses that should have been
lavished upon herself.

"Jealous," thought her father; "I cannot bear jealous people;" and
he gave her a look of displeasure that cut her to the heart, and
she turned quickly away and left the room to hide the tears she
could no longer keep back.

"I am envious," she thought, "jealous of Enna. Oh! how wicked!"
And she prayed silently, "Dear Saviour, help me! take away these
sinful feelings."

Young as she was, she was learning to have some control over her
feelings, and in a few moments she had so far recovered her
composure as to be able to return to the breakfast-room and take
her place at the table, where the rest were already seated, her
sweet little face sad indeed and bearing the traces of tears, but
quite calm and peaceful.

Her father took no further notice of her, and she did not dare
trust herself to look at him. The servants filled her plate, and
she ate in silence, feeling it a great relief that all were too
busily engaged in talking and eating to pay any attention to her.
She scarcely raised her eyes from her plate, and did not know how
often a strange gentleman, who sat nearly opposite, fixed his upon
her.

As she left the room at the conclusion of the meal, he asked,
while following her with his eyes, "Is that one of your sisters,
Dinsmore?"

"No," said he, coloring slightly; "she is my daughter."

"Ah, indeed!" said his friend. "I remember to have heard that you
had a child, but had forgotten it. Well, you have no reason to be
ashamed of her; she is lovely, perfectly lovely! has the sweetest
little face I ever saw."

"Will you ride, Travilla?" asked Mr. Dinsmore hastily, as though
anxious to change the subject.

"I don't care if I do," was the reply, and they went out together.

Some hours later in the day Elsie was at the piano in the music-
room practising, when a sudden feeling that some one was in the
room caused her to turn and look behind her.

Mr. Travilla was standing there.

"Excuse me," said he, bowing politely, "but I heard the sound of
the instrument, and, being very fond of music, I ventured to walk
in."

Elsie was very modest, and rather timid, too, but also very
polite; so she said, "No excuse is necessary; but will you not
take a seat, sir? though I fear my music will not afford you any
pleasure, for you know I am only a little girl, and cannot play
very well yet."

"Thank you," said he, taking a seat by her side. "And now will you
do me the favor to repeat the song I heard you singing a few
moments since?"

Elsie immediately complied, though her cheeks burned, and her
voice trembled at first from embarrassment; but it grew stronger
as she proceeded and in the last verse was quite steady and full.
She had a very fine voice for a child of her age; its sweetness
was remarkable both in singing and speaking; and she had also a
good deal of musical talent, which had been well cultivated, for
she had had good teachers, and had practised with great patience
and perseverance. Her music was simple, as suited her years, but
her performance of it was very good indeed.

Mr. Travilla thanked her very heartily, and complimented her
singing; then asked for another and another song, another and
another piece, chatting with her about each, until they grew quite
familiar, and Elsie lost all feeling of embarrassment.

"Elsie, I think, is your name, is it not?" he asked after a
little.

"Yes, sir," said she, "Elsie Dinsmore."

"And you are the daughter of my friend, Mr. Horace Dinsmore?"

"Yes, sir."

"Your papa has been absent a long time, and I suppose you must
have quite forgotten him."

"No, sir, not _forgotten_, for I never had seen him."

"Indeed!" said he, in a tone of surprise; "then, since he is an
entire stranger to you, I suppose you cannot have much affection
for him?"

Elsie raised her large, dark eyes to his face, with an expression
of astonishment. "Not love papa, my own dear papa, who has no
child but me? Oh! sir, how could you think that?"

"Ah! I see I was mistaken," said he, smiling; "I thought you could
hardly care for him at all; but do you think that he loves you?"

Elsie dropped her face into her hands, and burst into an agony of
tears.

The young gentleman looked extremely vexed with himself.

"My poor little girl, my poor, dear little girl," he said,
stroking her hair, "forgive me. I am very, _very_ sorry for
my thoughtless question. Do be comforted, my poor child, for
whether your papa loves you now or not, I am quite sure he soon
will."

Elsie now dried her tears, rose and closed the instrument. He
assisted her, and then asked if she would not take a little walk
with him in the garden. She complied, and, feeling really very
sorry for the wound he had so thoughtlessly inflicted, as well as
interested in his little companion, he exerted all his powers to
entertain her--talked with her about the plants and flowers,
described those he had seen in foreign lands, and related
incidents of travel, usually choosing those in which her father
had borne a part, because he perceived that they were doubly
interesting to her.

Elsie, having been thrown very much upon her own resources for
amusement, and having a natural love for books, and constant
access to her grandfather's well-stocked library, had read many
more, and with much more thought, than most children of her age,
so that Mr. Travilla found her a not uninteresting companion, and
was often surprised at the intelligence shown by her questions and
replies.

When the dinner-bell rang he led her in, and seated her by
himself, and never was any lady more carefully waited upon than
little Elsie at this meal. Two or three other gentlemen guests
were present, giving their attention to the older ladies of the
company, and thus Mr. Travilla seemed to feel quite at liberty to
devote himself entirely to her, attending to all her wants,
talking with her, and making her talk.

Elsie now and then stole a glance at Mrs. Dinsmore, fearing her
displeasure; but to her great relief, the lady seemed too much
occupied to notice her. Once she looked timidly at her father, and
her eyes met his. He was looking at her with an expression half
curious, half amused. She was at a loss to understand the look,
but, satisfied that there was no displeasure in it, her heart grew
light, and her cheeks flushed with happiness.

"Really, Dinsmore," said Mr. Travilla, as they stood together near
one of the windows of the drawing-room soon after dinner, "your
little girl is remarkably intelligent, as well as remarkably
pretty; and I have discovered that she has quite a good deal of
musical talent."

"Indeed! I think it is quite a pity that she does not belong to
you, Travilla, instead of me, since you seem to appreciate her so
much more highly," replied the father, laughing.

"I wish she did," said his friend. "But, seriously, Dinsmore, you
ought to love that child, for she certainly loves you devotedly."

He looked surprised. "How do you know?" he asked.

"It was evident enough from what I saw and heard this morning.
Dinsmore, she would value a caress from you more than the richest
jewel."

"Doubtful," replied Horace, hastily quitting the room, for Elsie
had come out on to the portico in her riding suit, and Jim, her
usual attendant, was bringing up her horse.

"Are you going to ride, Elsie?" asked her father, coming up to
her.

"Yes, papa," she said, raising her eyes to his face.

He lifted her in his arms and placed her on the horse, saying to
the servant as he did so, "Now, Jim, you must take good care of my
little girl."

Tears of happiness rose in Elsie's eyes as she turned her horse's
head and rode down the avenue. "He called me _his_ little
girl," she murmured to herself, "and bade Jim take good care of
me. Oh! he _will_ love me soon, as good, kind Mr. Travilla
said he would."

Her father was still standing on the portico, looking after her.

"How well she sits her horse!" remarked Travilla, who had stepped
out and stood close by his side.

"Yes, I think she does," was the reply, in an absent tone. He was
thinking of a time, some eight or nine years before, when he had
assisted another Elsie to mount her horse, and had ridden for
hours at her side.

All the afternoon memories of the past came crowding thickly on
his mind, and an emotion of tenderness began to spring up in his
heart toward the child of her who had once been so dear to him;
and as he saw the little girl ride up to the house on her return,
he again went out, and lifting her from her horse, asked kindly,
"Had you a pleasant ride, my dear?"

"Oh! yes, papa, very pleasant," she said, looking up at him with a
face beaming with delight. He stooped and kissed her, saying, "I
think I shall ride with you one of these days; should you like
it?"

"Oh! so very, _very_ much, papa," she answered, eagerly.

He smiled at her earnestness, and she hastened away to her room to
change her dress and tell Chloe of her happiness.

Alas! it was but a transient gleam of sunshine that darted across
her path, to be lost again almost instantly behind the gathering
clouds.

More company came, so that the drawing-room was quite full in the
evening; and, though Elsie was there, her father seemed too much
occupied with the guests to give her even a glance. She sat alone
and unnoticed in a corner, her eyes following him wherever he
moved, and her ear strained to catch every tone of his voice;
until Mr. Travilla, disengaging himself from a group of ladies and
gentlemen on the opposite side of the room, came up to her, and
taking her by the hand, led her to a pleasant-looking elderly
lady, who sat at a centre-table examining some choice engravings
which Mr. Dinsmore had brought with him from Europe.

"Mother," said Mr. Travilla, "This is my little friend Elsie."

"Ah!" said she, giving the little girl a kiss, "I am glad to see
you, my dear."

Mr. Travilla set a chair for her close to his mother and then sat
down on her other side, and taking up the engravings one after
another, he explained them to her in a most entertaining manner,
generally having some anecdote to tell in connection with each.

Elsie was so much amused and delighted with what he was saying
that she at last quite forgot her father, and did not notice where
he was.

Suddenly Mr. Travilla laid down the engraving he had in his hand,
saying: "Come, Miss Elsie, I want my mother to hear you play and
sing; will you not do me the favor to repeat that song I admired
so much this morning?"

"Oh! Mr. Travilla!" exclaimed the little girl, blushing and
trembling, "I could not play or sing before so many people. Please
excuse me."

"Elsie," said her father's voice just at her side, "go
_immediately,_ and do as the gentleman requests."

His tone was very stern, and as she lifted her eyes to his face,
she saw that his look was still more so; and tremblingly and
tearfully she rose to obey.

"Stay," said Mr. Travilla kindly, pitying her distress, "I
withdraw my request."

"But I do _not_ withdraw my command," said her father in the
same stern tone; "go at once, Elsie, and do as I bid you."

She obeyed instantly, struggling hard to overcome her emotion.

Mr. Travilla, scolding himself inwardly all the time for having
brought her into such trouble, selected her music, and placing it
before her as she took her seat at the instrument, whispered
encouragingly, "Now, Miss Elsie, only have confidence in yourself;
that is all that is necessary to your success."

But Elsie was not only embarrassed, but her heart was well-nigh
broken by her father's sternness, and the tears _would_ fill
her eyes so that she could see neither notes nor words. She
attempted to play the prelude, but blundered sadly, her
embarrassment increasing every moment.

"Never mind," said Mr. Travilla, "never mind the prelude, but just
begin the song."

She made the attempt, but fairly broke down, and burst into tears
before she had got through the first verse. Her father had come up
behind her, and was standing there, looking much mortified.

"Elsie," he said, leaning down and speaking in a low, stern tone,
close to her ear, "I am ashamed of you; go to your room and to
your bed immediately."

With a heart almost bursting with grief and mortification she
obeyed him, and her pillow was wet with many bitter tears ere the
weary eyes closed in slumber.

When she came down the next morning she learned to her great grief
that Mr. Travilla and his mother had returned to their own home;
she was very sorry she had not been permitted to say good-bye to
her friend, and for several days she felt very sad and lonely, for
all her father's coldness of manner had returned, and he scarcely
ever spoke to her; while the younger members of the family
ridiculed her for her failure in attempting to play for company;
and Miss Day, who seemed unusually cross and exacting, often
taunted her with it also.

These were sad, dark days for the little girl; she tried most
earnestly to attend to all her duties, but so depressed were her
spirits, so troubled was her mind, that she failed repeatedly in
her lessons, and so was in continual disgrace with Miss Day, who
threatened more than once to tell her papa.

It was a threat which Elsie dreaded extremely to have put in
execution, and Miss Day, seeing that it distressed her, used it
the more frequently, and thus kept the poor child in constant
terror.

How to gain her father's love was the constant subject of her
thoughts, and she tried in many ways to win his affection. She
always yielded a ready and cheerful obedience to his commands, and
strove to anticipate and fulfil all his wishes. But he seldom
noticed her, unless to give a command or administer a rebuke,
while he lavished many a caress upon his little sister, Enna.
Often Elsie would watch him fondling her, until, unable any longer
to control her feelings, she would rush away to her own room to
weep and mourn in secret, and pray that her father might some day
learn to love her. She never complained even to poor old Aunt
Chloe, but the anxious nurse watched all these things with the
jealous eye of affection; she saw that her child--as she delighted
to call her--was very unhappy, and was growing pale and
melancholy; and her heart ached for her, and many were the tears
the shed in secret over the sorrows of her nursling.

"Don't 'pear so sorrowful, darlin'," she sometimes said to her;
"try to be merry, like Miss Enna, and run and jump on Massa
Horace's knee, and den I tink he will like you better."

"O mammy! I _can't_," Elsie would say; "I don't dare to do
it."

And Chloe would sigh and shake her head sorrowfully.




CHAPTER FOURTH


   "With more capacity for love than earth
    Bestows on most of mortal mould and birth."
                                 --BYRON.


                          "What are our hopes?
   Like garlands, on afflictions's forehead worn,
   Kissed in the morning, and at evening torn."
                   --DAVENPORT'S _King John and Matilda._


Such had been the state of affairs for about a week, when one
morning Elsie and her father met at the breakfast-room door.

"Good morning, papa," she said timidly.

"Good morning, Elsie," he replied in an unusually pleasant tone.

Then, taking her by the hand, he led her in and seated her beside
himself at the table.

Elsie's cheek glowed and her eyes sparkled with pleasure.

There were several guests present, and she waited patiently while
they and the older members of the family were being helped. At
length it was her turn.

"Elsie, will you have some meat?" asked her grandfather.

 "No," said her father, answering for her; "once a day is as often
as a child of her age ought to eat meat; she may have it at
dinner, but never for breakfast or tea."

The elder Mr. Dinsmore laughed, saying, "Really, Horace, I had no
idea you were so notionate. I always allowed you to eat whatever
you pleased, and I never saw that it hurt you. But, of course, you
must manage your own child in your own way."

"If you please, papa, I had rather have some of those hot cakes,"
said Elsie, timidly, as her father laid a slice of bread upon her
plate.

"No," said he decidedly; "I don't approve of hot bread for
children; you must eat the cold." Then to a servant who was
setting down a cup of coffee beside the little girl's plate, "Take
that away, Pomp, and bring Miss Elsie a tumbler of milk. Or would
you prefer water, Elsie?"

"Milk, if you please, papa," she replied with a little sigh; for
she was extremely fond of coffee, and it was something of a trial
to give it up.

Her father put a spoonful of stewed fruit upon her plate, and as
Pompey set down a tumbler of rich milk beside it, said, "Now you
have your breakfast before you, Elsie. Children in England are not
allowed to eat butter until they are ten or eleven years of age,
and I think it an excellent plan, to make them grow up rosy and
healthy. I have neglected my little girl too long, but I intend to
begin to take good care of her now," he added, with a smile, and
laying his hand for an instant upon her head.

The slight caress and the few kind words were quite enough to
reconcile Elsie to the rather meagre fare, and she ate it with a
happy heart. But the meagre fare became a constant thing, while
the caresses and kind words were not; and though she submitted
without a murmur, she could not help sometimes looking with
longing eyes at the coffee and hot buttered rolls, of which she
was very fond. But she tried to be contented, saying to herself,
"Papa knows best, and I ought to be satisfied with whatever he
gives me."

"Isn't it delightful to have your papa at home, Elsie?" Mr.
Dinsmore one morning overheard Arthur saying to his little girl in
a mocking tone. "It's very pleasant to live on bread and water,
isn't it, eh?"

"I _don't_ live on bread and water," Elsie replied, a little
indignantly. "Papa always allows me to have as much good, rich
milk, and cream, and fruit as I want, or I can have eggs, or
cheese, or honey, or anything else, except meat and hot cakes, and
butter, and coffee; and who wouldn't rather do without such things
all their lives than not have a papa to love them? And besides,
you know, Arthur, that I can have all the meat I want at dinner."

"Pooh! that's nothing; and _I_wouldn't give much for all the
love _you_ get from him," said Arthur, scornfully.

There was something like a sob from Elsie; and as her father rose
and went to the window, he just caught a glimpse of her white
dress disappearing down the garden walk.

"What do you mean, sir, by teasing Elsie in that manner?" he
exclaimed angrily to Arthur, who still stood where the little girl
had left him, leaning against one of the pillars of the portico.

"I only wanted to have a little fun," returned the boy doggedly.

"Well, sir, I don't approve of such fun, and you will please to
let the child alone in future," replied his brother as he returned
to his newspaper again.

But somehow the paper had lost its interest. He seemed constantly
to hear that little sob, and to see a little face all wet with
tears of wounded feeling.

Just then the school-bell rang, and suddenly throwing down his
paper, he took a card from his pocket, wrote a few words upon it,
and calling a servant, said, "Take this to Miss Day."

Elsie was seated at her desk, beginning her morning's work, when
the servant entered and handed the card to the governess.

Miss Day glanced at it and said:

"Elsie, your father wants you. You may go."

Elsie rose in some trepidation and left the room, wondering what
her papa could want with her.

"Where is papa, Fanny?" she asked of the servant.

"In de drawin'-room, Miss Elsie," was the reply; and she hastened
to seek him there.

He held out his hand as she entered, saying with a smile, "Come
here, daughter."

It was the first time he had called her that, and it sent a thrill
of joy to her heart.

She sprang to his side, and, taking her hand in one of his, and
laying the other gently on her head, and bending it back a little,
he looked keenly into her face. It was bright enough now, yet the
traces of tears were very evident.

"You have been crying," he said, in a slightly reproving tone. "I
am afraid you do a great deal more of that than is good for you.
It is a very babyish habit, and you must try to break yourself of
it."

The little face flushed painfully, and the eyes filled again.

"There," he said, stroking her hair, "don't begin it again. I am
going to drive over to Ion, where your friend Mr. Travilla lives,
to spend the day; would my little daughter like to go with me?"

"Oh! so _very_ much, papa!" she answered eagerly.

"There are no little folks there," he said smiling, "nobody to see
but Mr. Travilla and his mother. But I see you want to go; so run
and ask Aunt Chloe to get you ready. Tell her I want you nicely
dressed, and the carriage will be at the door in half an hour."

Elsie bounded away to do his bidding, her face radiant with
happiness; and at the specified time came down again, looking so
very lovely that her father gazed at her with proud delight, and
could not refrain from giving her a kiss as he lifted her up to
place her in the carriage.

Then, seating himself beside her, he took her hand in his; and,
closing the door with the other, bade the coachman drive on.

"I suppose you have never been to Ion, Elsie?" he said,
inquiringly.

"No, sir; but I have heard Aunt Adelaide say she thought it a very
pretty place," replied the little girl.

"So it is--almost as pretty as Roselands," said her father.
"Travilla and I have known each other from boyhood, and I spent
many a happy day at Ion, and we had many a boyish frolic together,
before I ever thought of you."

He smiled, and patted her cheek as he spoke.

Elsie's eyes sparkled. "O papa!" she said eagerly; "won't you tell
me about those times? It seems so strange that you were ever a
little boy and I was nowhere."

He laughed. Then said, musingly, "It seems but a very little while
to me, Elsie, since I was no older than you are now."

He heaved a sigh, and relapsed into silence.

Elsie wished very much that he would grant her request, but did
not dare to disturb him by speaking a word; and they rode on
quietly for some time, until a squirrel darting up a tree caught
her eye, and she uttered an exclamation. "O papa! did you see that
squirrel? look at him now, perched up on that branch. There, we
have passed the tree, and now he is out of sight."

This reminded Mr. Dinsmore of a day he had spent in those woods
hunting squirrels, when quite a boy, and he gave Elsie an animated
account of it. One of the incidents of the day had been the
accidental discharge of the fowling-piece of one of his young
companions, close at Horace Dinsmore's side, missing him by but a
hair's breadth.

"I felt faint and sick when I knew how near I had been to death,"
he said, as he finished his narrative.

Elsie had been listening with breathless interest.

"Dear papa," she murmured, laying her little cheek against his
hand, "how good God was to spare your life! If you had been killed
I could never have had you for my papa."

"Perhaps you might have had a much better one, Elsie," he said
gravely.

"Oh! no, papa, I wouldn't want any other," she replied earnestly,
pressing his hand to her lips.

"Ah! here we are," exclaimed her father, as at that instant the
carriage turned into a broad avenue, up which they drove quite
rapidly, and the next moment they had stopped, the coachman had
thrown open the carriage door, and Mr. Dinsmore, springing out,
lifted his little girl in his arms and set her down on the steps
of the veranda.

"Ah! Dinsmore, how do you do? Glad to see you, and my little
friend Elsie, too. Why this is really kind," cried Mr. Travilla,
in his cheerful, hearty way, as, hurrying out to welcome them, he
shook Mr. Dinsmore cordially by the hand, and kissed Elsie's
cheek.

"Walk in, walk in," he continued, leading the way into the house,
"my mother will be delighted to see you both; Miss Elsie
especially, for she seems to have taken a very great fancy to
her."

If Mrs. Travilla's greeting was less boisterous, it certainly was
not lacking in cordiality, and she made Elsie feel at home at
once; taking off her bonnet, smoothing her hair, and kissing her
affectionately.

The gentlemen soon went out together, and Elsie spent the morning
in Mrs. Travilla's room, chatting with her and assisting her with
some coarse garments she was making for her servants.

Mrs. Travilla was an earnest Christian, and the lady and the
little girl were not long in discovering the tie which existed
between them.

Mrs. Travilla, being also a woman of great discernment, and having
known Horace Dinsmore nearly all his life, had conceived a very
correct idea of the trials and difficulties of Elsie's situation,
and without alluding to them at all, gave her some most excellent
advice, which the little girl received very thankfully.

They were still chatting together when Mr. Travilla came in,
saying, "Come, Elsie, I want to take you out to see my garden,
hot-house, etc. We will just have time before dinner. Will you go
along, mother?"

"No; I have some little matters to attend to before dinner, and
will leave you to do the honors," replied the lady; and taking the
little girl's hand he led her out.

"Where is papa?" asked Elsie.

"Oh! he's in the library, looking over some new books," replied
Mr. Travilla. "He always cared more for books than anything else.
But what do you think of my flowers?"

"Oh! they are lovely! What a variety you have! what a splendid
cape-jessamine that is, and there is a variety of cactus I never
saw before! Oh! you have a great many more, and handsomer, I
think, than we have at Roselands," exclaimed Elsie, as she passed
admiringly from one to another.

Mr. Travilla was much pleased with the admiration she expressed,
for he was very fond of his flowers, and took great pride in
showing them.

But they were soon called in to dinner, where Elsie was seated by
her father.

"I hope this little girl has not given you any trouble, Mrs.
Travilla," said he, looking gravely at her.

"Oh! no," the lady hastened to say, "I have enjoyed her company
very much indeed, and hope you will bring her to see me again very
soon."

After dinner, as the day was very warm, they adjourned to the
veranda, which was the coolest place to be found; it being on the
shady side of the house, and also protected by thick trees,
underneath which a beautiful fountain was playing.

But the conversation was upon some subject which did not interest
Elsie, and she presently stole away to the library, and seating
herself in a corner of the sofa, was soon lost to everything
around her in the intense interest with which she was reading a
book she had taken from the table.

"Ah! that is what you are about, Miss Elsie! a bookworm, just like
your father, I see. I had been wondering what had become of you
for the last two hours," exclaimed Mr. Travilla's pleasant voice;
and sitting down beside her, he took the book from her hand, and
putting it behind him, said, "Put it away now; you will have time
enough to finish it, and I want you to talk to me."

"Oh! please let me have it," she pleaded. "I shall not have much
time, for papa will soon be calling me to go home."

"No, no, he is not to take you away; I have made a bargain with
him to let me keep you," said Mr. Travilla, very gravely. "We both
think that there are children enough at Roselands without you; and
so your papa has given you to me; and you are to be _my_ little
girl, and call _me_ papa in future."

Elsie gazed earnestly in his face for an instant, saying in a
half-frightened tone, "You are only joking, Mr. Travilla."

"Not a bit of it," said he; "can't you see that I'm in earnest?"

His tone and look were both so serious that for an instant Elsie
believed he meant all that he was saying, and springing to her
feet with a little cry of alarm, she hastily withdrew her hand
which he had taken, and rushing out to the veranda, where her
father still sat conversing with Mrs. Travilla, she flung herself
into his arms, and clinging to him, hid her face on his breast,
sobbing, "O papa, _dear_ papa! _don't_ give me away; please
don't--I will be so good--I will do everything you bid me--I--"

"Why, Elsie, what does all this mean!" exclaimed Mr. Dinsmore in
great surprise and perplexity; while Mr. Travilla stood in the
doorway looking half amused, half sorry for what he had done.

"O papa!" sobbed the little girl, still clinging to him as though
fearing she should be torn from his arms, "Mr. Travilla says you
have given me to him. O papa! _don't_ give me away."

"Pooh! nonsense, Elsie! I am ashamed of you! how can you be so
very silly as to believe for one moment anything so perfectly
absurd as that I should think of giving you away? Why, I would as
soon think of parting with my eyes."

Elsie raised her head and gazed searchingly into his face; then
with a deep-drawn sigh of relief, dropped it again, saying, "Oh! I
am _so_ glad."

"Really, Miss Elsie," said Travilla, coming up and patting her on
the shoulder, "I can't say that I feel much complimented; and,
indeed, I don't see why you need have been so very much distressed
at the prospect before you; for I must say I have vanity enough to
imagine that I should make the better--or at least the more
indulgent--father of the two. Come, now, wouldn't you be willing
to try me for a month, if your papa will give consent?"

Elsie shook her head.

"I will let you have your own way in everything," urged Travilla,
coaxingly; "and I know that is more than he does."

"I don't want my own way, Mr. Travilla; I know it wouldn't always
be a good way," replied Elsie, decidedly.

Her father laughed and passed his hand caressingly over her curls.

"I thought you liked me, little Elsie," said Travilla, in a tone
of disappointment.

"So I do, Mr. Travilla; I like you very much," she replied.

"Well, don't you think I would make a good father?"

"I am sure you would be very kind, and that I should love you very
much; but not so much as I love my own papa; because, you know,
you are _not_ my papa, and never can be, even if he _should_
give me to you."

Mr. Dinsmore laughed heartily, saying, "I think you may as well
give it up, Travilla; it seems I'll have to keep her whether or
no, for she clings to me like a leech."

"Well, Elsie, you will at least come to the piano and play a
little for me, will you not?" asked Travilla, smiling.

But Elsie still clung to her father, seeming loath to leave him,
until he said, in his grave, decided way, "Go, Elsie; go at once,
and do as you are requested."

Then she rose instantly to obey.

Travilla looked somewhat vexed. "I wish," he afterward remarked to
his mother, "that Dinsmore was not quite so ready to second my
requests with his commands. I want Elsie's compliance to be
voluntary; else I think it worth very little."

Elsie played and sang until they were called to tea; after which
she sat quietly by her father's side, listening to the conversation
of her elders until the carriage was announced.

"Well, my daughter," said Mr. Dinsmore, when they were fairly upon
their way to Roselands, "have you had a pleasant day?"

"Oh! _very pleasant_, papa, excepting--" She paused, looking
a little embarrassed.

"Well, excepting what?" he asked, smiling down at her.

"Excepting when Mr. Travilla frightened me so, papa," she replied,
moving closer to his side, blushing and casting down her eyes.

"And you do love your own papa best, and don't want to exchange
him for another?" he said, inquiringly, as he passed his arm
affectionately around her waist.

"Oh! no, dear papa, not for anybody else in all the world," she
said earnestly.

He made no reply in words, but, looking highly gratified, bent
down and kissed her cheek.

He did not speak again during their ride, but when the carriage
stopped he lifted her out, and setting her gently down, bade her a
kind good-night, saying it was time for mammy to put her to bed.

She ran lightly up-stairs, and springing into her nurse's arms,
exclaimed, "O mammy, mammy! what a pleasant, _pleasant_ day I
have had! Papa has been so kind, and so were Mr. Travilla and his
mother."

"I'se _berry_ glad, darlin', an' I hope you gwine hab many
more such days," replied Chloe, embracing her fondly and then
proceeding to take off her bonnet and prepare her for bed, while
Elsie gave her a minute account of all the occurrences of the day,
not omitting the fright Mr. Travilla had given her, and how
happily her fears had been relieved.

"You look berry happy, my darlin' pet," said Chloe, clasping her
nursling again in her arms when her task was finished.

"Yes, mammy, I am happy, oh! _so_ happy, because I do believe
that papa is beginning to love me a little, and I hope that
perhaps, after a while, he will love me very much."

The tears gathered in her eyes as she spoke.

The next afternoon, as Elsie was returning from her walk, she met
her father.

"Elsie," said he, in a reproving tone, "I have forbidden you to
walk out alone; are you disobeying me?"

"No, papa," she replied meekly, raising her eyes to his face, "I
was not alone until about five minutes ago, when Aunt Adelaide and
Louise left me. They said it did not matter, as I was so near
home; and they were going to make a call, and did not want me
along."

"Very well," he said, taking hold of her hand and making her walk
by his side. "How far have you been?"

"We went down the river bank to the big spring, papa. I believe it
is a little more than a mile that way; but when we came home, we
made it shorter by coming across some of the fields and through
the meadow."

"Through the meadow?" said Mr. Dinsmore; "don't you go there
again, Elsie, unless I give you express permission."

"Why, papa?" she asked, looking up at him in some surprise.

"Because I forbid it," he replied sternly; "that is quite enough
for you to know; all you have to do is to obey, and you need never
ask me why, when I give you an order."

Elsie's eyes filled, and a big tear rolled quickly down her cheek.

"I did not mean to be naughty, papa," she said, struggling to keep
down a sob, "and I will try never to ask why again."

"There is another thing," said he. "You cry quite too easily; it
is entirely too babyish for a girl of your age; you must quit it."

"I will try, papa," said the little girl, wiping her eyes, and
making a great effort to control her feelings.

They had entered the avenue while this conversation was going on,
and were now drawing near the house; and just at this moment a
little girl about Elsie's age came running to meet them,
exclaiming, "O Elsie! I'm glad you've come at last. We've been
here a whole hour--mamma, and Herbert, and I--and I've been
looking for you all this time."

"How do you do, Miss Lucy Carrington? I see you can talk as fast
as ever," said Mr. Dinsmore, laughing, and holding out his hand.

Lucy took it, saying with a little pout, "To be sure, Mr.
Dinsmore, it isn't more than two or three weeks since you were at
our house, and I wouldn't forget how to talk in that time." Then,
looking at Elsie, she went on, "We've come to stay a week; won't
we have a fine time?" and, catching her friend round the waist,
she gave her a hearty squeeze.

"I hope so," said Elsie, returning the embrace. "I am glad you
have come."

"Is your papa here, Miss Lucy?" asked Mr. Dinsmore.

"Yes, sir; but he's going home again to-night, and then he'll come
back for us next week."

"I must go in and speak to him," said Mr. Dinsmore. "Elsie, do you
entertain Lucy."

"Yes, sir, I will," said Elsie. "Come with me to my room, won't
you, Lucy?"

"Yes; but won't you speak to mamma first? and Herbert, too; you
are such a favorite with both of them; and they still are in the
dressing-room, for mamma is not very well, and was quite fatigued
with her ride."

Lucy led the way to her mamma's room, as she spoke, Elsie
following.

"Ah! Elsie dear, how do you do? I'm delighted to see you," said
Mrs. Carrington, rising from the sofa as they entered.

Then, drawing the little girl closer to her, she passed her arm
affectionately around her waist, and kissed her several times.

"I suppose you are very happy now that your papa has come home at
last?" she said, looking searchingly into Elsie's face. "I
remember you used to be looking forward so to his return;
constantly talking of it and longing for it."

Poor Elsie, conscious that her father's presence had not brought
with it the happiness she had anticipated, and yet unwilling
either to acknowledge that fact or tell an untruth, was at a loss
what to say.

But she was relieved from the necessity of replying by Herbert,
Lucy's twin brother, a pale, sickly-looking boy, who had for
several years been a sufferer from hip complaint.

"O Elsie!" he exclaimed, catching hold of her hand and squeezing
it between both of his, "I'm ever so glad to see you again."

"Yes," said Mrs. Carrington, "Herbert always says nobody can tell
him such beautiful stories as Elsie; and nobody but his mother and
his old mammy was half so kind to run and wait on him when he was
laid on his back for so many weeks. He missed you very much when
we went home, and often wished he was at Roselands again."

"How is your hip now, Herbert?" asked Elsie, looking pityingly at
the boy's pale face.

"Oh! a great deal better, thank you. I can take quite long walks
sometimes now, though I still limp, and cannot run and leap like
other boys."

They chatted a few moments longer, and then Elsie went to her room
to have her hat taken off, and her hair made smooth before the
tea-bell should ring.

The two little girls were seated together at the table, Elsie's
papa being on her other side.

"How nice these muffins are! Don't you like them, Elsie?" asked
Lucy, as she helped herself to a third or fourth.

"Yes, very much," said Elsie, cheerfully.

"Then what are you eating that cold bread for? and you haven't got
any butter, either. Pompey, why don't hand Miss Elsie the butter?"

"No, Lucy, I mustn't have it. Papa does not allow me to eat hot
cakes or butter," said Elsie, in the same cheerful tone in which
she had spoken before.

Lucy opened her eyes very wide, and drew in her breath.

"Well," she exclaimed, "I guess if _my_ papa should try that
on me, I'd make such a fuss he'd _have_ to let me eat just
whatever I wanted."

"Elsie knows better than to do that," said Mr. Dinsmore, who had
overheard the conversation; "she would only get sent away from the
table and punished for her naughtiness."

"I wouldn't do it anyhow, papa," said Elsie, raising her eyes
beseechingly to his face.

"No, daughter, I don't believe you would," he replied in an
unsually kind tone, and Elsie's face flushed with pleasure.

Several days passed away very pleasantly, Lucy sharing Elsie's
studies in the mornings, while Herbert remained with his mamma;
and then in the afternoon all walking or riding out together,
unless the weather was too warm, when they spent the afternoon
playing in the veranda, on the shady side of the house, and took
their ride or walk after the sun was down.

Arthur and Walter paid but little attention to Herbert, as his
lameness prevented him from sharing in the active sports which
they preferred; for they had never been taught to yield their
wishes to others, and were consequently extremely selfish and
overbearing; but Elsie was very kind, and did all in her power to
interest and amuse him.

One afternoon they all walked out together, attended by Jim; but
Arthur and Walter, unwilling to accommodate their pace to
Herbert's slow movements, were soon far in advance, Jim following
close at their heels.

"They're quite out of sight," said Herbert presently. "and I'm
very tired. Let's sit down on this bank, girls; I want to try my
new bow, and you may run and pick up my arrows for me."

"Thank you, sir," said Lucy, laughing; "Elsie may do it if she
likes, but as for me, _I_ mean to take a nap; this nice, soft
grass will make an elegant couch;" and throwing herself down, she
soon was, or pretended to be, in a sound slumber; while Herbert,
seating himself with his back against a tree, amused himself with
shooting his arrows here and there, Elsie running for them and
bringing them to him, until she was quite heated and out of
breath.

"Now I must rest a little, Herbert," she said at length, sitting
down beside him. "Shall I tell you a story?"

"Oh! yes, do; I like your stories, and I don't mind leaving off
shooting till you're done," said he, laying down his bow.

Elsie's story lasted about ten minutes, and when she had finished,
Herbert took up his bow again, saying, "I guess you're rested now,
Elsie," and sent an arrow over into the meadow.

"There! just see how far I sent that! do run and bring it to me,
Elsie!" he cried, "and let me see if I can't hit that tree next
time; I've but just missed it."

"I'm tired, Herbert; but I'll run and bring it to you this once,"
replied Elsie, forgetting entirely her father's prohibition; "but
then you must try to wait until Jim comes back before you shoot
any more."

So saying, she darted away, and came back in a moment with the
arrow in her hand. But a sudden recollection had come over her
just as she left the meadow, and throwing down the arrow at the
boy's feet, she exclaimed in an agitated tone, "O Herbert! I must
go home just as quickly as I can; I had forgotten--oh! how
_could_ I forget! oh! what will papa say!"

"Why, what's the matter?" asked Herbert in alarm.

"Never mind," said Elsie, sobbing. "There are the boys coming;
they will take care of you, and I must go home. Good-bye."

And she ran quickly up the road, Herbert following her retreating
form with wondering eyes.

Elsie sped onward, crying bitterly as she went.

"Where is papa!" she inquired of a servant whom she met in the
avenue.

"Dunno, Miss Elsie, but I reckon Massa Horace am in de house, kase
his horse am in de stable."

Elsie hardly waited for the answer, but hurrying into the house,
went from room to room, looking and asking in vain for her father.
He was not in the drawing-room, or the library, or his own
apartments. She had just come out of this, and meeting a chamber-
maid in the hall, she exclaimed, "O Fanny! where _is_ papa?
can't you tell me? for I must see him."

"Here I am, Elsie; what do you want with me?" called out her
father's voice from the veranda, where she had neglected to look.

"What do you want?" he repeated, as his little girl appeared
before him with her flushed and tearful face. Elsie moved slowly
toward him, with a timid air and downcast eyes.

"I wanted to tell you something, papa," she said in a low,
tremulous tone.

"Well, I am listening," said he, taking hold of her hand and
drawing her to his side. "What is it? are you sick or hurt?"

"No, papa, not either; but--but, O papa! I have been a very
naughty girl," she exclaimed, bursting into tears, and sobbing
violently. "I disobeyed you, papa. I--I have been in the meadow."

"Is it possible! Would you _dare_ to do so when I so
positively forbade it only the other day?" he said in his sternest
tone, while a dark frown gathered on his brow. "Elsie, I shall
have to punish you."

"I did not intend to disobey you, papa," she sobbed; "I quite
forgot that you had forbidden me to go there."

"That is no excuse, no excuse at all," said he severely; "You must
_remember_ my commands; and if your memory is so poor I shall
find means to strengthen it."

He paused a moment, still looking sternly at the little,
trembling, sobbing girl at his side; then asked, "What were you
doing in the meadow? tell me the whole story, that I may
understand just how severely I ought to punish you."

Elsie gave him all the particulars; and when, upon questioning her
closely, he perceived how entirely voluntary her confession had
been, his tone and manner became less stern, and he said quite
mildly, "Well, Elsie, I shall not be very severe with you this
time, as you seem to be very penitent, and have made so full and
frank a confession; but beware how you disobey me again, for you
will not escape so easily another time; and remember I will not
take forgetfulness as any excuse. Go now to Aunt Chloe, and tell
her from me that she is to put you immediately to bed."

"It is only the middle of the afternoon, papa," said Elsie,
deprecatingly.

"If it were much _earlier_, Elsie, it would make no
difference; you must go at once to your bed, and stay there until
to-morrow morning."

"What will Lucy and Herbert think when they come in and can't find
me, papa?" she said, weeping afresh,

"You should have thought of that before you disobeyed me," he
answered very gravely. "If you are hungry," he added, "you may ask
Chloe to get you a slice of bread or a cracker for your supper,
but you can have nothing else."

Elsie lingered, looking timidly up into his face as though wanting
to say something, but afraid to venture.

"Speak, Elsie, if you have anything more to say," he said
encouragingly.

"Dear papa, I am _so_ sorry I have been so naughty," she
murmured, leaning her head against the arm of his chair, while the
tears rolled fast down her cheeks; "won't you please forgive me,
papa? it seems to me I can't go to sleep to-night if you are angry
with me."

He seemed quite touched by her penitence. "Yes, Elsie," he said,
"I do forgive you. I am not at all angry with you now, and you may
go to sleep in peace. Good night, my little daughter," and he bent
down and pressed his lips to her brow.

Elsie held up her face for another, and he kissed her lips.

"Good night, dear papa," she said, "I hope I shall never be such a
naughty girl again." And she went to her room, made almost happy
by that kiss of forgiveness.

Elsie was up quite early the next morning and had learned all her
lessons before breakfast. As she came down the stairs she saw,
through the open door, her papa standing with some of the men-
servants, apparently gazing at some object lying on the ground.
She ran out and stood on the steps of the portico, looking at them
and wondering what they were doing.

Presently her father turned round, and seeing her, held out his
hand, calling, "Come here, Elsie."

She sprang quickly down the steps, and running to him, put her
hand in his, saying, "Good morning, papa."

"Good morning, daughter," said he, "I have something to show you."

And leading her forward a few paces, he pointed to a large
rattlesnake lying there.

"O papa!" she cried, starting back and clinging to him.

"It will not hurt you _now_" he said; "it is dead; the men
killed it this morning _in the meadow_. Do you see _now_ why
I forbade you to go there?"

"O papa!" she murmured, in a low tone of deep feeling, laying her
cheek affectionately against his hand, "I might have lost my life
by my disobedience. How good God was to take care of me! Oh! I
hope I shall never be so naughty again."

"I hope not," said he gravely, but not unkindly; "and I hope that
you will always, after this, believe that your father has some
good reason for his commands, even although he may not choose to
explain it to you."

"Yes, papa, I think I will," she answered, humbly.

The breakfast-bell had rung, and he now led her in and seated her
at the table.

Lucy Carrington looked curiously at her, and soon took an
opportunity to whisper, "Where were you last night, Elsie? I
couldn't find you, and your papa wouldn't say what had become of
you, though I am quite sure he knew."

"I'll tell you after breakfast," replied Elsie, blushing deeply.

Lucy waited rather impatiently until all had risen from the table,
and then, putting her arm round Elsie's waist, she drew her out on
to the veranda, saying, "now, Elsie, tell me; you know you
promised."

"I was in bed," replied Elsie, dropping her eyes, while the color
mounted to her very hair.

"In bed! before five o'clock!" exclaimed Lucy in a tone of
astonishment. "Why, what was that for?"

"Papa sent me," replied Elsie, with an effort. "I had been
naughty, and disobeyed him."

"Why, how strange! Do tell me what you had done!" exclaimed Lucy,
with a face full of curiosity.

"Papa had forbidden me to go into the meadow, I forgot all about
it, and ran in there to get Herbert's arrow for him," replied
Elsie, looking very much ashamed.

"Was _that all?_ why _my_ papa wouldn't have punished me
for that," said Lucy. "He might have scolded me a little if I had
done it on purpose, but if I had told him I had forgotten, he
would only have said, 'You must remember better next time.'"

"Papa says that forgetfulness is no excuse; that I am to remember
his commands, and if I forget, he will have to punish me, to make
me remember better next time," said Elsie.

"He must be very strict indeed; I'm glad he is not _my_
papa," replied Lucy, in a tone of great satisfaction.

"Come, little girls, make haste and get ready; we are to start in
half an hour," said Adelaide Dinsmore, calling to them from the
hall door.

The whole family, old and young, including visitors, were on that
day to go on a picnic up the river, taking their dinner along, and
spending the day in the woods. They had been planning this
excursion for several days, and the children especially had been
looking forward to it with a great deal of pleasure.

"Am I to go, Aunt Adelaide? did papa say so?" asked Elsie
anxiously, as she and Lucy hastened to obey the summons.

"I presume you are to go of course, Elsie; we have been discussing
the matter for the last three days, always taking it for granted
that you were to make one of the party, and he has never said you
should not," replied Adelaide, good-naturedly; "so make haste, or
you will be too late. But here comes your papa now." she added, as
the library door opened, and Mr. Dinsmore stepped out into the
hall where they were standing.

"Horace, Elsie is to go of course?"

"I do not see the _of course_, Adelaide," said he dryly. "No;
Elsie is _not_ to go; she must stay at home and attend to her
lessons as usual."

A look of keen disappointment came over Elsie's face, but she
turned away without a word and went upstairs; while Lucy, casting
a look of wrathful indignation at Mr. Dinsmore, ran after her, and
following her into her room, she put her arm round her neck,
saying, "Never mind, Elsie; it's too bad, and I wouldn't bear it.
I'd go in spite of him."

"No, no, Lucy, I must obey my father; God says so; and besides, I
couldn't do that if I wanted to, for papa is stronger than I am,
and would punish me severely if I were to attempt such a thing,"
replied Elsie hastily, brushing away a tear that _would_ come
into her eye.

"Then I'd coax him," said Lucy. "Come, I'll go with you, and we
will both try."

"No," replied Elsie, with a hopeless shake of the head, "I have
found out already that my papa never breaks his word; and nothing
could induce him to let me go, now that he has once said I should
not. But you will have to leave me, Lucy, or you will be too
late."

"Good-bye, then," said Lucy, turning to go; "but I think it is a
great shame, and I shan't half enjoy myself without you."

"Well now, Horace, I think you might let the child go," was
Adelaide's somewhat indignant rejoinder to her brother, as the two
little girls disappeared; "I can't conceive what reason you can
have for keeping her at home, and she looks so terribly
disappointed. Indeed, Horace, I am sometimes half inclined to
think you take pleasure in thwarting that child."

"You had better call me a tyrant at once, Adelaide," said he
angrily, and turning very red; "but I must beg to be permitted to
manage my own child in my own way; and I cannot see that I am
under any obligation to give my reasons either to you or to any
one else."

"Well, if you did not intend to let her go, I think you might have
said so at first, and not left the poor child to build her hopes
upon it, only to be disappointed. I must say I think it was
cruel."

"Until this morning, Adelaide," he replied, "I did intend to let
her go, for I expected to go myself; but I find I shall not be
able to do so, as I must meet a gentleman on business; and as I
know that accidents frequently occur to such pleasure parties, I
don't feel willing to let Elsie go, unless I could be there myself
to take care of her. Whether you believe it or not, it is really
regard for my child's safety, and _not_ cruelty, that leads
me to refuse her this gratification."

"You are full of notions about that child, Horace," said Adelaide,
a little impatiently. "I'm sure some of the rest of us could take
care of her."

"No; in case of accident you would all have enough to do to take
care of yourselves, and I shall not think of trusting Elsie in the
company, since I cannot be there myself," he answered decidedly;
and Adelaide, seeing he was not to be moved from his determination,
gave up the attempt, and left the room to prepare for her ride.

It was a great disappointment to Elsie, and for a few moments her
heart rose up in rebellion against her father. She tried to put
away the feeling, but it would come back; for she could not
imagine any reason for his refusal to let her go, excepting the
disobedience of the day before, and it seemed hard and unjust to
punish her twice for the same fault, especially as he would have
known nothing about it but for her own frank and voluntary
confession. It was a great pity she had not heard the reasons he
gave her Aunt Adelaide, for then she would have been quite
submissive and content. It is indeed true that she ought to have
been as it was; but our little Elsie, though sincerely desirous to
do right, was not yet perfect, and had already strangely forgotten
the lesson of the morning.

She watched from the veranda the departure of the pleasure-
seekers, all apparently in the gayest spirits. She was surprised
to see that her father was not with them, and it half reconciled
her to staying at home, although she hardly expected to see much
of him; but there was something pleasant in the thought that he
wanted her at home because he was to be there himself; it looked
as though he really had some affection for her, and even a selfish
love was better than none. I do not mean that these were Elsie's
thoughts; no, she never would have dreamed of calling her father
selfish; but the undefined feeling was there, as she watched him
hand the ladies into the carriage, and then turn and reenter the
house as they drove off.

But Miss Day's bell rang, and Elsie gathered up her books and
hastened to the school-room. Her patience and endurance were
sorely tried that morning, for Miss Day was in an exceedingly bad
humor, being greatly mortified and also highly indignant that she
had not been invited to make one of the picnic party; and Elsie
had never found her more unreasonable and difficult to please; and
her incessant fault-finding and scolding were almost more than the
little girl could bear in addition to her own sad disappointment.
But at last the morning, which had seldom seemed so long, was
over, and Elsie dismissed from the school-room for the day.

At dinner, instead of the usual large party, there were only her
father and the gentleman with whom he was transacting business,
Miss Day, and herself.

The gentleman was not one of those who care to notice children,
but continued to discuss business and politics with Mr. Dinsmore,
without seeming to be in the least aware of the presence of the
little girl, who sat in perfect silence, eating whatever her
father saw fit to put upon her plate; and Elsie was very glad
indeed when at length Miss Day rose to leave the table, and her
papa told her she might go too.

He called her back though, before she had gone across the room, to
say that he had intended to ride with her that afternoon, but
found he should not be able to do so, and she must take Jim for a
protector, as he did not wish her either to miss her ride or to go
entirely alone.

He spoke very kindly; Elsie thought with remorse of the rebellious
feelings of the morning, and, had she been alone with her father,
would certainly have confessed them, expressing her sorrow and
asking forgiveness; but she could not do so before a third person,
more especially a stranger; and merely saying, "Yes, papa, I
will," she turned away and left the room. Jim was bringing up her
horse as she passed the open door; and she hastened up-stairs to
prepare for her ride.

"O mammy!" she suddenly exclaimed, as Chloe was trying on her hat,
"is Pomp going to the city to-day?"

"Yes, darlin', he gwine start directly," said Chloe, arranging her
nursling's curls to better advantage, and finishing her work with
a fond caress.

"Oh! then, mammy, take some money out of my purse, and tell him to
buy me a pound of the very nicest candy he can find," said the
little girl, eagerly. "I haven't had any for a long time, and I
feel hungry for it to-day. What they had bought for the picnic
looked so good, but you know I didn't get any of it."

The picnic party returned just before tea-time, and Lucy
Carrington rushed into Elsie's room eager to tell her what a
delightful day they had had. She gave a very glowing account of
their sports and entertainment, interrupting herself every now and
then to lament over Elsie's absence, assuring her again and again
that it had been the only drawback upon her own pleasure, and that
she thought that Elsie's papa was very unkind indeed to refuse her
permission to go. As Elsie listened the morning's feelings of
vexation and disappointment returned in full force; and though she
said nothing, she allowed her friend to accuse her father of
cruelty and injustice without offering any remonstrance.

In the midst of their talk the tea-bell rang, and they hurried
down to take their places at the table, where Lucy went on with
her narrative, though in a rather subdued tone, Elsie now and then
asking a question, until Mr. Dinsmore turned to his daughter,
saying, in his stern way, "Be quiet, Elsie; you are talking
entirely too much for a child of your age; don't let me hear you
speak again until you have left the table."

Elsie's face flushed, and her eyes fell, under the rebuke; and
during the rest of the meal not a sound escaped her lips.

"Come, Elsie, let us go into the garden and finish our talk," said
Lucy, putting her arm affectionately around her friend's waist as
they left the table; "your papa can't hear us there, and we'll
have a good time."

"Papa only stopped us because we were talking too much at the
table," said Elsie, apologetically; "I'm sure he is willing you
should tell me all about what a nice time you all had. But, Lucy,"
she added, lowering her voice, "please don't say again that you
think papa was unkind to keep me at home to-day. I'm sure he knows
best, and I ought not to have listened to a word of that kind
about him."

"O! well, never mind, I won't talk so any more," said Lucy, good-
naturedly, as they skipped down the walk together; "but I do think
he's cross, and I wish you were my sister, that you might have my
kind, good papa for yours too," she added, drawing her arm more
closely about her friend's waist.

"Thank you, Lucy," said Elsie, with a little sigh, "I would like
to be your sister, but indeed I would not like to give up my own
dear papa, for I love him, oh! _so_ much."

"Why, how funny, when he's so cross to you!" exclaimed Lucy,
laughing.

Elsie put her hand over her friend's mouth, and Lucy pushed it
away, saying, "Excuse me; I forgot; but I'll try not to say it
again."

While the little girls were enjoying their talk in the garden, a
servant with a small bundle in her hand came out on the veranda,
where Mr. Horace Dinsmore was sitting smoking a cigar, and,
casting an inquiring glance around, asked if he knew where Miss
Elsie was?

"What do you want with her?" he asked.

"Only to give her dis bundle, massa, dat Pomp jus brought from de
city."

"Give it to me," he said, extending his hand to receive it.

A few moments afterward Elsie and her friend returned to the
house, and meeting Pomp, she asked him if he had brought her
candy.

He replied that he had got some that was very nice indeed, and he
thought that Fanny had carried it to her; and seeing Fanny near,
he called to her to know what she had done with it.

"Why, Pomp, Massa Horace he told me to give it to him," said the
girl.

Elsie turned away with a very disappointed look.

"You'll go and ask him for it, won't you?" asked Lucy, who was
anxious to enjoy a share of the candy as well as to see Elsie
gratified.

"No," said Elsie, sighing, "I had rather do without it."

Lucy coaxed for a little while, but finding it impossible to
persuade Elsie to approach her father on the subject, finally
volunteered to do the errand herself.

Elsie readily consented, and Lucy, trembling a little in spite of
her boast that she was not afraid of him, walked out on to the
veranda where Mr. Dinsmore was still sitting, and putting on an
air of great confidence, said:

"Mr. Dinsmore, will you please to give me Elsie's candy? she wants
it."

"Did Elsie send you?" he asked in a cold, grave tone.

"Yes, sir," replied Lucy, somewhat frightened.

"Then, if you please, Miss Lucy, you may tell Elsie to come
directly to me."

Lucy ran back to her friend, and Elsie received the message in
some trepidation, but as no choice was now left her, she went
immediately to her father.

"Did you want me, papa?" she asked timidly.

"Yes, Elsie; I wish to know why you send another person to me for
what you want, instead of coming yourself. It displeases me very
much, and you may rest assured that you will never get anything
that you ask for in that way."

Elsie hung her head in silence.

"Are you going to answer me?" he asked, in his severe tone. "Why
did you send Lucy instead of coming yourself?"

"I was afraid, papa," she whispered, almost under her breath.

"Afraid! afraid of what?" he asked, with increasing displeasure.

"Of you, papa," she replied, in a tone so low that he could
scarcely catch the words, although he bent down his ear to receive
her reply.

"If I were a drunken brute, in the habit of knocking you about,
beating and abusing you, there might be some reason for your fear,
Elsie," he said, coloring with anger; "but, as it is, I see no
excuse for it at all and I am both hurt and displeased by it."

"I am very sorry, papa; I won't do so again," she said,
tremblingly.

There was a moment's pause, and then she asked in a timid
hesitating way, "Papa, may I have my candy, if you please?"

"No, you may not," he said decidedly; "and understand and remember
that I positively forbid you either to buy or eat anything of the
kind again without my express permission."

Elsie's eyes filled, and she had a hard struggle to keep down a
rising sob as she turned away and went slowly back to the place
where she had left her friend.

"Have you got it?" asked Lucy, eagerly.

Elsie shook her head.

"What a shame!" exclaimed Lucy, indignantly. "he's just as cross
as he can be. He's a tyrant, so he is! just a hateful old tyrant,
and I wouldn't care a cent for him, if I were you, Elsie. I'm glad
he is not my father, so I am."

"I'm afraid he doesn't love me much," sighed Elsie in low, tearful
tones, "for he hardly ever lets me have anything, or go anywhere
that I want to."

"Well, never mind, _I'll_ send and buy a good lot tomorrow,
and we'll have a regular feast," said Lucy, soothingly, as she
passed her arm around her friend's waist and drew her down to a
seat on the portico step.

"Thank you, Lucy; you can buy for yourself if you like, but not
for me, for papa has forbidden me to eat anything of the sort."

"Oh! of course we'll not let him know anything about it," said
Lucy.

But Elsie shook her head sadly, saying with a little sigh, "No,
Lucy, you are very kind, but I cannot disobey papa, even if he
should never know it, because that would be disobeying God, and He
would know it."

"Dear me, how particular you are!" exclaimed Lucy a little
pettishly.

"Elsie," said Mr. Dinsmore, speaking from the door, "what are you
doing there? Did I not forbid you to be out in the evening air?"

"I did not know you meant the doorstep, papa. I thought I was only
not to go down into the garden," replied the little girl, rising
to go in.

"I see you intend to make as near an approach to disobedience as
you dare," said her father. "Go immediately to your room, and tell
mammy to put you to bed."

Elsie silently obeyed, and Lucy, casting an indignant glance at
Mr. Dinsmore, was about to follow her, when he said, "I wish her
to go alone, if you please, Miss Lucy;" and with a frown and a
pout the little girl walked into the drawing-room and seated
herself on the sofa beside her mamma.

Mr. Dinsmore walked out on to the portico, and stood there
watching the moon which was just rising over the treetops.

"Horace," said Arthur, emerging from the shadow of a tree near by
and approaching his brother, "Elsie thinks you're a tyrant. She
says you never let her have anything, or go anywhere, and you're
always punishing her. She and Lucy have had a fine time out here
talking over your bad treatment of her, and planning to have some
candy in spite of you."

"Arthur, I do not believe that Elsie would deliberately plan to
disobey me; and whatever faults she may have, I am very sure she
is above the meanness of telling tales," replied Mr. Dinsmore, in
a tone of severity, as he turned and went into the house, while
Arthur, looking sadly crestfallen, crept away out of sight.

When Elsie reached her room, she found that Chloe was not there;
for, not expecting that her services would be required at so early
an hour, she had gone down to the kitchen to have a little chat
with her fellow-servants. Elsie rang for her, and then walking to
the window, stood looking down into the garden in an attitude of
thoughtfulness and dejection. She was mentally taking a review of
the manner in which she had spent the day, as was her custom
before retiring. The retrospect had seldom been so painful to the
little girl. She had a very tender conscience, and it told her now
that she had more than once during the day indulged in wrong
feelings toward her father; that she had also allowed another to
speak disrespectfully of him, giving by her silence a tacit
approval of the sentiments uttered, and, more than that, had
spoken complainingly of him herself.

"Oh!" she murmured half aloud as she covered her face with her
hands, and the tears trickled through her fingers, "how soon I
have forgotten the lesson papa taught me this morning, and my
promise to trust him without knowing his reasons. I don't deserve
that he should love me or be kind and indulgent, when I am so
rebellious."

"What's de matter, darlin'?" asked Chloe's voice in pitiful tones,
as she took her nursling in her arms and laid her little head
against her bosom, passing her hand caressingly over the soft
bright curls; "your ole mammy can't bear to see her pet cryin'
like dat."

"O mammy, mammy! I've been such a wicked girl to-day! Oh! I'm
afraid I shall never be good, never be like Jesus. I'm afraid He
is angry with me, for I have disobeyed Him to-day," sobbed the
child.

"Darlin'," said Chloe, earnestly, "didn't you read to your ole
mammy dis very morning dese bressed words: 'If any man sin, we
have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous,' an'
de other: 'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins.' Go to de dear, bressed Lord Jesus, darlin',
an' ax Him to forgive you, an' I _knows_ He will."

"Yes, He will," replied the little girl, raising her head and
dashing away her tears, "He will forgive my sins, and take away my
wicked heart, and give me right thoughts and feelings. How glad I
am you remembered those sweet texts, you dear old mammy," she
added, twining her arms lovingly around her nurse's neck. And then
she delivered her papa's message, and Chloe began at once to
prepare her for bed.

Elsie's tears had ceased to flow, but they were still trembling in
her eyes, and the little face wore a very sad and troubled
expression as she stood patiently passive in her nurse's hands.
Chloe had soon finished her labors, and then the little girl
opened her Bible, and, as usual, read a few verses aloud, though
her voice trembled, and once or twice a tear fell on the page;
then closing the book she stole away to the side of the bed and
knelt down.

She was a good while on her knees, and several times, as the sound
of a low sob fell upon Chloe's ear, she sighed and murmured to
herself: "Poor, darlin'! dear, bressed lamb, your ole mammy don't
like to hear dat."

Then as the child rose from her kneeling posture she went to her,
and taking her in her arms, folded her in a fond embrace, calling
her by the most tender and endearing epithets, and telling her
that her old mammy loved her better than life--better than
anything in the wide world.

Elsie flung her arms around her nurse's neck, and laid her head
upon her bosom, saying, "Yes, my dear old mammy, I know you love
me, and I love you, too. But put me in bed now, or papa will be
displeased."

"What makes you so onrestless, darlin'?" asked Chloe, half an hour
afterward; "can't you go to sleep no how?"

"O mammy! if I could only see papa just for one moment to tell him
something. Do you think he would come to me?" sighed the little
girl. "Please, mammy, go down and see if he is busy. Don't say a
word if he is; but if not, ask him to come to me for just one
minute."

Chloe left the room immediately, but returned the next moment,
saying, "I jes looked into de parlor, darlin', an' Mass Horace he
mighty busy playin' chess wid Miss Lucy's mamma, an' I didn't say
nuffin' to him. Jes you go sleep, my pet, an' tell Mass Horace all
'bout it in de mornin'."

Elsie sighed deeply, and turning over on her pillow, cried herself
to sleep.

Chloe was just putting the finishing touches to the little girl's
dress the next morning, when Lucy Carrington rapped at the door.

"Good morning, Elsie," she said; "I was in a hurry to come to you,
because it is my last day, you know. Wasn't it too bad of your
father to send you off to bed so early last night?"

"No, Lucy, papa has a right to send me to bed whenever he pleases;
and besides, I was naughty and deserved to be punished; and it was
not much more than half an hour earlier than my usual bedtime."

"You naughty!" exclaimed Lucy, opening her eyes very wide. "Mamma
often says she wishes I was half as good."

Elsie sighed, but made no answer. Her thoughts seemed far away.
She was thinking of what she had been so anxious, the night
before, to say to her father, and trying to gain courage to do it
this morning. "If I could only get close to him when nobody was
by, and he would look and speak kindly to me, I could do it then,"
she murmured to herself.

"Come, Aunt Chloe, aren't you done? I want to have a run in the
garden before breakfast," said Lucy, somewhat impatiently, as
Chloe tied and untied Elsie's sash several times.

"Well, Miss Lucy, I'se done now," she answered, passing her hand
once more over her nursling's curls: "but Mass Horace he mighty
pertickler 'bout Miss Elsie."

"Yes," said Elsie, "papa wants me always to look very nice and
neat; and when I go down in the morning he just gives me one
glance from head to foot, and if anything is wrong he is sure to
see it and send me back immediately to have it made right. Now,
mammy, please give me my hat and let us go."

"You's got plenty ob time, chillens; de bell won't go for to ring
dis hour," remarked the old nurse, tying on Elsie's hat.

"My chile looks sweet an' fresh as a moss rosebud dis mornin',"
she added, talking to herself, as she watched the two little girls
tripping down-stairs hand in hand.

They skipped up and down the avenue several times, and ran all
round the garden before it was time to go in. Then Elsie went up
to Chloe to have her hair made smooth again. She was just
descending for the second time to the hall, where she had left
Lucy, when they saw a carriage drive up to the front door.

"There's papa!" cried Lucy, joyfully, as it stopped and a
gentleman sprang out and came up the steps into the portico; and
in an instant she was in his arms, receiving such kisses and
caresses as Elsie had vainly longed for all her life.

Lucy had several brothers, but was an only daughter, and a very
great pet, especially with her father.

Elsie watched them with a wistful look and a strange aching at her
heart.

But presently Mr. Carrington set Lucy down and turning to her,
gave her a shake of the hand, and then a kiss, saying, "How do you
do this morning, my dear? I'm afraid you are hardly glad to see
me, as I come to take Lucy away, for I suppose you have been
having fine times together."

"Yes, sir, indeed we have; and I hope you will let her come
again."

"Oh! yes, certainly; but the visits must not be all on one side. I
shall talk to your papa about it, and perhaps persuade him to let
us take you along this afternoon to spend a week at Ashlands."

"Oh! how delightful!" cried Lucy, clapping her hands. "Elsie, do
you think he will let you go?"

"I don't know, I'm afraid not," replied the little girl
doubtfully.

"You must coax him, as I do my papa," said Lucy.

But at this Elsie only shook her head, and just then the
breakfast-bell rang.

Mr. Dinsmore was already in the breakfast-room, and Elsie, going
up to him, said, "Good morning, papa."

"Good morning, Elsie," he replied, but his tone was so cold that
even if no one else had been by, she could not have said another
word.

He had not intended to be influenced by the information Arthur had
so maliciously given him the night before; yet unconsciously he
was, and his manner to his little daughter was many degrees colder
than it had been for some time.

After breakfast Lucy reminded Elsie of a promise she had made to
show her some beautiful shells which her father had collected in
his travels, and Elsie led the way to the cabinet, a small room
opening into the library, and filled with curiosities.

They had gone in alone, but were soon followed by Arthur, Walter
and Enna.

Almost everything in the room belonged to Mr. Horace Dinsmore; and
Elsie, knowing that many of the articles were rare and costly, and
that he was very careful of them, begged Enna and the boys to go
out, lest they should accidentally do some mischief.

"I won't," replied Arthur. "I've just as good a right to be here
as you."

As he spoke he gave her a push, which almost knocked her over, and
in catching at a table to save herself from falling, she threw
down a beautiful vase of rare old china, which Mr. Dinsmore prized
very highly. It fell with a loud crash, and lay scattered in
fragments at their feet.

"There, see what you've done!" exclaimed Arthur, as the little
group stood aghast at the mischief.

It happened that Mr. Dinsmore was just then in the library, and
the noise soon brought him upon the scene of action.

"Who did this?" he asked, in a wrathful tone, looking from one to
the other.

"Elsie," said Arthur; "she threw it down and broke it."

"Troublesome, careless child! I would not have taken a hundred
dollars for that vase," he exclaimed. "Go to your room! go this
instant, and stay there until I send for you; and remember, if you
ever come in here again without permission I shall punish you."

He opened the door as he spoke, and Elsie flew across the hall, up
the stairs, and into her own room, without once pausing or looking
back.

"Now go out, every one of you, and don't come in here again; this
is no place for children," said Mr. Dinsmore, turning the others
into the hall, and shutting and locking the door upon them.

"You ought to be ashamed, Arthur Dinsmore," exclaimed Lucy
indignantly; "it was all your own fault, and Elsie was not to
blame at all, and you know it."

"I didn't touch the old vase, and I'm not going to take the blame
of it, either, I can tell you, miss," replied Arthur, moving off,
followed by Walter and Enna, while Lucy walked to the other end of
the hall, and stood looking out of the window, debating in her own
mind whether she had sufficient courage to face Mr. Dinsmore, and
make him understand where the blame of the accident ought to lie.

At length she seemed to have solved the question; for turning
about and moving noiselessly down the passage to the library door,
she gave a timid little rap, which was immediately answered by Mr.
Dinsmore's voice saying, "Come in."

Lucy opened the door and walked in, closing it after her.

Mr. Dinsmore sat at a table writing, and he looked up with an
expression of mingled surprise and impatience.

"What do you want, Miss Lucy?" he said, "speak quickly, for I am
very busy."

"I just wanted to tell you, sir," replied Lucy, speaking up quite
boldly, "that Elsie was not at all to blame about the vase; for it
was Arthur who pushed her and made her fall against the table, and
that was the way the vase came to fall and break."

"What made him push her?" he asked.

"Just because Elsie asked him, and Walter, and Enna to go out, for
fear they might do some mischief."

Mr. Dinsmore's pen was suspended over the paper for a moment,
while he sat thinking with a somewhat clouded brow; but presently
turning to the little girl, he said quite pleasantly, "Very well,
Miss Lucy, I am much obliged to you for your information, for I
should be very sorry to punish Elsie unjustly. And now will you do
me the favor to go to her and tell her that her papa says she need
not stay in her room any longer?"

"Yes, sir, I will," replied Lucy, her face sparkling with delight
as she hurried off with great alacrity to do his bidding.

She found Elsie in her room crying violently, and throwing her
arms around her neck she delivered Mr. Dinsmore's message,
concluding with, "So now, Elsie, you see you needn't cry, nor feel
sorry any more; but just dry your eyes and let us go down into the
garden and have a good time."

Elsie was very thankful to Lucy, and very glad that her papa now
knew that she was not to blame; but she was still sorry for his
loss, and his words had wounded her too deeply to be immediately
forgotten; indeed it was some time before the sore spot they had
made in her heart was entirely healed. But she tried to forget it
all and enter heartily into the sports proposed by Lucy.

The Carringtons were not to leave until the afternoon, and the
little girls spent nearly the whole morning in the garden, coming
into the drawing-room a few moments before the dinner-bell rang.

Mrs. Carrington sat on a sofa engaged with some fancy work, while
Herbert, who had not felt well enough to join the other children,
had stretched himself out beside her, putting his head in her lap.

Mr. Carrington and Mr. Horace Dinsmore were conversing near by.

Lucy ran up to her papa and seated herself upon his knee with her
arm around his neck; while Elsie stopped a moment to speak to
Herbert, and then timidly approaching her father, with her eyes
upon the floor, said in a low, half-frightened tone, that reached
no ear but his, "I am very sorry about the vase, papa."

He took her hand, and drawing her close to him, pushed back the
hair from her forehead with his other hand, and bending down to
her, said almost in a whisper, "Never mind, daughter, we will
forget all about it. I am sorry I spoke so harshly to you, since
Lucy tells me you were not so much to blame."

Elsie's face flushed with pleasure, and she looked up gratefully;
but before she had time to reply, Mrs. Carrington said, "Elsie, we
want to take you home with us to spend a week; will you go?"

"I should like to, very much, indeed, ma'am, if papa will let me,"
replied the little girl, looking wistfully up into his face.

"Well, Mr. Dinsmore, what do you say? I hope you can have no
objection," said Mrs. Carrington, looking inquiringly at him;
while her husband added, "Oh! yes, Dinsmore, you must let her go
by all means; you can certainly spare her for a week, and it need
be no interruption to her lessons, as she can share with Lucy in
the instructions of our governess, who is really a superior
teacher."

Mr. Dinsmore was looking very grave, and Elsie knew from the
expression of his countenance what his answer would be, before he
spoke. He had noticed the indignant glance Lucy had once or twice
bestowed upon him, and remembering Arthur's report of the
conversation between the two little girls the night before, had
decided in his own mind that the less Elsie saw of Lucy the
better.

"I thank you both for your kind attention to my little girl," he
replied courteously, "but while fully appreciating your kindness
in extending the invitation, I must beg leave to decline it, as I
am satisfied that home is the best place for her at present."

"Ah! no, I suppose we ought hardly to have expected you to spare
her so soon after your return," said Mrs. Carrington; "but,
really, I am very sorry to be refused, for Elsie is such a good
child that I am always delighted to have Lucy and Herbert with
her."

"Perhaps you think better of her than she deserves, Mrs.
Carrington. I find that Elsie is sometimes naughty and in need of
correction, as well as other children, and therefore, I think it
best to keep her as much as possible under my own eye," replied
Mr. Dinsmore, looking very gravely at his little daughter as he
spoke.

Elsie's face flushed painfully, and she had hard work to keep from
bursting into tears. It was a great relief to her that just at
that moment the dinner-bell rang, and there was a general movement
in the direction of the dining-room. Her look was touchingly
humble as her father led her in and seated her at the table.

She was thinking, "Papa says I am naughty sometimes, but oh! how
_very_ naughty he would think me if he knew all the wicked
feelings I had yesterday."

As soon as they had risen from the table, Mrs. Carrington bade
Lucy go up to her maid to have her bonnet put on, as the carriage
was already at the door.

Elsie would have gone with her, but her father had taken her hand
again, and he held it fast.

She looked up inquiringly into his face.

"Stay here," he said. "Lucy will be down again in a moment."

And Elsie stood quietly at his side until Lucy returned.

But even then her father did not relinquish his hold of her hand,
and all the talking the little girls could do must be done close
at his side.

Yet, as he was engaged in earnest conversation with Mr.
Carrington, and did not seem to be listening to them, Lucy
ventured to whisper to Elsie, "I think it's real mean of him; he
might let you go."

"No," replied Elsie, in the same low tone, "I'm sure papa knows
best; and besides, I _have_ been naughty, and don't deserve
to go, though I should like to, dearly."

"Well, good-bye," said Lucy, giving her a kiss.

It was not until Mr. Carrington's carriage was fairly on its way
down the avenue, that Mr. Dinsmore dropped his little girl's hand;
and then he said, "I want you in the library, Elsie; come to me in
half an hour."

"Yes, papa, I will," she replied, looking a little frightened.

"You need not be afraid," he said, in a tone of displeasure; "I am
not going to hurt you."

Elsie blushed and hung her head, but made no reply, and he turned
away and left her. She could not help wondering what he wanted
with her, and though she tried not to feel afraid, it was
impossible to keep from trembling a little as she knocked at the
library door.

Her father's voice said, "Come in," and entering, she found him
alone, seated at a table covered with papers and writing
materials, while beside the account book in which he was writing
lay a pile of money, in bank notes, and gold and silver.

"Here, Elsie," he said, laying down his pen, "I want to give you
your month's allowance. Your grandfather has paid it to you
heretofore, but of course, now that I am at home, I attend to
everything that concerns you. You have been receiving eight
dollars--I shall give you ten," and he counted out the money and
laid it before her as he spoke; "but I shall require a strict
account of all that you spend. I want you to learn to keep
accounts, for if you live, you will some day have a great deal of
money to take care of; and here is a blank book that I have
prepared, so that you can do so very easily. Every time that you
lay out or give away any money, you must set it down here as soon
as you come home; be particular about that, lest you should forget
something, because you must bring your book to me at the end of
every month, and let me see how much you have spent, and what is
the balance in hand; and if you are not able to make it come out
square, and tell me what you have done with every penny, you will
lose either the whole or a part of your allowance for the next
month, according to the extent of your delinquency. Do you
understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Let me see now how much you can remember of your last
month's expenditures. Take the book and set down everything you
can think of."

Elsie had a good memory, and was able to remember how she had
spent almost every cent during the time specified; and she set
down one item after another, and then added up the column without
any mistake.

"That was very well done," said her father approvingly. And then
running over the items half aloud, "Candy, half a dollar;
remember, Elsie, there is to be no more money disposed of in that
way; not as a matter of economy, by any means, but because I
consider is very injurious. I am very anxious that you should grow
up strong and healthy. I would not for anything have you a
miserable dyspeptic."

Then suddenly closing the book and handing it to her, he said,
inquiringly, "You were very anxious to go to Ashlands?"

"I would have liked to go, papa, if you had been willing," she
replied meekly.

"I am afraid Lucy is not a suitable companion for you, Elsie. I
think she puts bad notions into your head," he said very gravely.

Elsie flushed and trembled, and was just opening her lips to make
her confession, when the door opened and her grandfather entered.
She could not speak before him, and so remained silent.

"Does she not sometimes say naughty things to you?" asked her
father, speaking so low that her grandfather could not have heard.

"Yes, sir," replied the little girl, almost under her breath.

"I thought so," said he, "and therefore I shall keep you apart as
entirely as possible; and I hope there will be no murmuring on
your part."

"No, papa, you know best," she answered, very humbly.

Then, putting the money into her hands, he dismissed her. When she
had gone out he sat for a moment in deep thought. Elsie's list of
articles bought with her last month's allowance consisted almost
entirely of gifts for others, generally the servants. There were
some beads and sewing-silk for making a purse, and a few drawing
materials; but with the exception of the candy, she had bought
nothing else for herself. This was what her father was thinking
of.

"She is a dear, unselfish, generous little thing," he said to
himself. "However, I may be mistaken; I must not allow myself to
judge from only one month. She seems submissive, too,"--he had
overheard what passed between her and Lucy at parting--"but
perhaps that was for effect; she probably suspected I could hear
her--and she thinks me a tyrant, and obeys from fear, not love."

This thought drove away all the tender feeling that had been
creeping into his heart; and when he next met his little daughter,
his manner was as cold and distant as ever, and Elsie found it
impossible to approach him with sufficient freedom to tell him
what was in her heart.




CHAPTER FIFTH


   "Man is unjust, but God is just; and finally justice
    Triumphs."
                                 --LONGFELLOW'S _Evangeline_.

                      "How disappointment tracks
    The steps of hope!"
                                 --MISS LANDON.


One afternoon, the next week after the Carringtons had left, the
younger members of the family, Arthur, Elsie, Walter and Enna,
were setting out to take a walk, when Elsie, seeing a gold chain
depending from the pocket of Arthur's jacket, exclaimed:

"O Arthur! how _could_ you take grandpa's watch? _Do_
put it away, for you will be almost sure to injure it."

"Hold your tongue, Elsie; I'll do as I please," was the polite
rejoinder.

"But, Arthur, you _know_ that grandpa would never let you
take it. I have often heard him say that it was very valuable, for
it was seldom that so good a one could be had at any price; and I
know that he paid a great deal for it."

"Well, if he prizes it so, he needn't have left it lying on his
table, and so I'll just teach him a lesson; it's about time he
learnt to be careful."

"O Arthur! do put it away," pleaded Elsie, "if anything should
happen to it, what will grandpa say? I know he will be very angry,
and ask us all who did it; and you know I cannot tell a lie, and
if he asks me if it was you, I cannot say no."

"Yes, I'll trust you for telling tales," replied Arthur,
sneeringly; "but if you do, I'll pay you for it."

He ran down the avenue as he spoke, Walter and Enna following, and
Elsie slowly bringing up the rear, looking the picture of
distress, for she knew not what to do, seeing that Arthur would
not listen to her remonstrances, and, as often happened, all the
older members of the family were out, and thus there was no
authority that could be appealed to in time to prevent the
mischief which she had every reason to fear would be done. Once
she thought of turning back, that she might escape the necessity
of being a witness in the case; but, remembering that her father
told her she must walk with the others that afternoon, and also
that, as she had already seen the watch in Arthur's possession,
her testimony would be sufficient to convict him even if she saw
no more, she gave up the idea, and hurried on, with the faint hope
that she might be able to induce Arthur to refrain from indulging
in such sports as would be likely to endanger the watch; or else
to give it into her charge. At any other time she would have
trembled at the thought of touching it; but now she felt so sure
it would be safer with her than with him, that she would gladly
have taken the responsibility.

The walk was far from being a pleasure that afternoon; the boys
ran so fast that it quite put her out of breath to keep up with
them; and then every little while Arthur would cut some caper that
made her tremble for the watch; answering her entreaties that he
would either give it into her care or walk along quietly, with
sneers and taunts, and declarations of his determination to do
just exactly as he pleased, and not be ruled by her.

But at length, while he was in the act of climbing a tree, the
watch dropped from his pocket and fell to the ground, striking
with considerable force.

Elsie uttered a scream, and Arthur, now thoroughly frightened
himself, jumped down and picked it up.

The crystal was broken, the back dented, and how much the works
were injured they could not tell; but it had ceased to run.

"O Arthur! see what you've done!" exclaimed Walter.

"What will papa say?" said Enna; while Elsie stood pale and
trembling, not speaking a word.

"You hush!" exclaimed Arthur fiercely. "I'll tell you what, if any
of you dare to tell of me, I'll make you sorry for it to the last
day of your life. Do you hear?"

The question was addressed to Elsie in a tone of defiance.

"Arthur," said she, "grandpa will know that _somebody_ did
it, and surely you would not wish an innocent person to be
punished for _your_ fault."

"I don't care _who_ gets punished, so that papa does not find
out that I did it," said he furiously; "and if you dare to tell of
me, I'll pay you for it."

"I shall say nothing, unless it becomes necessary to save the
innocent, or I am forced to speak; but in that case I shall tell
the truth," replied Elsie, firmly.

Arthur doubled up his fist, and made a plunge at her as if he
meant to knock her down; but Elsie sprang behind the tree, and
then ran so fleetly toward the house that he was not able to
overtake her until his passion had had time to cool.

When they reached the house, Arthur replaced the watch on his
father's table, whence he had taken it, and then they all awaited
his return with what courage they might.

"I say, Wally," said Arthur, drawing his little brother aside and
speaking in a low tone, having first sent a cautious glance around
to assure himself that no one else was within hearing; "I say,
what would you give me for that new riding whip of mine?"

"O Arthur! anything I've got," exclaimed the little boy eagerly.
"But you wouldn't give it up, I know, and you're only trying to
tease me."

"No, indeed, Wal; I mean to _give_ it to you if you'll only
be a good fellow and do as I tell you."

"What?" he asked, with intense interest.

"Tell papa that Jim broke the watch."

"But he _didn't_" replied the child, opening his eyes wide
with astonishment.

"Well, what of that, you little goose?" exclaimed Arthur
impatiently; "papa doesn't know that."

"But Jim will get punished," said Walter, "and I don't want to
tell such a big story either."

"Very well, sir, then you'll not get the whip; and, besides, if
you don't do as I wish, I'm certain you'll see a ghost one of
these nights; for there's one comes to see me sometimes, and I'll
send him right off to you."

"Oh! _don't_, Arthur, don't; I'd die of fright," cried the
little boy, who was very timid, glancing nervously around, as if
he expected the ghost to appear immediately.

"I tell you I will, though, if you don't do as I say; he'll come
this very night and carry you off, and never bring you back."

"O Arthur! don't let him come, and I'll say anything you want me
to," cried the little fellow in great terror.

"That's a good boy; I knew you would," said Arthur, smiling
triumphantly. And turning away from Walter, he next sought out
Enna, and tried his threats and persuasions upon her with even
better success.

Elsie had gone directly to her own room, where she sat trembling
every time a footstep approached her door, lest it should be a
messenger from her grandfather. No one came, however, and at last
the tea-bell rang, and on going down she found to her relief that
her grandfather and his wife had not yet returned.

"You look pale, Elsie," said her father, giving her a scrutinizing
glance as she took her seat by his side. "Are you well?"

"Yes, papa, quite well," she replied.

He looked at her again a little anxiously, but said no more; and
as soon as the meal was concluded, Elsie hastened away to her own
room again.

It was still early in the evening when Mr. and Mrs. Dinsmore
returned--for once, bringing no company with them; and he had not
been many minutes in the house ere he took up his watch, and of
course instantly discovered the injury it had sustained.

His suspicions at once fell upon Arthur, whose character for
mischief was well established; and burning with rage, watch in
hand, he repaired to the drawing-room, which he entered, asking,
in tones tremulous with passion, "Where is Arthur! Young rascal!
this is some of _his_ work," he added, holding up the injured
article.

"My dear, how can you say so? have you any proof?" asked his wife,
deprecatingly adding in her softest tones, "my poor boy seems to
get the blame of everything that goes wrong."

"He gets no more than he deserves," replied her husband angrily.
"Arthur! Arthur, I say, where are you?"

"He is in the garden, sir, I think. I saw him walking in the
shrubbery a moment since," said Mr. Horace Dinsmore.

The father instantly despatched a servant to bring him in; sending
a second in search of the overseer; while a third was ordered to
assemble all the house-servants. "I will sift this matter to the
bottom, and child or servant, the guilty one shall suffer for it,"
exclaimed the old gentleman, pacing angrily up and down the room.
"Arthur," said he sternly, as the boy made his appearance, looking
somewhat pale and alarmed, "how dared you meddle with my watch?"

"I didn't, sir; I never touched it," he replied boldly, yet
avoiding his father's eye as he uttered the deliberate falsehood.

"There, my dear, I told you so," exclaimed his mother,
triumphantly.

"I don't believe you," said his father; "and if you are guilty, as
I strongly suspect, you had better confess it at once, before I
find it out in some other way."

"I didn't do it, sir. It was Jim, and I can prove it by Walter and
Enna; we all saw it fall from his pocket when he was up in a tree;
and he cried like anything when he found it was broken, and said
he didn't mean to do it any harm; he was only going to wear it a
little while, and then put it back all safe; but now master would
be dreadfully angry, and have him flogged."

"That I will, if it is true," exclaimed the old gentleman,
passionately; "he shall be well whipped and sent out to work on
the plantation. I'll keep no such meddlers about my house."

He looked at Enna. "What do you know of this?" he asked.

"It is true, papa, I saw him do it," she replied, with a slight
blush, and sending an uneasy glance around the room.

"Did you see it, too, Walter?" asked his father.

"Yes, sir," replied the little fellow, in a low, reluctant tone;
"but please, papa, don't punish him. I'm sure he didn't mean to
break it."

"Hold your tongue! he _shall_ be punished as he deserves,"
cried the old gentleman, furiously. "Here, sir," turning to the
overseer, and pointing to Jim, "take the fellow out, and give him
such a flogging as he will remember."

Elsie was sitting in her own room, trying to learn a lesson for
the next day, but finding great difficulty in fixing her thoughts
upon it, when she was startled by the sudden entrance of Aunt
Chloe, who, with her apron to her eyes, was sobbing violently.

"O mammy, mammy! what's the matter? has anything happened to you?"
inquired the little girl, in a tone of great alarm, starting to
her feet, and dropping her book in her haste and fright.

"Why," sobbed Chloe, "Jim, he's been an' gone an' broke ole
master's watch, an' he's gwine be whipped, an' old Aunt Phoebe
she's cryin' fit to break her ole heart 'bout her boy, kase--"

Elsie waited to hear no more, but darting out into the hall, and
encountering her father on his way to his room, she rushed up to
him, pale and agitated, and seizing his hand, looked up eagerly
into his face, exclaiming with a burst of tears and sobs, "O papa,
papa! don't, oh! _don't_ let them whip poor Jim."

Mr. Dinsmore's countenance was very grave, almost distressed.

"I am sorry it is necessary, daughter," he said, "but Jim has done
very wrong, and deserves his punishment, and I cannot interfere."

"Oh! no, papa, he did not, _indeed_ he did not break the
watch. I _know_ he didn't, for I was by and saw it all."

"Is it _possible?_" said he, in a tone of surprise; "then
tell me who did do it. It could not have been you, Elsie?" and he
looked searchingly into her face.

"Oh! no, papa, I would never have dared to touch it. But please
don't make me tell tales; but I know it wasn't Jim. Oh! _do_
stop them quickly, before they begin to whip him."

"Aunt Chloe," said Mr. Dinsmore, "go down to my father, and tell
him it is my request that the punishment should be delayed a few
moments until I come down."

Then taking Elsie's hand, he led her into her room again, and
seating himself, drew her to his side, saying, with grave
decision, "Now, my daughter, if you want to save Jim, it will be
necessary for you to tell _all_ you know about this affair."

"I don't like to tell tales, papa," pleaded the little girl; "I
think it so very mean. Is it not enough for me to tell that I know
Jim didn't do it?"

"No, Elsie; I have already said that it is _quite necessary_
for you to tell _all you know_."

"O papa! don't make me; I don't like to do it," she urged, with
tears in her eyes.

"I should be very much ashamed of you, and quite unwilling to own
you as my child, if under any other circumstances you were willing
to tell tales," he replied, in a tone of kindness that quite
surprised Elsie, who always trembled at the very thought of
opposing the slightest resistance to his will; "but," he added,
firmly, "it is the only way to save Jim; if you do not now make a
full disclosure of all you know, he will be severely whipped and
sent away to work on the plantation, which will distress his poor
old mother exceedingly. Elsie, I think you would be doing very
wickedly to allow an innocent person to suffer when you can
prevent it; and besides, I will add the weight of my authority, and
say you _must do it at once_; and you well know, my daughter,
that there can be no question as to the duty of obedience to your father."

He paused, gazing earnestly down into the little tearful,
downcast, blushing face at his side.

"Have I not said enough to convince you of your duty?" he asked.

"Yes, papa; I will tell you all about it," she answered in a
tremulous tone.

Her story was told with evident reluctance, but in a simple,
straightforward manner, that attested its truthfulness.

Mr. Dinsmore listened in silence, but with an expression of
indignation on his handsome features; and the moment she had
finished he rose, and again taking her hand, led her from the
room, saying, as he did so:

"You must repeat this story to your grandfather."

"O papa! must I? Won't you tell him? please don't make me do it,"
she pleaded tremblingly, and hanging back.

"My daughter, you _must_," he replied, so sternly that she
dared not make any further resistance, but quietly submitted to be
led into her grandfather's presence.

He was still in the drawing-room, walking about in a disturbed and
angry manner, and now and then casting a suspicious glance upon
Arthur, who sat pale and trembling in a corner, looking the
picture of guilt and misery; for he had heard Chloe deliver his
brother's message, and feared that exposure awaited him.

Walter had stolen away to cry over Jim's punishment, and wish that
he had had the courage to tell the truth at first; but saying to
himself that it was too late now, his father wouldn't believe him,
and he would make it up to Jim somehow, even if it took all his
pocket-money for a month.

None of the other members of the family had left the room, and all
wore an anxious, expectant look, as Mr. Dinsmore entered, leading
Elsie by the hand.

"I have brought you another witness, sir," he said, "for it seems
Elsie was present when the mischief was done."

"Ah!" exclaimed the old gentlemen; "then I may hope to get at the
truth. Elsie, who broke my watch?"

"It was not Jim, grandpa, indeed, _indeed_, it was not; but
oh! _please_ don't make me say who it was," replied the little
girl, beseechingly.

"Elsie!" exclaimed her father, in a tone of stern reproof.

"O papa! how can I?" she sobbed, trembling and clinging to his
hand as she caught a threatening look from Arthur.

"Come, come, child, you must tell us all you know about it," said
her grandfather, "or else I can't let Jim off."

Mr. Dinsmore was looking down at his little girl, and, following
the direction of her glance, perceived the cause of her terror.
"Don't be afraid to speak out and tell all you know, daughter, for
I will protect you," he said, pressing the little trembling hand
in his, and at the same time giving Arthur a meaning look.

"Yes, yes, speak out, child; speak out at once; no one shall hurt
you for telling the truth," exclaimed her grandfather, impatiently.

"I will, grandpa," she said, trembling and weeping; "but please
don't be very angry with Arthur; if you will forgive him this
time, I think he will never meddle any more; and I am quite sure
he did not mean to break it."

"So it _was you_, after all, you young rascal! I knew it from
the first!" cried the old gentleman, striding across the room,
seizing the boy by the shoulder and shaking him roughly.

"But go on, Elsie, let us have the whole story," he added, turning
to her again, but still keeping his hold upon Arthur. "You young
dog!" he added, when she had finished. "Yes, I'll forgive you when
you've had a good, sound flogging, and a week's solitary
confinement on bread and water, but not before."

So saying, he was about to lead him from the room, when Elsie
suddenly sprang forward, and with clasped hands, and flushed,
eager face, she pleaded earnestly, beseechingly, "O grandpa! don't
whip him, don't punish him! He will never be so naughty again.
Will you, Arthur? Let _me pay_ for the watch, grandpa, and
don't punish him. I would so like to do it."

"It isn't the moneyed value of the watch I care for, child,"
replied the old gentleman, contemptuously; "and besides, where
would you get so much money?"

"I am rich, grandpa, am I not? Didn't my mamma leave me a great
deal of money?" asked the little girl, casting down her eyes and
blushing painfully.

"No, Elsie," said her father, very gently, as he took her hand and
led her back to the side of his chair again, "you have nothing but
what I choose to give you, until you come of age, which will not
be for a great many years yet."

"But you _will_ give me the money to pay for the watch papa,
_won't_ you?" she asked, pleadingly.

"No, I certainly shall not, for I think Arthur should be left to
suffer the penalty of his own misdeeds," he replied in a very
decided tone; "and, besides," he added, "your grandfather has
already told you that it is not the pecuniary loss he cares for."

"No; but I will teach this young rascal to let my property alone,"
said the elder gentleman with almost fierce determination, as he
tightened his grasp upon the boy's arm and dragged him from the
room.

Arthur cast a look of hatred and defiance at Elsie as he went out,
that made her grow pale with fear and tremble so that she could
scarcely stand.

Her father saw both the look and its effect, and drawing the
little trembler closer to him, he put his arm around her, and
stroking her hair, said in a low, soothing tone: "Don't be
frightened, daughter; I will protect you."

She answered him with a grateful look and a long sigh of relief,
and he was just about to take her on his knee when visitors were
announced, and, changing his mind, he dismissed her to her room,
and she saw no more of him that evening.

"Oh! if they only _hadn't_ come just now," thought the sorely
disappointed child, as she went out with slow, reluctant steps.
"I'm sure they wouldn't, if they had only known. I'm sure, quite
sure papa was going to take me on his knee, and they prevented
him. Oh! will be ever think of doing it again! Dear, dear papa, if
you could only know how I long to sit there!" But Mrs. Dinsmore,
who had hastily retired on the exit of Arthur and his father from
the drawing-room, was now sailing majestically down the hall, on
her return thither; and Elsie, catching sight of her, and being
naturally anxious to avoid a meeting just then, at once quickened
her pace very considerably, almost running up the stairs to her
own room, where she found old Aunt Phoebe, Jim's mother, waiting
to speak with her.

The poor old creature was overflowing with gratitude, and her
fervent outpouring of thanks and blessings almost made Elsie
forget her disappointment for the time.

Then Jim came to the door, asking to see Miss Elsie, and poured
out his thanks amid many sobs and tears; for the poor fellow had
been terribly frightened--indeed, so astounded by the unexpected
charge, that he had not had a word to say in his own defence,
beyond an earnest and reiterated assertion of his entire
innocence; to which, however, his angry master had paid no
attention.

But at length Phoebe remembered that she had some baking to do,
and calling on Jim to come right along and split up some dry wood
to heat her oven, she went down to the kitchen followed by her
son, and Elsie was left alone with her nurse.

Chloe sat silently knitting, and the little girl, with her head
leaning upon her hand and her eyes fixed thoughtfully upon the
floor, was rehearsing again and again in her own mind all that had
just passed between her papa and herself; dwelling with lingering
delight upon everything approaching to a caress, every kind word,
every soothing tone of his voice; and then picturing to herself
all that he might have done and said if those unwelcome visitors
had not come in and put an end to the interview; and half hoping
that he would send for her when they had gone, she watched the
clock and listened intently for every sound.

But her bedtime came and she dared not stay up any longer; for his
orders had been peremptory that she should always retire precisely
at that hour, unless she had his express permission to remain up
longer.

She lay awake for some time, thinking of his unwonted kindness,
and indulging fond hopes for the future, then fell asleep to dream
that she was on her father's knee, and felt his arms folded
lovingly about her, and his kisses warm upon her cheek.

Her heart beat quickly as she entered the breakfast-room the next
morning.

The family were just taking their places at the table, and her
half-eager, half-timid "Good morning, papa," was answered by a
grave, absent "Good morning, Elsie," and turning to his father and
entering into a conversation with him on some business matter, he
took no further notice of his little daughter, excepting to see
that her plate was well supplied with such articles of food as he
allowed her to eat.

Elsie was sadly disappointed, and lingered about the room in the
vain hope of obtaining a smile or caress; but presently her father
went out, saying to the elder Mr. Dinsmore that he was going to
ride over to Ion, and would probably not return before night;
then, with a sigh, the little girl went back to her own room to
prepare her morning lessons.

Elsie was now happily free from Arthur's persecutions for a time;
for even after his release, he was too much afraid of his brother
openly to offer her any very serious annoyance, though he plotted
revenge in secret; yet the little girl's situation was far from
comfortable, and her patience often severely tried, for Mrs.
Dinsmore was excessively angry with her on Arthur's account, and
whenever her father was not present, treated her in the most
unkind manner; and from the same cause the rest of the family,
with the exception of her grandpa and Aunt Adelaide, were
unusually cold and distant; while her father, although careful to
see that all her wants were attended to, seldom took any further
notice of her; unless to reprove her for some childish fault
which, however trifling, never escaped his eye.

"You seem," said Adelaide to him one day, as he sent Elsie from
the room for some very slight fault, "to expect that child to be a
great deal more perfect than any grown person I ever saw, and to
understand all about the rules of etiquette."

"If you please, Adelaide," said he haughtily, "I should like to be
allowed to manage my own child as I see proper, without any
interference from others."

"Excuse me," replied his sister; "I had no intention of
interfering; but really, Horace, I do think you have no idea how
eagle-eyed you are for faults in her, nor how _very_ stern is
the tone in which you always reprove her. I have known Elsie a
great deal longer than you have, and I feel very certain that a
gentle reproof would do her quite as much good, and not wound her
half so much."

"Enough, Adelaide!" exclaimed her brother, impatiently. "If I were
ten years _younger_ than yourself, instead of that much older,
there might be some propriety in your advising and directing me thus;
as it is, I must say I consider it simply impertinent." And he left the
room with an angry stride, while Adelaide looked after him with the
thought, "I am glad you have no authority over me."

All that Adelaide had said was true; yet Elsie never complained,
never blamed her father, even in her heart; but, in her deep
humility, thought it was all because she was "so very naughty or
careless;" and she was continually making resolutions to be "oh!
_so_ careful always to do just right, and please dear papa,
so that some day he might learn to love her."

But, alas! that hope was daily growing fainter and fainter; his
cold and distant manner to her and his often repeated reproofs had
so increased her natural timidity and sensitiveness that she was
now very constrained in her approaches to him, and seldom ventured
to move or speak in his presence; and he would not see that this
timidity and embarrassment were the natural results of his
treatment, but attributed it all to want of affection. He saw that
she feared him, and to that feeling alone he gave credit for her
uniform obedience to his commands, while he had no conception of
the intense, but now almost despairing love for him that burned in
that little heart, and made the young life one longing, earnest
desire and effort to gain his affection.




CHAPTER SIXTH

   "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
    death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and
    thy staff, they comfort me."
                                 --_Psalm_ xxiii. 4.

   "'Tis but the cruel artifice of fate,
    Thus to refine and vary on our woes,
    To raise us from despair and give us hopes,
    Only to plunge us in the gulf again,
    And make us doubly wretched."
                                 --TRAP's _Abramuh_.


It was Sabbath morning, and Elsie, ready dressed for church, stood
in the portico waiting for her father to come down and lift her
into the carriage, in which Adelaide, Louisa, and Enna were
already seated.

The coachman was in his seat, and the horses, a pair of young and
fiery steeds purchased by Mr. Dinsmore only a few days before,
were impatiently stamping and tossing their heads, requiring quite
an exertion of strength to hold them in.

"I don't exactly like the actions of those horses, Ajax," remarked
Mr. Dinsmore, as he came out putting on his gloves; "I did not
intend to have them put in harness to-day. Why did you not give us
the old bays?"

"Kase, Marster Horace, ole Kate she's got a lame foot, an' ole
marster he says dese youngsters is got to be used some time or
nuther, an' I reckoned I mout jis as well use 'em to-day."

"Do you feel quite sure of being able to hold them in?" asked his
master, glancing uneasily first at the horses and then at Elsie.

"Ki! marster, dis here chile ben able to hold in a'most anything,"
exclaimed the negro, exhibiting a double row of dazzlingly white
teeth; "an' besides, I'se drove dese here hosses twice 'fore now,
an' dey went splendid. Hold 'em in! Yes, sah, easy as nuffin."

"Elsie," said her father, still looking a little uneasy, in spite
of Ajax's boasting, "I think it would be just as well for you to
stay at home."

Elsie made no reply in words, but her answering look spoke such
intense disappointment, such earnest entreaty, that, saying, "Ah!
well, I suppose there is no real danger; and since you seem so
anxious to go, I will not compel you to stay at home," he lifted
her into the carriage, and seating himself beside her, ordered the
coachman to drive on as carefully as he could.

"Elsie, change seats with me," said Enna; "I want to sit beside
Brother Horace."

"No," replied Mr. Dinsmore, laying his hand on his little
daughter's shoulder, "Elsie's place is by me, and she shall sit
nowhere else."

"Do you think we are in any danger of being run away with?" asked
Adelaide, a little anxiously as she observed him glancing once or
twice out of the window, and was at the same time sensible that
their motion was unusually rapid.

"The horses are young and fiery, but Ajax is an excellent driver,"
he replied, evasively; adding, "You may be sure that if I had
thought the danger very great I would have left Elsie at home."

They reached the church without accident, but on their return the
horses took fright while going down a hill, and rushed along at a
furious rate, which threatened every instant to upset the
carriage.

Elsie thought they were going very fast, but did not know that
there was real danger until her father suddenly lifted her from
her seat, and placing her between his knees, held her tightly, as
though he feared she would be snatched from his grasp.

Elsie looked up into his face. It was deadly pale, and his eyes
were fixed upon her with an expression of anguish.

"Dear papa," she whispered, "God will take care of us."

"I would give all I am worth to have you safe at home," he
answered hoarsely, pressing her closer and closer to him.

O! even in that moment of fearful peril, when death seemed just at
hand, those words, and the affectionate clasp of her father's arm,
sent a thrill of intense joy to the love-famished heart of the
little girl.

But destruction seemed inevitable. Lora was leaning back, half
fainting with terror; Adelaide scarcely less alarmed, while Enna
clung to her, sobbing most bitterly.

Elsie alone preserved a cheerful serenity. She had built her house
upon the rock, and knew that it would stand. Her destiny was in
her Heavenly Father's hands, and she was content to leave it
there. Even death had no terrors to the simple, unquestioning
faith of the little child who had put her trust in Jesus.

But they were not to perish thus; for at that moment a powerful
negro, who was walking along the road, hearing an unusual sound,
turned about, caught sight of the vehicle coming toward him at
such a rapid rate, and instantly comprehending the peril of the
travellers, planted himself in the middle of the road, and, at the
risk of life and limb, caught the horses by the bridle--the sudden
and unexpected check throwing them upon their haunches, and
bringing the carriage to an instant stand-still.

"Thank God, we are saved! That fellow shall be well rewarded for
his brave deed," exclaimed Mr. Dinsmore, throwing open the
carriage door.

Then, leaping to the ground, he lifted Elsie out, set her down,
and gave his hand to his sisters one after the other.

They were almost at the entrance of the avenue, and all preferred
to walk the short distance to the house rather than again trust
themselves to the horses.

Mr. Dinsmore lingered a moment to speak to the man who had done
them such good service, and to give some directions to the
coachman; and then, taking the hand of his little girl, who had
been waiting for him, he walked slowly on, neither of them
speaking a word until they reached the house, when he stooped and
kissed her cheek, asking very kindly if she had recovered from her
fright.

"Yes, papa," she answered, in a quiet tone, "I knew that God would
take care of us. Oh! wasn't He good to keep us all from being
killed?"

"Yes," he said, very gravely. "Go now and let mammy get you ready
for dinner."

As Elsie was sitting alone in her room that afternoon she was
surprised by a visit from Lora; it being very seldom that the
elder girls cared to enter her apartment.

Lora looked a little pale, and more grave and thoughtful than
Elsie had ever seen her. For a while she sat in silence, then
suddenly burst out, "Oh, Elsie! I can't help thinking all the
time, what if we had been killed! where would we all be now? where
would _I_ have been? I believe _you_ would have gone straight
to heaven, Elsie; but _I_--oh! I should have been with the rich man
the minister read about this morning, lifting up my eyes in torment."

And Lora covered her face with her hands and shuddered.

Presently she went on again. "I was terribly frightened, and so
were the rest--all but you, Elsie; tell me, _do_--what kept
_you_ from being afraid?"

"I was thinking," said Elsie gently, turning over the leaves of
her little Bible as she spoke, "of this sweet verse: 'Yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil; for thou art with me;' and oh, Lora! it made me so happy to
think that Jesus was there with me, and that if I were killed, I
should only fall asleep, to wake up again in His arms; then how
could I be afraid?"

"Ah! I would give anything to feel as you do," said Lora, sighing.
"But tell me, Elsie, did you not feel afraid for the rest of us?
I'm sure you must know that _we_ are not Christians; we don't
even pretend to be."

Elsie blushed and looked down.

"It all passed so quickly, you know, Lora, almost in a moment,"
she said, "so that I only had time to think of papa and myself;
and I have prayed so much for him that I felt quite sure God would
spare him until he should be prepared to die. It was very selfish,
I know," she added with deep humility; "but it was only for a
moment, and I can't tell you how thankful I was for _all_ our
spared lives."

"Don't look so--as if you had done something very wicked, Elsie,"
replied Lora, sighing again. "I'm sure we have given you little
enough reason to care whatever becomes of us; but oh! Elsie, if
you can only tell me how to be a Christian, I mean now to try very
hard; indeed, I am determined never to rest until I am one."

"Oh, Lora, how glad I am!" cried Elsie, joyfully, "for I know that
if you are really in earnest, you will succeed; for no one ever
yet failed who tried aright. Jesus said, '_Every one_ that
asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that
knocketh, it _shall_ be opened.' Is not _that_ encouraging?
And listen to what God says here in _this_ verse: 'Ye shall seek
me and _find_ me, when ye shall search for me with _all your
heart_.' So you see, dear Lora, if you will only seek the Lord with
your _whole heart_, you may be _sure_, _quite_ sure
of finding Him."

"Yes," said Lora, "but you have not answered my question;
_how_ am I to seek? that is, what means am I to use to get
rid of my sins, and get a new heart? how make myself pleasing in
the sight of God? what must I _do_ to be saved?"

"That is the very question the jailer put to Paul, and he
answered, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved,'" replied Elsie, quickly turning to the chapter and
pointing out the text with her finger, that Lora might see that
she had quoted it correctly. "And in answer to your other
question, 'How shall I get rid of my sins?' see here: 'In that day
there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanliness.' That is
in Zechariah; then John tells us what that fountain is when he
says, 'The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all
sin;' and again, 'Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our
sins in His own blood.'"

"Yes, Elsie, but what must I _do_?" asked Lora, eagerly.

"Do, Lora? only _believe_" replied Elsie, in the same earnest
tone. "Jesus has done and suffered all that is necessary; and now
we have nothing at all to do but go to Him and be washed in that
fountain; believe Him when He says, 'I _give_ unto them eternal
life;' just accept the gift, and trust and love Him; that is the whole
of it, and it is so simple that even such a little girl as I can
understand it."

"But surely, Elsie, I _can_, I _must do something_."

"Yes, God tells us to repent; and He says, 'Give me thine heart;'
you can do that; you can love Jesus; at least He will enable you
to, if you ask Him, and He will teach you to be sorry for your
sins; the Bible says, 'He is exalted to give repentance and
remission of sins;' and if you ask Him He will give them to you.
It is true we cannot do anything good of ourselves; without the
help of the Holy Spirit we can do nothing right, because we are so
very wicked; but then we can always get that help if we ask for
it. Jesus said, 'Your Heavenly Father is more willing to give His
Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, than parents are to give good
gifts unto their children. Oh, Lora! don't be afraid to ask for
it; don't be afraid to come to Jesus, for He says, 'Him that
cometh unto Me, I will in nowise cast out;' and He is such a
precious Saviour, so kind and loving. But remember that you must
come very humbly; feeling that you are a great sinner, and not
worthy to be heard, and only hoping to be forgiven, because Jesus
died. The Bible says, 'God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace
unto the humble.'"

Lora lingered the greater part of the afternoon in Elsie's room,
asking her questions, or listening to her while she read the
Scriptures, or repeated some beautiful hymn, or spoke in her
sweet, childish way, of her own peace and joy in believing in
Jesus.

But at last Lora went to her own room, and Elsie had another quiet
half-hour to herself before the tea-bell again called the family
together.

Elsie answered the summons with a light heart--a heart that
thrilled with a new and strange sense of happiness as she
remembered her father's evident anxiety for her safety during
their perilous ride, recalling each word and look, and feeling
again, in imagination, the clasp of his arm about her waist.

"Ah! surely papa does love me," she murmured to herself over and
over again; and when he met her at the table with a kind smile,
and laying his hand caressingly on her head, asked in an
affectionate tone, "How does my little daughter do this evening?"
her cheeks flushed, and her eyes grew bright with happiness, and
she longed to throw her arms around his neck, and tell him how
very, very much she loved him.

But that was quite impossible at the table, and before all the
family; so she merely raised her glad eyes to his face and
answered, "I am very well, thank you, papa."

But, after all, this occurrence produced but little change in
Elsie's condition; her father treated her a little more
affectionately for a day or two, and then gradually returned to
his ordinary stern, cold manner; indeed, before the week was out,
she was again in sad disgrace.

She was walking alone in the garden one afternoon, when her
attention was attracted by a slight fluttering noise which seemed
to proceed from an arbor near by, and on hastily turning in to
ascertain the cause, she found a tiny and beautiful humming-bird
confined under a glass vase; in its struggles to escape it was
fluttering and beating against the walls of its prison, thus
producing the sound the little girl had heard in passing.

Elsie was very tender-hearted, and could never see any living
creature in distress without feeling a strong desire to relieve
its sufferings. She knew that Arthur was in the habit of torturing
every little insect and bird that came in his way, and had often
drawn his persecutions upon herself by interfering in behalf of
the poor victim; and now the thought instantly flashed upon her
that _this_ was some of his work, and that he would return
ere long to carry out his cruel purposes. Then at once arose the
desire to release the little prisoner and save it further
suffering, and without waiting to reflect a moment she raised the
glass, and the bird was gone.

Then she began to think with a little tremor, how angry Arthur
would be; but it was too late to think of that now, and, after
all, she did not stand in very great dread of the consequences,
especially as she felt nearly sure of her father's approval of
what she had done, having several times heard him reprove Arthur
for his cruel practices.

Not caring to meet Arthur then, however, she hastily retreated to
the house, where she seated herself in the veranda with a book. It
was a very warm afternoon, and that, being on the east side of the
house and well protected by trees, shrubbery, and vines, was as
cool a spot as could be found on the place.

Arthur, Walter and Enna sat on the floor playing jack-stones--a
favorite game with them--and Louise was stretched full length on a
settee, buried in the latest novel.

"Hush!" she said, as Walter gave a sudden shout at a successful
toss Enna had just made; "can't you be quiet? Mamma is taking her
afternoon nap, and you will disturb her; and, besides, I cannot
read in such a noise."

Elsie wondered why Arthur did not go to see after his bird, but
soon forgot all about it in the interest with which she was poring
over the story of the "Swiss Family Robinson."

The jack-stone players were just finishing their game when they
were all startled by the sudden appearance of Mr. Horace Dinsmore
upon the scene, asking in a tone of great wrath who had been down
in the garden and liberated the humming-bird he had been at such
pains to catch, because it was one of a rare species, and he was
anxious to add it to his collection of curiosities.

Elsie was terribly frightened, and would have been glad at that
moment to sink through the floor; she dropped her book in her lap,
and clasping her hands over her beating heart, grew pale and red
by turns, while she seemed choking with the vain effort to speak
and acknowledge herself the culprit, as conscience told her she
ought.

But her father was not looking at her; his eye was fixed on
Arthur.

"I presume it was you, sir," he said very angrily, "and if so, you
may prepare yourself for either a flogging or a return to your
prison, for one or the other I am determined you shall have."

"I didn't _do_ it, any such thing," replied the boy,
fiercely.

"Of course you will deny it," said his brother, "but we all know
that your word is good for nothing."

"Papa," said a trembling little voice, "Arthur did not do it; it
was I."

"You," exclaimed her father, in a tone of mingled anger and
astonishment, as he turned his flashing eye upon her, "_you_,
Elsie! can it be _possible_ that this is _your_ doing?"

Elsie's book fell on the floor, and, covering her face with both
hands, she burst into sobs and tears.

"Come here to me this instant," he said, seating himself on the
settee, from which Louise had risen on his entrance. "Come here
and tell me what you mean by meddling with my affairs in this
way."

"Please, papa, _please_ don't be so very angry with me,"
sobbed the little girl, as she rose and came forward in obedience
to his command; "I didn't know it was your bird, and I didn't mean
to be naughty."

"No, you _never mean_ to be naughty, according to your own
account," he said; "your badness is all accident; but nevertheless,
I find you a very troublesome, mischievous child; it was only the
other day you broke a valuable vase" (he forgot in his anger how little
she had really been to blame for that), "and now you have caused me
the loss of a rare specimen which I had spent a great deal of time
and effort in procuring. Really, Elsie, I am sorely tempted to administer
a very severe punishment"

Elsie caught at the arm of the settee for support.

"Tell me what you did it for; was it pure love of mischief?" asked
her father, sternly, taking hold of her arm and holding her up by
it.

"No, papa," she answered almost under her breath. "I was sorry for
the little bird. I thought Arthur had put it there to torture it,
and so I let it go. I did not mean to do wrong, papa, indeed I did
not," and the tears fell faster and faster.

"Indeed," said he, "you had no business to meddle with it, let who
would have put it there. Which hand did it?"

"This one, papa," sobbed the child, indicating her right hand.

He took it in his and held it a moment, while the little girl
stood tremblingly awaiting what was to come next. He looked at the
downcast, tearful face, the bosom heaving with sobs, and then at
the little trembling hand he held, so soft, and white, and tender,
and the sternness of his countenance relaxed somewhat; it seemed
next to impossible to inflict pain upon anything so tender and
helpless; and for a moment he was half inclined to kiss and
forgive her. But no, he had been very much irritated at his loss,
and the remembrance of it again aroused his anger, and well-nigh
extinguished the little spark of love and compassion that had
burned for a moment in his heart. She should be punished, though
he would not inflict physical pain.

"See, Elsie," laughed Louise, maliciously, "he is feeling in his
pocket for his knife. I suspect he intends to cut your hand off."

Elsie started, and the tearful eyes were raised to her father's
face with a look half of terrified entreaty, half of confidence
that such _could not_ be his intention.

"Hush, Louise!" exclaimed her brother, sternly; "you _know_
you are not speaking truly, and that I would as soon think of
cutting off my own hand as my child's. You should never speak
anything but truth, especially to children."

"I think it is well enough to frighten them a little sometimes,
and I thought that was what you were going to do," replied Louise,
looking somewhat mortified at the rebuke.

"No," said her brother, "that is a very bad plan, and one which I
shall never adopt. Elsie will learn in time, if she does not know
it now, that I never utter a threat which I do not intend to carry
out, and never break my word."

He had drawn a handkerchief from his pocket while speaking.

"I shall tie this hand up, Elsie," he said, proceeding to do so;
"those who do not use their hands aright must be deprived of the
use of them. There! let me see if that will keep it out of
mischief. I shall tie you up hand and foot before long, if you
continue such mischievous pranks. Now go to your room, and stay
there until tea-time."

Elsie felt deeply, bitterly disgraced and humiliated as she turned
to obey; and it needed not Arthur's triumphant chuckle nor the
smirk of satisfaction on Enna's face to add to the keen suffering
of her wounded spirit; this slight punishment was more to her than
a severe chastisement would have been to many another child; for
the very knowledge of her father's displeasure was enough at any
time to cause great pain to her sensitive spirit and gentle,
loving heart.

Walter, who was far more tender-hearted than either his brother or
sister, felt touched by the sight of her distress, and ran after
her to say, "Never mind, Elsie; I am ever so sorry for you, and I
don't think you were the least bit naughty."

She thanked him with a grateful look, and a faint attempt to smile
through her tears; then hurried on to her room, where she seated
herself in a chair by the window, and laying her arms upon the
sill, rested her head upon them, and while the bitter tears fell
fast from her eyes she murmured half aloud, "Oh! why am I always
so naughty? always doing something to displease my dear papa? how
I wish I could be good, and make him love me! I am afraid he never
will if I vex him so often."

Then an earnest, importunate prayer for help to do right, and
wisdom to understand how to gain her father's love, went up from
the almost despairing little heart to Him whose ear is ever open
unto the cry of His suffering children. And thus between weeping,
mourning, and praying, an hour passed slowly away, and the tea-
bell rang.

Elsie started up, but sat down again, feeling that she would much
rather do without her supper than show her tear-swollen eyes and
tied-up hand at the table.

But she was not to be left to her choice in the matter, for
presently there came a messenger bringing a peremptory command
from her father "to come down _immediately_ to her supper."

"Did you not hear the bell?" he asked, in his sternest tone, as
she tremblingly took her seat at his side.

"Yes, sir," she answered, in a low, tremulous tone.

"Very well, then; remember that you are always to come down the
moment the bell rings, unless you are directed otherwise, or are
sick; and the next time you are so late, I shall send you away
without your meal."

"I don't want any supper, papa," she said, humbly.

"Hush," he replied, severely; "I will have no pouting or sulking;
you must just eat your supper and behave yourself. Stop this
crying at once," he added, in an undertone, as he spread some
preserves on a piece of bread and laid it on her plate, "or I
shall take you away from the table, and if I do, you will be very
sorry."

He watched her a moment while she made a violent effort to choke
back her tears.

"What is your hand tied up for, Elsie?" asked her grandfather;
"have you been hurt?"

Elsie's face flushed painfully, but she made no reply.

"You must speak when you are spoken to," said her father; "answer
your grandfather's question at once."

"Papa tied it up, because I was naughty," replied the little girl,
vainly striving to suppress a sob.

Her father made a movement as if about to lead her from the table.

"O papa! _don't_" she cried, in terror; "I will be good."

"Let me have no more crying, then," said he; "this is shameful
behavior for a girl eight years old; it would be bad enough in a
child of Enna's age." He took out his handkerchief and wiped her
eyes. "Now," said he, "begin to eat your supper at once, and don't
let me have to reprove you again."

Elsie tried to obey, but it seemed very difficult, indeed almost
impossible, while she knew that her father was watching her
closely, and _felt_ that everybody else was looking at her
and thinking, "What a naughty little girl you are!"

"Oh!" thought the poor child, "if papa would only quit looking at
me, and the rest would forget all about me and eat their suppers,
maybe I could keep from crying." Then she sent up a silent prayer
for help, struggling hard to keep back the tears and sobs that
were almost suffocating her, and taking up her slice of bread,
tried to eat.

She was very thankful to her Aunt Adelaide for addressing a
question to her papa just at that moment, thus taking his
attention from her, and then adroitly setting them all to talking
until the little girl had had time to recover her composure, at
least in a measure.

"May I go to my room now, papa?" asked the timid little voice as
they rose from the table.

"No," he said, taking her hand and leading her out to the veranda,
where he settled himself in an easy-chair and lighted a cigar.

"Bring me that book that lies yonder on the settee," he commanded.

She brought it.

"Now," said he, "bring that stool and set yourself down here close
at my knee, and let me see if I can keep you out of mischief for
an hour or two."

"May I get a book to read, papa?" she asked timidly.

"No," said he shortly. "You may just do what I bid you, and
nothing more nor less."

She sat down as he directed, with her face turned toward him, and
tried to amuse herself with her own thoughts, and watching the
expression of his countenance as he read on and on, turning leaf
after leaf, too much interested in his book to take any further
notice of her.

"How handsome my papa is!" thought the little girl, gazing with
affectionate admiration into his face. And then she sighed, and
tears trembled in her eyes again. She admired her father, and loved
him, "oh! _so_ dearly," as she often whispered to herself; but
would she ever meet with anything like a return of her  fond affection?
There was an aching void in her heart which nothing else could fill;
must it always be thus? was her craving for affection never to be
satisfied? "O, papa! my own papa, will you never love me?" mourned
the sad little heart. "Ah! if I could only be good always, perhaps
he would; but I am so often naughty; --whenever he begins to be kind
I am sure to do something to vex him, and then it is all over. Oh! I
_wish_ I _could_ be good! I will try very, _very_ hard.
Ah! if I might climb on his knee now, and lay my head on his breast,
and put my arms round his neck, and tell him how sorry I am that I
have been naughty, and made him lose his bird; and how much--oh!
_how_ much I love him! But I know I never could tell him _that_
--I don't know how to express it; no _words could_, I am sure.
And if he would forgive me, and kiss me, and call me his dear little
daughter. Oh! will he _ever_ call me _that?_ Or if I, might
only stand beside him and lay my head on his shoulder, and
he would put his arm around me, it would make me _so_ happy."

An exclamation from Enna caused Elsie to turn her head, and
suddenly springing to her feet, she exclaimed in an eager, excited
way, "Papa, there is a carriage coming up the avenue--it must be
visitors; please, _please_, papa, let me go to my room."

"Why?" he asked coolly, looking up from his book, "why do you wish
to go?"

"Because I don't want to see them, papa," she said, hanging her
head and blushing deeply; "I don't want them to see me."

"You are not usually afraid of visitors," he replied in the same
cool tone.

"But they will see that my hand is tied up, and they will ask what
is the matter. O papa! do, _please_ do let me go quickly,
before they get here," she pleaded in an agony of shame and haste.

"No," said he, "I shall not let you go, if it were only to punish
you for getting off the seat where I bade you stay, without
permission. You will have to learn that I am to be obeyed at all
times, and under all circumstances. Sit down, and don't dare to
move again until I give you leave."

Elsie sat down without another word, but two bitter, scalding
tears rolled quickly down her burning cheeks.

"You needn't cry, Elsie," said her father; "it is only an old
gentleman who comes to see your grandfather on business, and who,
as he never notices children, will not be at all likely to ask any
questions. I hope you will learn some day, Elsie, to save your
tears until there is really some occasion for them."

The old gentleman had alighted while Mr. Dinsmore was speaking;
Elsie saw that he was alone, and the relief was so great that for
once she scarcely heeded her father's rebuke.

Another half-hour passed, and Mr. Dinsmore still sat reading,
taking no notice of Elsie, who, afraid to speak or move, was
growing very weary and sleepy. She longed to lay her head on her
father's knee, but dared not venture to take such a liberty; but
at length she was so completely overpowered by sleep as to do so
unconsciously.

The sound of his voice pronouncing her name aroused her.

"You are tired and sleepy," said he; "if you would like to go to
bed you may do so."

"Thank you, papa," she replied, rising to her feet.

"Well," he said, seeing her hesitate, "speak, if you have anything
to say."

"I am very sorry I was naughty, papa. Will you please forgive me?"
The words were spoken very low, and almost with a sob.

"Will you try not to meddle in future, and not to cry at the
table, or pout and sulk when you are punished?" he asked in a
cold, grave tone.

"Yes, sir, I will try to be a good girl always," said the humble
little voice.

"Then I will forgive you," he replied, taking the handkerchief off
her hand.

Still Elsie lingered. She felt as if she could not go without some
little token of forgiveness and love, some slight caress.

He looked at her with an impatient "Well?" Then, in answer to her
mute request, "No," he said, "I will not kiss you to-night; you
have been entirely too naughty. Go to your room at once."

Aunt Chloe was absolutely frightened by the violence of her
child's grief, as she rushed into the room and flung herself into
her arms weeping and sobbing most vehemently.

"What's de matter, darlin'?" she asked in great alarm.

"O mammy, mammy!" sobbed the child, "papa wouldn't kiss me! he
said I was too naughty. O mammy! will he ever love me now?"




CHAPTER SEVENTH


   "The smallest worm will turn, being trodden on."
                               --SHAKESPEARE, _Richard III_.

   "A blossom full of promise is life's joy,
    That never comes to fruit. Hope, for a time,
    Suns the young flow'ret in its gladsome light,
    And it looks flourishing--a little while--
    'Tis pass'd, we know not whither, but 'tis gone."
                                 --MISS LANDON.


It was Miss Day's custom to present to the parents of her pupils a
monthly report of their conduct and recitations. The regular time
for this had occurred once since Mr. Horace Dinsmore's return,
when she, of course, handed Elsie's to him.

It was very satisfactory, for Elsie was a most diligent scholar,
carrying her religious principles into that as well as everything
else; and disposed as Miss Day was to find fault with her, she
could seldom see any excuse for so doing, in either her conduct or
recitations.

Mr. Dinsmore glanced over the report and handed it back, saying,
"It is all very good; very satisfactory indeed. I am glad to see
that she is industrious and well behaved, for I wish her to grow
up an intelligent and amiable woman."

Elsie, who was standing near, heard the words, and they sent a
glow of pleasure to her cheeks. She looked up eagerly; but her
father turned and walked away without taking any notice of her,
and the glow of happiness faded, and the soft eyes filled with
tears of wounded feeling.

It was now time for a second report; but alas! the past month had
been a most unfortunate one for the little girl; the weather was
very warm, and she had felt languid and weak, and so much were her
thoughts occupied with the longing desire to gain her father's
love, so depressed were her spirits by her constant failure to do
so, that she often found it impossible to give her mind to her
lessons.

Arthur, too, during much of the time before and since the week of
his imprisonment, had been more than usually annoying, shaking her
chair and jogging her elbow so frequently when she was writing,
that her copy-book presented by no means so good an appearance as
usual; and never had Miss Day made out so poor a report for her.
She carried it with much secret satisfaction to the little girl's
father, and entered a long complaint of the child's idleness and
inattention.

"Send her to me," he said, angrily. "She will find me in my own
room."

Miss Day had left Elsie in the school-room putting her desk in
order after the day's work, and she found her still there on her
return.

"Elsie," said she, with a malicious smile, "your father wishes to
see you immediately. He is in his room."

The child turned red and pale by turns, and trembled so violently
that for a moment she was quite unable to move; for she guessed
from Miss Day's countenance what was probably in store for her.

"I advise you to go at once," said that lady, "for no doubt the
longer you wait the worse it will be for you."

At the same moment Mr. Dinsmore's voice was heard calling in a
stern, angry tone, "Elsie!"

Making a violent effort to control her feelings, she started up
and hastened to obey.

The door of his room stood open, and she walked in, asking in a
trembling voice, "Did you call me, papa?"

"Yes," said he, "I did. Come here to me."

He was sitting with the copy-book and report in his hand, and
there was much severity in both tone and look as he addressed her.

She obeyed instantly, but trembling violently, and with a face
pale as death, and eyes filled with tears. She lifted them
pleadingly to his face; and, touched by her evident terror and
distress, he said in a tone somewhat less stern, "Can you tell me,
Elsie, how it happens that your teacher brings me so bad a report
of your conduct and lessons during the past month? She says you
have been very idle; and the report tells the same story; and this
copy-book presents a shameful appearance."

The child answered only by tears and sobs.

They seemed to irritate him.

"Elsie," he said, sternly, "when I ask a question, I require an
answer, and that instantly."

"O papa!" she answered, pleadingly, "I couldn't study. I'm very
sorry--I'll try to do better--only don't be very angry with me,
dear papa."

"I am angry with you; very angry, indeed," said he in the same
severe tone, "and very strongly inclined to punish you. You
_couldn't_ study, eh? What reason can you assign, pray? Were
you not well?"

"I don't know, sir," sobbed the little girl.

"You don't _know_? Very well, then, I think you could not be
very ill without knowing it, and so you seem to have no excuse at
all to offer? However, I will not inflict any punishment upon you
_this_ time, as you seem to be really sorry, and have promised to do
better; but beware how you let me see such a report as this, or hear such
complaints of idleness again, unless you wish to be _severely punished_;
and I warn you that unless your next copy-book presents a better
appearance  than this, I certainly shall punish you.

"There are a number of pages here that look quite well," he
continued, turning over the leaves; "that shows what you
_can_ do, if you choose; now there is an old saying, 'A bird
that _can_ sing, and _won't_ sing, must be _made_ to sing.'
Hush!" as Elsie seemed about to speak; "not a word. You
may go now." And throwing himself back in his easy-chair, he took up a
newspaper and began to read.

Yet Elsie lingered; her heart so yearned for one word or look of
sympathy and love; she so longed to throw herself into his arms
and tell him how dearly, how _very_ dearly she loved him; she
did so hunger and thirst for one fond caress--ah! how could she go
away without it now, when for the very first time she found
herself alone with him in his own room, where she had never
ventured before, but where she had often been in her brightest
dreams.

And so she lingered, trembling, hoping, fearing; but presently he
looked up with a cold "Why do you stand there? I gave you
permission to go; go at once." And with a sinking heart she turned
away and sought the solitude of her own room, there to weep, and
mourn, and pray that she might one day possess the love she so
pined for, and bitterly to reproach herself for having by the
failures of the past month put it farther from her.

And soon a thought came to her which added greatly to her
distress. If Arthur continued his persecutions, how could she make
the next copy-book more presentable? and in case it were not, her
father had said positively that he would punish her; and oh! how
could she bear punishment from him, when a word or look of
displeasure almost broke her heart?

Miss Day seldom remained in the school-room during the whole of
the writing hour, and sometimes the older girls were also absent,
so that Arthur had ample opportunity to indulge his mischievous
propensities; for Elsie was above the meanness of telling tales,
and had she not been, Arthur was so great a favorite with his
mother that she would have brought a great deal of trouble upon
herself by so doing.

She therefore saw no escape from the dreaded punishment, unless
she could persuade the perverse boy to cease his annoyances; and
of that there was little hope.

But she carried her trouble to her Heavenly Father, and asked Him
to help her. She was still on her knees, pouring out her sobs and
prayers, when some one knocked at the door.

She rose and opened it to find her Aunt Adelaide standing there.

"Elsie," she said, "I am writing to Miss Rose; have you any word
to send? You may write a little note, if you choose, and I will
enclose it in my letter. But what is the matter, child?" she
suddenly exclaimed, kindly taking the little girl's hand in hers.

With many tears and sobs Elsie told her the whole story, not
omitting her papa's threat, and her fear that she could not, on
account of Arthur's persecutions, avoid incurring the punishment.

Adelaide's sympathies were enlisted, and she drew the sobbing
child to her side, saying, as she pressed a kiss on her cheek,
"Never mind, Elsie, I will take my book or needle-work to the
school-room every day, and sit there during the writing hour. But
why don't you tell your papa about it?"

"Because I don't like to tell tales, Aunt Adelaide, and it would
make your mamma so angry with me; and besides, I can't tell papa
anything."

"Ah, I understand! and no wonder; he is strangely stern to the
poor child. I mean to give him a good talking to," murmured
Adelaide, more as if thinking aloud than talking to Elsie.

Then, kissing the little girl again, she rose hastily and left the
room, with the intention of seeking her brother; but he had gone
out; and when he returned he brought several gentlemen with him,
and she had no opportunity until the desire to interfere in the
matter had passed from her mind.

"And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer,
and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." The promise had
been fulfilled to Elsie, and help had been sent her in her
trouble.

When her Aunt Adelaide left her, Elsie--first carefully locking
the door to guard against a surprise visit from Enna--went to her
bureau, and unlocking a drawer, took out a purse she was knitting
for her father, to replace the one she had given to Miss Allison.

She had commenced it before his return, and having spent upon it
nearly every spare moment since, when she could feel secure from
intrusion, she now had it nearly completed. Ah! many a silent tear
had fallen as she worked, and many a sigh over disappointed hopes
had been woven into its bright meshes of gold and blue.

But now she had been much comforted and encouraged by her aunt's
sympathy and kind promise of assistance, and, though there were
still traces of tears upon it, the little face looked quite bright
and cheerful again as she settled herself in her little sewing
chair, and began her work.

The small white fingers moved right briskly, the bright shining
needles glancing in and out, while the thoughts, quite as busy,
ran on something in this fashion: "Ah! I am so sorry I have done
so badly the past month; no wonder papa was vexed with me. I don't
believe I ever had such a bad report before. What has come over
me? It seems as if I _can't_ study, and must have a holiday.
I wonder if it is all laziness? I'm afraid it is, and that I ought
to be punished. I wish I could shake it off, and feel industrious
as I used to. I will try _very_ hard to do better this month,
and perhaps I can. It is only one month, and then June will be
over, and Miss Day is going North to spend July and August, and
maybe September, and so we shall have a long holiday. Surely I can
stand it one month more; it will soon be over, though it does seem
a long time, and besides, this month we are not to study so many
hours, because it is so warm; and there's to be no school on
Saturdays; none to-morrow, so that I can finish this. Ah! I wonder
if papa will be pleased?" and she sighed deeply. "I'm afraid it
will be a long, long time before he will be pleased with me again.
I have displeased him twice this week--first about the bird, and
now this bad report, and that shameful copy-book. But oh! I will
try _so_ hard next month, and dear Aunt Adelaide will keep
Arthur from troubling me, and I'm determined my copy-book shall
look neat, and not have a single blot in it.

"I wonder how I shall spend the vacation? Last summer I had such a
delightful visit at Ashlands; and then they were here all the rest
of the time. It was then poor Herbert had such a dreadful time
with his hip. Ah! how thankful I ought to be that I am not lame,
and have always been so healthy. But I'm afraid papa won't let me
go there this summer, nor ask them to visit me, because he said he
thought Lucy was not a suitable companion for me. I _was_
very naughty when she was here, and I've been naughty a great many
times since. Oh! dear, shall I never, never learn to be good? It
seems to me I am naughty now much oftener than I used to be before
papa came home. I'm afraid he will soon begin to punish me
severely, as he threatened to-day. I wonder what he means?"

A crimson tide suddenly swept over the fair face and neck, and
dropping her work, she covered her face with her hands. "Oh! he
couldn't, _couldn't_ mean that! how could I ever bear it! and
yet if it would make me really good, I think I wouldn't mind the
pain--but the shame and disgrace! oh! it would break my heart. I
could never hold up my head again! Oh! _can_ he mean that?
But I must just try to be so very good that I will never deserve
punishment, and then it will make no difference to me what he
means." And with this consolatory reflection she took up her work
again.

"Mammy, is papa in his room?" asked Elsie, the next afternoon, as
she put the finishing touches to her work.

"No, darlin', Marster Horace he rode out wid de strange gentlemen
more than an hour ago."

Elsie laid her needles away in her work-basket, and opening her
writing-desk, selected a bit of note-paper, on which she wrote in
her very best hand, "A present for my dear papa, from his little
daughter Elsie!" This she carefully pinned to the purse, and then
carried it to her papa's room, intending to leave it on his
toilet-table.

Fearing that he might possibly have returned, she knocked gently
at the door, but receiving no answer, opened it, and went in; but
she had not gone more than half way across the room when she heard
his voice behind her, asking, in a tone of mingled surprise and
displeasure, "What are you doing here in my room, in my absence,
Elsie?"

She started, and turned round, pale and trembling, and lifting her
eyes pleadingly to his face, silently placed the purse in his
hand.

He looked first at it, and then at her.

"I made it for you, dear papa," she said, in a low, tremulous
tone; "do please take it."

"It is really very pretty," he said, examining it; "is it possible
it is your work? I had no idea you had so much taste and skill.
Thank you, daughter; I shall take it, and use it with a great deal
of pleasure."

He took her hand as he spoke, and sitting down, lifted her to his
knee, saying, "Elsie, my child, why do you always seem so afraid
of me? I don't like it."

With a sudden impulse she threw her arms round his neck, and
pressed her lips to his cheek; then dropping her head on his
breast, she sobbed: "O papa! _dear_ papa, I _do love_ you so
_very_ dearly! will you not love me? O papa! love me a _little_.
I know I've been naughty very often, but I will _try_ to be good."

Then for the first time he folded her in his arms and kissed her
tenderly, saying, in a moved tone, "I _do_ love you, my darling, my
own little daughter."

Oh! the words were sweeter to Elsie's ear than the most delicious
music! her joy was too great for words, for anything but tears.

"Why do you cry so, my darling?" he asked, soothingly, stroking
her hair, and kissing her again and again.

"O papa! because I am so happy, so _very_ happy," she sobbed.

"Do you indeed care so very much for my love?" he asked; "then, my
daughter, you must not tremble and turn pale whenever I speak to
you, as though I were a cruel tyrant."

"O papa! I cannot help it, when you look and speak so sternly. I
love you so dearly I cannot bear to have you angry with me; but I
am not afraid of you now."

"That is right," he said, caressing her again. "But there is the
tea-bell," he added, setting her down. "Go into the dressing-room
there, and bathe your eyes, and then come to me."

She hastened to do his bidding, and then taking her hand he led
her down and seated her in her usual place by his side.

There were visitors, and all his conversation was addressed to
them and the older members of the family, but he now and then
bestowed a kind look upon his little girl, and attended carefully
to all her wants; and Elsie was very happy.

Everything now went on very pleasantly with our little friend for
some days; she did not see a great deal of her father, as he was
frequently away from home for a day or two, and, when he returned,
generally brought a number of visitors with him; but whenever he
did notice her it was very kindly, and she was gradually
overcoming her fear of him, and constantly hoping that the time
would soon come when he would have more leisure to bestow upon
her. She was happy now, and with a mind at ease, was able to learn
her lessons well; and as her Aunt Adelaide faithfully kept her
promise, and thus freed her from Arthur's annoyances, she was
enabled to do justice to her writing. She took great pains, her
copy-book showed a marked improvement in her penmanship, and its
pages had not yet been defaced by a single blot, so that she was
looking forward with pleasing anticipations to the time when her
report should again be presented to her father.

But, alas! one unfortunate morning it happened that Miss Day was
in a very bad humor indeed--peevish, fretful, irritable, and
unreasonable to the last degree; and, as usual, Elsie was the
principal sufferer from her ill-humor. She found fault with
everything the little girl did; scolded her, shook her, refused to
explain the manner of working out a very difficult example, or to
permit her to apply to any one else for assistance, and then
punished her because it was done wrong; and when the child could
no longer keep back her tears, called her a baby for crying, and a
dunce for not understanding her arithmetic better.

All this Elsie bore meekly and patiently, not answering a word;
but her meekness seemed only to provoke the governess the more;
and finally, when Elsie came to recite her last lesson, she took
pains to put her questions in the most perplexing form, and
scarcely allowing the child an instant to begin her reply,
answered them herself; then, throwing down the book, scolded her
vehemently for her bad lesson, and marked it in her report as a
complete failure.

Poor Elsie could bear no more, but bursting into tears and sobs,
said: "Miss Day, I _did_ know my lesson, every word of it, if
you had asked the questions as usual, or had given me time to
answer."

"_I_ say that you did _not_ know it; that it was a
complete failure," replied Miss Day, angrily; "and you shall just
sit down and learn it, every word, over."

"I _do_ know it, if you will hear me right," said Elsie,
indignantly, "and it is very unjust in you to mark it a failure."

"Impudence!" exclaimed Miss Day, furiously; "how _dare_ you
contradict me? I shall take you to your father."

And seizing her by the arm, she dragged her across the room, and
opening the door, pushed her into the passage.

"Oh! don't, Miss Day," pleaded the little girl, turning toward
her, pale and tearful, "don't tell papa."

"I will! so just walk along with you," was the angry rejoinder, as
she pushed her before her to Mr. Dinsmore's door. It stood open,
and he sat at his desk, writing.

"What is the matter?" he asked, looking up as they appeared before
the door.

"Elsie has been very impertinent, sir," said Miss Day; "she not
only accused me of injustice, but contradicted me flatly."

"Is it _possible!_" said he, frowning angrily. "Come here to
me, Elsie, and tell me, is it _true_ that you contradicted
your teacher?"

"Yes, papa," sobbed the child.

"Very well, then, I shall certainly punish you, for I will never
allow anything of the kind."

As he spoke he picked up a small ruler that lay before him, at the
same time taking Elsie's hand as though he meant to use it on her.

"O papa!" she cried, in a tone of agonized entreaty.

But he laid it down again, saying: "No, I shall punish you by
depriving you of your play this afternoon, and giving you only
bread and water for your dinner. Sit down there," he added,
pointing to a stool. Then, with a wave of his hand to the
governess, "I think she will not be guilty of the like again, Miss
Day."

The governess left the room, and Elsie sat down on her stool,
crying and sobbing violently, while her father went on with his
writing.

"Elsie," he said, presently, "cease that noise; I have had quite
enough of it."

She struggled to suppress her sobs, but it was almost impossible,
and she felt it a great relief when a moment later the dinner-bell
rang, and her father left the room.

In a few moments a servant came in, carrying on a small waiter a
tumbler of water, and a plate with a slice of bread on it.

"Dis am _drefful_ poor fare, Miss Elsie," he said, setting it
down beside her, "but Massa Horace he say it all you can hab; but
if you say so, dis chile tell ole Phoebe to send up somethin'
better fore Massa Horace gits through his dinner."

"Oh! no, thank you, Pompey; you're very kind, but I would not
disobey or deceive papa," replied the little girl, earnestly; "and
I am not at all hungry."

He lingered a moment, seeming loath to leave her to dine upon such
fare.

"You had better go now, Pompey," she said gently; "I am afraid you
will be wanted."

He turned and left the room, muttering something about
"disagreeable, good-for-nothing Miss Day!"

Elsie felt no disposition to eat; and when her father returned,
half an hour afterward, the bread and water were still untouched.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked in a stern, angry tone;
"why have you not eaten what I sent you?"

"I am not hungry, papa," she said humbly.

"Don't tell me that," he replied, "it is nothing but stubbornness;
and I shall not allow you to show such a temper. Take up that
bread this moment and eat it. You shall eat every crumb of the
bread and drink every drop of the water."

She obeyed him instantly, breaking off a bit of bread and putting
it in her mouth, while he stood watching her with an air of stern,
cold determination; but when she attempted to swallow, it seemed
utterly impossible.

"I cannot, papa," she said, "it chokes me."

"You _must_," he replied; "I am going to be obeyed. Take a
drink of water, and that will wash it down."

It was a hard task, but seeing that there was no escape, she
struggled to obey, and at length every crumb of bread and drop of
water had disappeared.

"Now, Elsie," said her father, in a tone of great severity, "never
_dare_ to show me such a temper as this again; you will not
escape so easily next time; remember I am to be obeyed _always_;
and when I send you anything to eat, _you are to eat it_."

It had not been temper at all, and his unjust severity almost
broke her heart; but she could not say one word in her own
defence.

He looked at her a moment as she sat there trembling and weeping;
then saying, "I forbid you to leave this room without my
permission; don't venture to disobey me, Elsie; sit where you are
until I return," he turned to go.

"Papa," she asked, pleadingly, "may I have my books, to learn my
lessons for to-morrow."

"Certainly," he said; "I will send a servant with them."

"And my Bible too, please, papa."

"Yes, yes," he answered impatiently, as he went out and shut the
door.

Jim was just bringing up Elsie's horse, as Mr. Dinsmore passed
through the hall, and he stepped out to order it back to the
stable, saying that Miss Elsie was not going to ride.

"What is the trouble with Elsie?" asked his sister Adelaide, as he
returned to the drawing-room and seated himself beside her.

"She has been impertinent to her governess, and I have confined
her to my room for the rest of the day," he replied, rather
shortly.

"Are you _sure_, Horace, that Elsie was so much to blame?"
asked his sister, speaking in a tone too low to reach any ear but
his. "I am certain, from what Lora tells me, that Miss Day is
often cruelly unjust to her; more so than to any other of her
pupils."

He looked at her with a good deal of surprise.

"Are you not mistaken?" he asked.

"No! it is a positive fact that she does at times _really
abuse_ her."

"Indeed! I shall certainly not allow _that_" he said,
coloring with anger.

"But in this instance, Adelaide," he added thoughtfully, "I think
you must be mistaken, for Elsie _acknowledged_ that she had
been impertinent. I did not condemn her unheard, stern and severe
as you think me."

"If she _was_, Horace, believe me it must have been only
after great provocation, and her acknowledgment of it is no proof
at all, to my mind; for Elsie is so humble, she would think she
_must_ have been guilty of impertinence if Miss Day accused
her of it."

"Surely not, Adelaide; she is by no means wanting in sense," he
replied, in a tone of incredulity, not unmixed with annoyance.

Then he sat thinking a moment, half inclined to go to his child
and inquire more particularly into the circumstances, but soon
relinquished the idea, saying to himself, "No; if she does not
choose to be frank with me, and say what she can in her own
defence, she _deserves_ to suffer; and besides, she showed
such stubbornness about eating that bread."

He was very proud, and did not like to acknowledge even to
_himself_ that he had punished his child unjustly--much less
to _her_; and it was not until near tea-time that he returned
to his room, entering so softly that Elsie did not hear him.

She was sitting just where he had left her, bending over her
Bible, an expression of sadness and deep humility on the sweet
little face, so young and fair and innocent. She did not seem
aware of his presence until he was close beside her, when, looking
up with a start, she said in a voice full of tears, "Dear papa, I
am very sorry for all my naughtiness; will you please forgive me?"

"Yes," he said, "certainly I will, if you are really sorry;" and
stooping, he kissed her coldly, saying, "Now go to your room, and
let Chloe dress you for tea."

She rose at once, gathered up her books, and went out.

The little heart was very sad; for her father's manner was so cold
she feared he would never love her again. And she was particularly
distressed by the bad mark given her for recitation that day, because
she knew the time was now drawing very near when her report must
be handed in to her papa; and the delight with which she had hitherto
looked forward to receiving his well-merited approbation, was now changed
to fear, and dread of his displeasure;  yet she knew she had not deserved
the bad mark, and again and again she  determined that she would tell her
father all about it; but his manner had  now become so cold and stern that
she could not summon up courage to do  so, but put it off from day to day,
until it was too late.




CHAPTER EIGHTH.


   "He that pursues an act that is attended
    With doubtful issues, for the means, had need
    Of policy and force to make it speed."
                            --T. NABB's _Unfortunate Mother._

              "Joy never feasts so high,
    As when the first course is of misery."
                                 --SUCKLING's _Aglaura._


It was Friday, and the next morning was the when the reports were
to be presented. School had closed, and all but Elsie had already
left the room; but she was carefully arranging the books, writing
and drawing materials, etc., in her desk, for she was very neat
and orderly in her habits.

When she had quite finished her work she took up her report-book,
and glanced over it. As her eye rested for an instant upon the one
bad mark, she sighed a little, and murmured to herself, "I am
_so_ sorry; I wish papa knew how little I really deserved it.
I don't know why I never can get the courage to tell him."

Then, laying it aside, she opened her copy-book and turned over
the leaves with unalloyed pleasure, for not one of its pages was
defaced by a single blot, and from beginning to end it gave
evidence of painstaking carefulness and decided improvement.

"Ah! surely _this_ will please dear papa!" she exclaimed,
half aloud. "How good Aunt Adelaide was to sit here with me!"

Then, putting it carefully in its place, she closed and locked the
desk, and carrying the key to her room, laid it on the mantel,
where she was in the habit of keeping it.

Now it so happened that afternoon that Arthur, who had made
himself sick by over-indulgence in sweetmeats, and had in
consequence been lounging about the house doing nothing for the
last day or two, remained at home while all the rest of the family
were out, walking, riding, or visiting.

He was not usually very fond of reading, but while lying on the
lounge in the nursery, very much in want of some amusement, it
suddenly occurred to him that he would like to look at a book he
had seen Elsie reading that morning.

To be sure the book belonged to her, and she was not there to be
consulted as to her willingness to lend it; but that made no
difference to Arthur, who had very little respect for the rights
of property, excepting where his own were concerned.

Elsie, he knew, was out, and Chloe in the kitchen; so, feeling
certain there would be no one to interfere with him, he went
directly to the little girl's room to look for the book. He soon
found it lying on the mantel; but the desk-key lay right beside
it, and as he caught sight of that he gave a half scream of
delight, for he guessed at once to what lock it belonged, and felt
that he now could accomplish the revenge he had plotted ever since
the affair of the watch.

He put out his hand to take it, but drew it back again, and stood
for a moment balancing in his mind the chances of detection.

He could deface Elsie's copy-book, but Adelaide could testify to
the little girl's carefulness and the neatness of her work up to
that very day, for she had been in the school-room that morning
during the writing hour. But then Adelaide had just left home to
pay a visit to a friend living at some distance, and would not
return for several weeks, so there was little danger from that
quarter. Miss Day, to be sure, knew the appearance of Elsie's book
quite as well, but there was still less danger of her interference,
and he was pretty certain no one else knew.

So he decided to run the risk, and laying down the book he took
the key, went to the door, looked carefully up and down the hall
to make sure of not being seen by any of the servants, and having
satisfied himself on that point, hurried to the school-room,
unlocked Elsie's desk, took out her copy-book, and dipping a pen
in the ink, proceeded deliberately to blot nearly every page in
it; on some he made a large blot, on others a small one, and on
some two or three; and also scribbled between the lines and on the
margin, so as completely to deface poor Elsie's work.

But to do Arthur justice, though he knew his brother would be
pretty sure to be very angry with Elsie, he did not know of the
threatened punishment. He stopped once or twice as he thought he
heard a footstep, and shut down the lid until it had passed, when
he raised it again and went on with his wicked work. It did not
take long, however, and he soon replaced the copy-book in the
precise spot in which he had found it, wiped the pen, and put it
carefully back in its place, relocked the desk, hurried back to
Elsie's room, put the key just where he had found it, and taking
the book, returned to the nursery without having met any one.

He threw himself down on a couch and tried to read, but in vain;
he could not fix his attention upon the page--could think of
nothing but the mischief he had done, and its probable consequences;
and now, when it was too late, he more than half repented; yet as to
confessing and thus saving Elsie from unmerited blame, he did not for a
single moment entertain the thought. But at length it suddenly occurred
to him that if it became known that he had been into Elsie's room to get
the book he might be suspected; and he started up with the intention of
replacing it. But he found that it was too late; she had already
returned, for he heard her voice in the hall; so he lay down
again, and kept the book until she came in search of it.

He looked very guilty as the little girl came in, but not seeming
to notice it, she merely said, "I am looking for my book. I
thought perhaps some one might have brought it in here. Oh!
_you_ have it, Arthur! well, keep it, if you wish; I can read
it just as well another time."

"Here, take it," said he roughly, pushing it toward her; "I don't
want it; 'tisn't a bit pretty."

"I think it is very interesting, and you are quite welcome to read
it if you wish," she answered mildly; "but if you don't care to, I
will take it."

"Young ladies and gentlemen," said the governess, as they were
about closing their exercises the next morning, "this is the
regular day for the reports, and they are all made out. Miss
Elsie, here is yours; bring your copy-book, and carry both to your
papa."

Elsie obeyed, not without some trembling, yet hoping, as there was
but _one_ bad mark in the report and the copy-book showed
such evident marks of care and painstaking, her papa would not be
very seriously displeased.

It being the last day of the term, the exercises of the morning
had varied somewhat from the usual routine, and the writing hour
had been entirely omitted; thus it happened that Elsie had not
opened her copy-book, and was in consequence still in ignorance of
its sadly altered appearance.

She found her father in his room. He took the report first from
her hand, and glancing over it, said with a slight frown, "I see
you have one _very_ bad mark for recitation; but as there is
only one, and the others are remarkably good, I will excuse it."

Then taking the copy-book and opening it, much to Elsie's surprise
and alarm he gave her a glance of great displeasure, turned
rapidly over the leaves, then laying it down, said in his sternest
tones, "I see I shall have to keep my promise, Elsie."

"What, papa?" she asked, turning pale with terror.

"_What!_" said he! "do you ask me what? Did I not tell you _positively_
that I would _punish_ you if your copy-book this month did not present
a better appearance than it did last?"

"O papa! does it not? I tried so very hard; and there are no blots
in it."

"No blots?" said he; "what do you call these?" and he turned over
the leaves again, holding the book so that she could see them, and
showing that almost every one was blotted in several places.

Elsie gazed at them in unfeigned astonishment; then looking up
into his face, she said earnestly but fearfully, "Papa, I did not
do it."

"Who did, then?" he asked.

"Indeed, papa, I do not know," she replied.

"I must inquire into this business," he said, rising, "and if it
is not your fault you shall not be punished; but if I find you
have been telling me a falsehood, Elsie, I shall punish you much
more severely than if you had not denied your fault."

And taking her by the hand as he spoke, he led her back to the
school-room.

"Miss Day," said he, showing the book, "Elsie says these blots are
not her work; can you tell me whose they are?"

"Miss Elsie _generally_ tells the truth, sir," replied Miss
Day, sarcastically, "but I must say that in this instance I think
she has failed, as her desk has a good lock, and she herself keeps
the key."

"Elsie," he asked, turning to her, "is this so?"

"Yes, papa."

"And have you ever left your desk unlocked, or the key lying
about?"

"No, papa. I am quite certain I have not," she answered
unhesitatingly, though her voice trembled, and she grey very pale.

"Very well, then, _I_ am quite certain you have told me a
falsehood, since it is evident this _must_ have been your
work. Elsie, I can forgive anything but falsehood, but that I
_never will_ forgive. Come with me. I shall teach you to speak
the truth to _me_ at least, if to no one else," and taking her hand
again, he led, or rather dragged, her from the room, for he was terribly
angry, his face fairly pale with passion.

Lora came in while he was speaking and, certain that _Elsie_
would never be caught in a falsehood, her eye quickly sought
Arthur's desk.

He was sitting there with a very guilty countenance.

She hastily crossed the room, and speaking in a low tone, said,
"Arthur, _you_ have had a hand in this business I very well
know; now confess it quickly, or Horace will half kill Elsie."

"You don't know anything about it," said he doggedly.

"Yes, I do," she answered; "and if you do not speak out at once, _I_
shall save Elsie, and find means to prove your guilt afterwards; so you
had much better confess."

"Go away," he exclaimed angrily, "I have nothing to confess."

Seeing it was useless to try to move him, Lora turned away and
hurried to Horace's room, which, in her haste, she entered without
knocking, he having fortunately neglected to fasten the door. She
was just in time; he had a small riding whip in his hand, and
Elsie stood beside him pale as death, too much frightened even to
cry, and trembling so that she could scarcely stand.

He turned an angry glance on his sister as she entered; but taking
no notice of it, she exclaimed eagerly, "Horace, don't punish
Elsie, for I am certain she is innocent."

He laid down the whip asking, "_How_ do you know it? what
_proof_ have you? I shall be very glad to be convinced," he
added, his countenance relaxing somewhat in its stern and angry
expression.

"In the first place," replied his sister, "there is Elsie's
established character for truthfulness--in all the time she has
been with us, we have ever found her perfectly truthful in word
and deed. And then, Horace, what motive could she have had for
spoiling her book, knowing as she did that certain punishment
would follow? Besides, I am sure Arthur is at the bottom of this,
for though he will not acknowledge, he does not deny it. Ah! yes,
and now I recollect, I saw and examined Elsie's book only
yesterday, and it was then quite free from blots."

A great change had come over her brother's countenance while she
was speaking.

"Thank you, Lora," he said, cordially, as soon as she had done,
"you have quite convinced me, and saved me from punishing Elsie as
unjustly as severely. That last assurance I consider quite
sufficient of itself to establish her innocence."

Lora turned and went out feeling very happy, and as she closed the
door, Elsie's papa took her in his arms, saying in loving, tender
tones, "My poor little daughter! my own darling child! I have been
cruelly unjust to you, have I not?"

"Dear papa, you thought I deserved it," she said, with a burst of
tears and sobs, throwing her arms around his neck, and laying her
head on his breast.

"Do you love me, Elsie, dearest?" he asked, folding her closer to
his heart.

"Ah! so very, _very_ much! better than all the world beside.
O papa! if you would only love me." The last word was almost a
sob.

"I do, my darling, my own precious child," he said, caressing her
again and again. "I do love my little girl, although I may at
times seem cold and stern; and I am more thankful than words can
express that I have been saved from punishing her unjustly. I
could never forgive myself if I had done it. I would rather have
lost half I am worth; ah! I fear it would have turned all her love
for me into hatred; and justly, too."

"No, papa, oh! no, _no; nothing_ could ever do that!" and the
little arms were clasped closer and closer about his neck, and the
tears again fell like rain, as she timidly pressed her quivering
lips to his cheek.

"There, there daughter! don't cry any more; we will try to forget
all about it, and talk of something else," he said soothingly.
"Elsie, dear, your Aunt Adelaide thinks perhaps you were not so
very much to blame the other day; and now I want you to tell me
all the circumstances; for though I should be very sorry to
encourage you to find fault with your teacher, I am by no means
willing to have you abused."

"Please, papa, don't ask me," she begged. "Aunt Lora was there,
and she will tell you about it."

"No, Elsie," he said, very decidedly; "I want the story from _you_;
and remember, I want _every word_ that passed between you and
Miss Day, as far as you can possibly recall it."

Seeing that he was determined, Elsie obeyed him, though with
evident reluctance, and striving to put Miss Day's conduct in as
favorable a light as consistent with truth, while she by no means
extenuated her own; yet her father listened with feelings of
strong indignation.

"Elsie," he said when she had done, "if I had known all this at
the time, I should not have punished you at all. Why did you not
tell me, my daughter, how you have been ill treated and provoked?"

"O papa! I could not; you know you did not ask me."

"I did ask you if it was true that you contradicted her, did I
not?"

"Yes, papa, and it was true."

"You ought to have told me the whole story though; but I see how
it was--I frightened you by my sternness. Well, daughter," he
added, kissing her tenderly, "I shall endeavor to be less stern in
future, and you must try to be less timid and more at your ease
with me."

"I will, papa," she replied meekly; "but indeed I cannot help
feeling frightened when you are angry with me."

Mr. Dinsmore sat there a long time with his little daughter on his
knee, caressing her more tenderly than ever before; and Elsie was
very happy, and talked more freely to him than she had ever done,
telling him of her joys and her sorrows; how dearly she had loved
Miss Allison--what happy hours they had spent together in studying
the Bible and in prayer--how grieved she was when her friend went
away--and how intensely she enjoyed the little letter now and then
received from her; and he listened to it all, apparently both
pleased and interested, encouraging her to go on by an occasional
question or a word of assent or approval.

"What is this, Elsie?" he asked, taking hold of the chain she
always wore around her neck, and drawing the miniature from her
bosom.

But as he touched the spring the case flew open, revealing the
sweet, girlish face, it needed not Elsie's low murmured "Mamma" to
tell him who that lovely lady was.

He gazed upon it with emotion, carried back in memory to the time
when for a few short months she had been his own most cherished
treasure. Then, looking from it to his child, he murmured, "Yes,
she is very like--the same features, the same expression,
complexion, hair and all--will be the very counterpart of her if
she lives."

"Dear papa, am I like mamma?" asked Elsie, who had caught a part
of his words.

"Yes, darling, very much indeed, and I hope you will grow more
so."

"You loved mamma?" she said inquiringly.

"Dearly, _very_ dearly."

"O papa! _tell_ me about her! _do_, dear papa," she
pleaded eagerly.

"I have not much to tell," he said, sighing. "I knew her only for
a few short months ere we were torn asunder, never to meet again
on earth."

"But we may hope to meet her in heaven, dear papa," said Elsie
softly, "for she loved Jesus, and if we love Him we shall go there
too when we die. Do you love Jesus, papa?" she timidly inquired,
for she had seen him do a number of things which she knew to be
wrong--such as riding out for pleasure on the Sabbath, reading
secular newspapers, and engaging in worldly conversation--and she
greatly feared he did not.

But instead of answering her question, he asked, "Do you, Elsie?"

"Oh! yes, sir; very _very_ much; even better than I love you,
my own dear papa."

"How do you know?" he asked, looking keenly into her face.

"Just as I know that I love you, papa, or any one else," she
replied, lifting her eyes to his face in evident surprise at the
strangeness of the question.

"Ah, papa," she added in her own sweet, simple way, "I do so love
to talk of Jesus; to tell Him all my troubles, and ask Him to
forgive my sins and make me holy; and then it is so sweet to know
that He loves me, and will _always_ love me, even if no one
else does."

He kissed her very gravely, and set her down, saying, "Go now, my
daughter, and prepare for dinner; it is almost time for the bell."

"You are not displeased, papa?" she inquired, looking up anxiously
into his face.

"No, darling, not at all," he replied, stroking her hair. "Shall I
ride with my little girl this afternoon?"

"Oh papa! do you really mean it? I shall be so glad!" she
exclaimed joyfully.

"Very well, then," he said, "it is settled. But go now; there is
the bell. No, stay!" he added quickly, as she turned to obey;
"think a moment and tell me where you put the key of your desk
yesterday, for it must have been then the mischief was done. Had
you it with you when you rode out?"

Suddenly Elsie's face flushed, and she exclaimed Eagerly, "Ah! I
remember now! I left it on the mantelpiece, papa, and--"

But here she paused, as if sorry she had said so much.

"And what?" he asked.

"I think I had better not say it, papa! I'm afraid I _ought_
not, for I don't really _know_ anything, and it seems so wrong
to suspect people."

"You need not express any suspicions," said her father; "I do not
wish you to do so; but I must insist upon having all the facts you
can furnish me with. Was Aunt Chloe in your room all the time you
were away?"

"No, sir; she told me she went down to the kitchen directly after
I left, and did not come up again until after I returned."

"Very well; do you know whether any one else entered the room
during your absence?"

"I do not _know_, papa, but I _think_ Arthur must have
been in, because when I came home I found him reading a book which
I had left lying on the mantel-piece," she answered in a low,
reluctant tone.

"Ah, ha! that is just it! I see it all now," he exclaimed, with a
satisfied nod. "There, that will do, Elsie; go now and make haste
down to your dinner."

But Elsie lingered, and, in answer to a look of kind inquiry from
her father, said coaxingly, "Please, papa, don't be very angry
with him. I think he did not know how much I cared about my book."

"You are very forgiving, Elsie; but go, child, I shall not abuse
him," Mr. Dinsmore answered, with an imperative gesture, and the
little girl hurried from the room.

It happened that just at this time the elder Mr. Dinsmore and his
wife were paying a visit to some friends in the city, and thus
Elsie's papa had been left head of the house for the time. Arthur,
knowing this to be the state of affairs, and that though his
father was expected to return that evening, his mother would be
absent for some days, was beginning to be a good deal fearful of
the consequences of his misconduct, and not without reason, for
his brother's wrath was now fully aroused, and he was determined
that the boy should not on this occasion escape the penalty of his
misdeeds.

Arthur was already in the dining-room when Mr. Dinsmore came down.

"Arthur," said he, "I wish you to step into the library a moment;
I have something to say to you."

"I don't want to hear it," muttered the boy, with a dogged look,
and standing perfectly still.

"I dare say not, sir; but that makes no difference," replied his
brother. "Walk into the library at once."

Arthur returned a scowl of defiance, muttering almost under his
breath, "I'll do as I please about that;" but cowed by his
brother's determined look and manner, he slowly and reluctantly
obeyed.

"Now, sir," said Mr. Dinsmore, when he had him fairly in the room,
and had closed the door behind them, "I wish to know how you came
to meddle with Elsie's copy-book."

"I didn't," was the angry rejoinder.

"Take care, sir; I know all about it," said Mr. Dinsmore, in a
warning tone; "it is useless for you to deny it. Yesterday, while
Elsie was out and Aunt Chloe in the kitchen, you went to her room,
took the key of her desk from the mantel-piece where she had left
it, went to the school-room and did the mischief, hoping to get
her into trouble thereby, and then relocking the desk and
returning the key to its proper place, thought you had escaped
detection; and I was very near giving my poor, innocent little
girl the whipping you so richly deserve."

Arthur looked up in astonishment.

"Who told you?" he asked; "nobody saw me;" then, catching himself,
said hastily, "I tell you I didn't do it. I don't know anything
about it."

"Will you dare to tell me such a falsehood as that again?"
exclaimed Mr. Dinsmore, angrily, taking him by the collar and
shaking him roughly.

"Let me alone now," whined the culprit. "I want my dinner, I say."

"You'll get no dinner to-day, I can tell you," replied his
brother. "I am going to lock you into your bedroom, and keep you
there until your father comes home; and then if _he_ doesn't
give you the flogging you deserve, _I_ will; for I intend you
shall have your deserts for once in your life. I know that all
this is in revenge for Elsie's forced testimony in the affair of
the watch, and I gave you fair warning then that I would see to it
that any attempt to abuse my child should receive its just
reward."

He took the boy by the arm as he spoke, to lead him from the room.

At first Arthur seemed disposed to resist; but soon, seeing how
useless it was to contend against such odds, he resigned himself
to his fate, saying sullenly, "You wouldn't treat me this way if
mamma was at home."

"She is not, however, as it happens, though I can tell you that
even _she_ could not save you now," replied his brother, as
he opened the bedroom door, and pushing him in, locked it upon
him, and put the key in his pocket.

Mr. Horace Dinsmore had almost unbounded influence over his
father, who was very proud of him; the old gentleman also utterly
despised everything mean and underhanded, and upon being made
acquainted by Horace with Arthur's misdemeanors he inflicted upon
him as severe a punishment as any one could have desired.




CHAPTER NINTH


   "Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God
    hath commanded thee."
                                 --_Deut._ v. 12.

                         "She is mine own;
    And I as rich in having such a jewel
    As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl,
    The water nectar, and the rocks pure gold."
                    --SHAKESPEARE, _Two Gentlemen of Verona._


And now happy days had come to the little Elsie. Her father
treated her with the tenderest affection, and kept her with him
almost constantly, seeming scarcely willing to have her out of his
sight for an hour. He took her with him wherever he went in his
rides and walks and visits to the neighboring planters.

She was much admired for her beauty and sweetness of disposition,
much caressed and flattered, but, through it all, lost none of her
native modesty, but was ever the same meek, gentle little girl.
She felt grateful for all the kindness she received, and liked to
visit with her papa; but her happiest days were spent at home on
those rare occasions when they were free from visitors, and she
could sit for hours on his knee, or by his side, talking or
reading to him, or working at her embroidery, or knitting and
listening while he read. He helped her with all her studies,
taught her something of botany and geology in their walks, helped
her to see and correct the faults of her drawings, sang with her
when she played, bought her quantities of new music, and engaged
the best masters to instruct her--in short, took a lively interest
in all her pursuits and pleasures, gave her every indulgence, and
lavished upon her the tenderest caresses. He was very proud of her
beauty, her sweetness, her intelligence, and talent; and nothing
pleased him better than to hear them spoken of by others in terms
of praise.

And Elsie was very happy; the soft eyes grew bright with
happiness, and the little face lost its pensive expression, and
became as round, rosy and merry as Enna's.

Miss Day went North, expecting to be absent several months, and
Elsie's papa took her traveling, spending some time at different
watering-places. It was her first journey since she had been old
enough to care for such things, and she enjoyed it exceedingly.
They left home in July, and did not return until September, so
that the little girl had time to rest and recruit, both mentally
and physically, and was ready to begin her studies again with zeal
and energy; yet it was so pleasant to be her papa's constant
companion, and she had so enjoyed her freedom from the restraints
of the school-room, that she was not at all sorry to learn, on
their arrival at Roselands, that the governess would still be
absent for some weeks.

"How bright and happy the child looks!" was Adelaide's remark on
the day of their return, as, from the opposite side of the room,
she watched the speaking countenance of the little girl, who was
giving Enna and the boys an animated description of her journey.

"Yes," said Lora, "and how entirely she seems to have overcome her
fear of her father!" for at that instant Elsie suddenly left the
little group, and running to him, leaned confidingly on his knee,
while apparently urging some request, which he answered with a
smile and a nod of acquiescence; when she left the room, and
presently returned carrying a richly bound book of engravings.

Yes, Elsie had lost her fear of her father, and could now talk to
him, and tell him her feelings and wishes, as freely as ever Enna
did; and no wonder, for in all these weeks he had never given her
one harsh word or look; but indeed he had had no occasion to do
so, for she was always docile and obedient.

It was Sabbath afternoon--the first Sabbath after their return--
and Elsie was in her own room alone with the books she loved best
--her Bible, hymnbook, and "Pilgrim's Progress."

She had spent a very happy hour in self-examination, reading and
prayer, and was singing to herself in a low tone her favorite
hymn,

    "I lay my sins on Jesus,"

while turning over the leaves of her Bible to find the story of
Elijah, which she had promised to read to Chloe that afternoon,
when a child's footsteps were heard coming down the hall, the
handle of the door was turned hastily, and then, as it refused to
yield, Enna's voice called out in a fretful, imperious tone, "Open
this door, Elsie Dinsmore. I want in, I say."

Elsie sighed, as she thought, "There is an end to my nice
afternoon," but she rose at once, and quickly crossing the room,
opened the door, asking pleasantly, "What do you want, Enna?"

"I _told_ you I wanted to come _in_," replied Enna,
saucily, "and now you've got to tell me a story to amuse me; mamma
says so, because you know I've got a cold, and she won't let me go
out."

"Well, Enna," said Elsie, patiently, "I am going to read a very
beautiful story to mammy, and you are quite welcome to sit here
and listen."

"I sha'n't have it read! I said you were to _tell_ it. I
don't like to hear reading," replied Enna in her imperious way, at
the same time taking quiet possession of Elsie's little rosewood
rocking-chair--a late present from her papa, and highly prized by
the little girl on that account--and beginning to scratch with her
thumb nail upon the arm.

"Oh! don't scratch my pretty new chair, Enna!" Elsie entreated;
"it is papa's present, and I wouldn't have it spoiled for a great
deal."

"I will; who cares for your old chair?" was the reply in a
scornful tone, as she gave another and harder dig with her nail.
"You're a little old maid--so particular with all your things--
that's what mamma says you are. Now tell me that story."

"I will tell you a story if you will stop scratching my chair,
Enna," said Elsie, almost with tears in her eyes, "I will tell you
about Elijah on Mount Carmel or Beishazzar's feast, or the
children in the fiery furnace, or----"

"I sha'n't hear any of those! I don't want any of your old Bible
stories," interrupted Enna, insolently, "You must tell me that
pretty fairy tale Herbert Carrington is so fond of."

"No, Enna; I cannot tell you that _to-day_," replied Elsie,
speaking gently, but very firmly.

"I say you _shall!_" screamed Enna, springing to her feet.
"I'll just go and tell mamma, and she'll make you do it."

"Stay, Enna," said Elsie, catching her hand to detain her; "I will
tell you any story I know that is suitable for the Sabbath; but I
cannot tell the fairy tale to-day, because you know it would be
wrong. I will tell it to you to-morrow, though, if you will wait."

"You're a _bad_ girl, and I'll just tell mamma of you,"
exclaimed Enna, passionately, jerking her hand away and darting
from the room.

"Oh! if papa was only at home," sighed Elsie, sinking into her
rocking-chair, pale and trembling; but she knew that he had gone
out riding, and would probably not return for some time; he had
invited her to accompany him, but she had begged to be allowed to
stay at home, and he had let her have her wish.

As she feared, she was immediately summoned to Mrs. Dinsmore's
presence.

"Elsie," said that lady, severely, "are you not ashamed of
yourself, to refuse Enna such a small favor especially when the
poor child is not well. I must say you are the most selfish,
disobliging child I ever saw."

"I offered to tell her a Bible story, or anything suitable for the
Sabbath day," replied Elsie, meekly, "but I cannot tell the fairy
tale, because it would be wrong."

"Nonsense! there's no harm at all in telling fairy tales to-day,
any more than any other day; that is just an excuse, Elsie," said
Mrs. Dinsmore, angrily.

"I don't want her old Bible stories. I won't have them. I want
that pretty fairy tale," sobbed Enna passionately; "_make_
her tell it, mamma."

"Come, come, what is all this fuss about?" asked the elder Mr.
Dinsmore, coming in from an adjoining room.

"Nothing," said his wife, "except that Enna is not well enough to
go out, and wants a fairy story to pass away the time, which Elsie
alone is acquainted with, but is too lazy or too self-willed to
relate."

He turned angrily to his little granddaughter.

"Ah! indeed, is that it? Well, there is an old saying. 'A bird
that _can_ sing, and _won't_ sing, must be _made_ to sing.'"

Elsie was opening her lips to speak, but Mrs. Dinsmore bade her be
silent, and then went on. "She pretends it is all on account of
conscientious scruples. 'It isn't fit for the Sabbath,' she says.
Now _I_ say it is a great piece of impertinence for a child
of her years to set up her opinion against yours and mine; and I
know very well it is nothing but an excuse, because she doesn't
choose to be obliging."

"Of _course_ it is; nothing in the _world_ but an
excuse," responded Mr. Dinsmore, hotly.

Elsie's face flushed, and she answered a little indignantly,

"No, grandpa, indeed it is _not_ merely an excuse, but--"

"Do you _dare_ to contradict me, you impertinent little
hussy?" cried the old gentleman, interrupting her in the middle of
her sentence; and catching her by the arm, he shook her violently;
then picking her up and setting her down hard upon a chair, he
said, "Now, miss, sit you there until your father comes home, then
we will see what _he_ thinks of such impertinence; and if he
doesn't give you the complete whipping you deserve, I miss my
guess."

"Please, grandpa, I--"

"Hold your tongue! don't dare to speak another word until your
father comes home," said he, threateningly. "If you don't choose
to say what you're wanted to, you shall not talk at all."

Then, going to the door, he called a servant and bade him tell
"Mr. Horace," as soon as he returned, that he wished to see him.

For the next half-hour--and a very long one it seemed to her--
Elsie sat there wishing for, and yet dreading her father's coming.
Would he inflict upon her the punishment which her grandfather
evidently wished her to receive, without pausing to inquire into
the merits of the case? or would he listen patiently to _her_
story? And even if he did, might he not still think her deserving
of punishment? She could not answer these questions to her own
satisfaction. A few months ago she would have been certain of a
very severe chastisement, and even now she trembled with fear; for
though she knew beyond a doubt that he loved her dearly, she knew
also that he was a strict and severe disciplinarian, and never
excused her faults.

At last her ear caught the sound of his step in the hall, and her
heart beat fast and faster as it drew nearer, until he entered,
and addressing his father, asked, "Did you wish to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Horace, I want you to attend to this girl," replied the old
gentleman, with a motion of the head toward Elsie. "She has been
very impertinent to me."

"What! _Elsie_ impertinent! is it possible? I certainly
expected better things of her."

His tone expressed great surprise, and turning to his little
daughter, he regarded her with a grave, sad look that brought the
tears to her eyes; dearly as she loved him, it seemed almost
harder to bear than the old expression of stern severity.

"It is hard to believe," he said, "that my little Elsie would be
guilty of such conduct; but if she has been, of course she must be
punished, for I cannot allow anything of the kind. Go. Elsie, to
my dressing-room and remain there until I come to you."

"Papa--" she began, bursting into tears.

"Hush!" he said, with something of the old sternness; "not a word;
but obey me instantly."

Then, as Elsie went sobbing from the room, he seated himself, and
turning to his father, said, "Now, sir, if you please, I should
like to hear the whole story; precisely what Elsie has done and
said, and what was the provocation; for _that_ must also be
taken into the account, in order that I may be able to do her
justice."

"If you do her _justice_, you will whip her well," remarked
his father in a tone of asperity.

Horace colored violently, for nothing aroused his ire sooner than
any interference between him and his child; but controlling
himself, he replied quite calmly, "If I find her deserving of
punishment, I will not spare her; but I should be sorry indeed to
punish her unjustly. Will you be so good as to tell me what she
has done?"

Mr. Dinsmore referred him to his wife for the commencement of the
trouble, and she made out as bad a case against Elsie as possible;
but even then there seemed to her father to be very little to
condemn; and when Mrs. Dinsmore was obliged to acknowledge that it
was Elsie's refusal to humor Enna in her desire for a particular
story which Elsie thought it not best to relate on the Sabbath, he
bit his lip with vexation, and told her in a haughty tone, that
though he did not approve of Elsie's strict notions regarding such
matters, yet he wished her to understand that _his_ daughter
was not to be made a slave to Enna's whims. If she _chose_ to
tell her a story, or to do anything else for her amusement, he had
no objection, but she was never to be _forced_ to do it against
her inclination, and Enna must understand that it was done as a favor,
and not at all as her right.

"You are right enough there, Horace," remarked his father, "but
that does not excuse Elsie for her impertinence to me. In the
first place, I must say I agree with my wife in thinking it quite
a piece of impertinence for a child of her years to set up her
opinion against mine; and besides, she contradicted me flatly."

He then went on to repeat what he had said, and Elsie's denial of
the charge, using her exact words, but quite a different tone, and
suppressing the fact that he had interrupted her before she had
finished her sentence.

Elsie's tone, though slightly indignant, had still been
respectful, but from her grandfather's rehearsal of the scene her
father received the impression that she had been exceedingly
saucy, and he left the room with the intention of giving her
almost as severe a punishment as her grandfather would have
prescribed.

On the way up to his room, however, his anger had a little time to
cool, and it occurred to him that it would be no more than just to
hear _her_ side of the story ere he condemned her.

Elsie was seated on a couch at the far side of the room, and as he
entered she turned on him a tearful, pleading look, that went
straight to his heart.

His face was grave and sad, but there was very little sternness in
it, as he sat down and took her in his arms.

For a moment he held her without speaking, while she lifted her
eyes timidly to his face. Then he said, as he gently stroked the
hair back from her forehead, "I am very sorry, _very sorry
indeed_, to hear so bad an account of my little daughter. I am
afraid I shall have to punish her, and I don't like to do it."

She answered not a word, but burst into tears, and hiding her face
on his breast, sobbed aloud.

"I will not condemn you unheard, Elsie," he said after a moment's
pause; "tell me how you came to be so impertinent to your
grandfather."

"I did not mean to be saucy, papa, indeed I did not," she sobbed.

"Stop crying then, daughter," he said kindly, "and tell me all
about it. I know there was some trouble between you and Enna, and
I want you to tell me all that occurred, and every word spoken by
either of you, as well as all that passed between Mrs. Dinsmore,
your grandfather, and yourself. I am very glad that I can trust my
little girl to speak the truth. I am quite sure she would not tell
a falsehood even to save herself from punishment," he added
tenderly.

"Thank you, dear papa, for saying that," said Elsie, raising her
head and almost smiling through her tears. "I will _try_ to
tell it just as it happened."

She then told her story simply and truthfully, repeating, as he
bade her, every word that had passed between Enna and herself, and
between her and her grandparents. Her words to her grandfather
sounded very different, repeated in her quiet, respectful tones;
and when she added that if he would have allowed her, she was
going on to explain that it was not any unwillingness to oblige
Enna, but the fear of doing wrong, that led her to refuse her
request, her father thought that after all she deserved very
little blame.

"Do you think I was very saucy, papa?" she asked anxiously, when
she had finished her story.

"So much depends upon the tone, Elsie," he said, "that I can
hardly tell; if you used the same tone in speaking to your grandpa
that you did in repeating your words to me just now, I don't think
it was _very_ impertinent; though the words themselves were
not as respectful as they ought to have been. You must always
treat my father quite as respectfully as you do me; and I think
with him, too, that there is something quite impertinent in a
little girl like you setting up her opinion against that of her
elders. You must never try it with me, my daughter."

Elsie hung down her head in silence for a moment, then asked in a
tremulous tone, "Are you going to punish me, papa?"

"Yes," he said, "but first I am going to take you down-stairs and
make you beg your grandfather's pardon. I see you don't want to do
it," he added, looking keenly into her face, "but you _must_,
and I hope I shall not be obliged to _enforce_ obedience to
my commands."

"I will do whatever you bid me, papa," she sobbed, "but I did not
mean to be saucy. Please, papa, tell me what to say."

"You must say, Grandpa, I did not intend to be impertinent to you,
and I am very sorry for whatever may have seemed saucy in my words
or tones; will you please to forgive me, and I will try always to
be perfectly respectful in future. You can say all that with
truth, I think?"

"Yes, papa, I _am_ sorry, and I _do_ intend to be
respectful to grandpa always," she answered, brushing away her
tears, and putting her hand in his.

He then led her into her grandfather's presence, saying: "Elsie
has come to beg your pardon, sir."

"That is as it should be," replied the old gentleman, glancing
triumphantly at his wife; "I told her you would not uphold her in
any such impertinence."

"No," said his son, with some displeasure in his tone; "I will
neither uphold her in wrongdoing, nor suffer her to be imposed
upon. Speak, my daughter, and say what I bade you."

Elsie sobbed out the required words.

"Yes, I must forgive you, of course," replied her grandfather,
coldly, "but I hope your father is not going to let you off
without proper punishment."

"I will attend to that; I certainly intend to punish her _as she
deserves_" said his son, laying a marked emphasis upon the
concluding words of his sentence.

Elsie wholly misunderstood him, and so trembled with fear as he
led her from the room, that she could scarcely walk; seeing which,
he took her in his arms and carried her up-stairs, she sobbing on
his shoulder.

He did not speak until he had locked the door, carried her across
the room, and seated himself upon the couch again, with her upon
his knee.

Then he said, in a soothing tone, as he wiped away her tears and
kissed her kindly, "You need not tremble so, my daughter; I am not
going to be severe with you."

She looked up in glad surprise.

"I said I would punish you as you _deserve_," he said, with a
smile, "and I intend to keep you shut up here with me until bed-
time, I shall not allow you to go down-stairs to tea, and besides,
I am going to give you a long lesson to learn, which I shall
require you to recite to me quite perfectly before you can go to
bed."

Elsie grew frightened again at the mention of the lesson, for she
feared it might be something which she could not conscientiously
study on the Sabbath; but all her fear and trouble vanished as she
saw her father take up a Bible that lay on the table, and turn
over the leaves as though selecting a passage.

Presently he put it into her hands, and pointing to the thirteenth
and fourteenth chapters of John's Gospel, bade her carry the book
to a low seat by the window, and sit there until she had learned
them perfectly.

"O papa! what a nice lesson!" she exclaimed, looking up
delightedly into his face; "but it won't be any punishment,
because I love these chapters dearly, and have read them so often
that I almost know every word already."

"Hush, hush!" he said, pretending to be very stern; "don't tell me
that my punishments are _no_ punishments, I don't allow you
to talk so; just take the book and learn what I bid you; and if
you know those two already, you may learn the next."

Elsie laughed, kissed his hand, and tripped away to her window,
while he threw himself down on the couch and took up a newspaper,
more as a screen to his face, however, than for the purpose of
reading; for he lay there closely watching his little daughter, as
she sat in the rich glow of the sunset, with her sweet, grave
little face bending over the holy book.

"The darling!" he murmured to himself; "she is lovely as an angel, and
she is _mine_, mine only, mine own precious one; and loves me with
her whole soul. Ah! how can I ever find it in my heart to be stern to her?
Ah! if _I_ were but _half_ as good and pure as she is, I should be
a better man than I am." And he heaved a deep sigh.

Half an hour had passed, and still Elsie bent over her book. The
tea-bell rang, and Mr. Dinsmore started up, and crossing the room,
bent down and stroked her hair.

"Do you know it, darling?" he asked.

"Almost, papa," and she looked up into his face with a bright,
sweet smile, full of affection.

With a sudden impulse he caught her in his arms, and kissing her
again and again, said with emotion, "Elsie, my darling, I love you
_too_ well; I could never bear to lose you."

"You must love Jesus better, my own precious papa," she replied,
clasping her little arms around his neck, and returning his
caresses.

He held her a moment, and then putting her down, said, "I shall
send you up some supper, and I want you to eat it; don't behave as
you did about the bread and water once, a good while ago."

"Will it be bread and water this time, papa?" she asked, with a
smile.

"You will see," he said, laughingly, and quitted the room.

Elsie turned to her book again, but in a few moments was
interrupted by the entrance of a servant carrying on a silver
waiter a plate of hot, buttered muffins, a cup of jelly, another
of hot coffee, and a piece of broiled chicken. Elsie was all
astonishment.

"Why, Pomp," she asked, "did papa send it?"

"Yes, Miss Elsie, 'deed he did," replied the servant, with a grin
of satisfaction, as he set down his burden. "I reckon you been
berry nice gal dis day; or else Marster Horace tink you little bit
sick."

"Papa is very good; and I am much obliged to you too, Pomp," said
the little girl, laying aside her book, and seating herself before
the waiter.

"Jes ring de bell, Miss Elsie, ef you want more, and dis chile
fotch 'em up; Marster Horace say so hisself." And the grinning
negro bowed himself out, chuckling with delight, for Elsie had
always been a great favorite with him.

"Dear papa," Elsie said, when he came in again and smilingly asked
if she had eaten her prison fare, "what a good supper you sent me!
But I thought you didn't allow me such things!"

"Don't you know," said he playfully, laying his hand upon her
head, "that I am absolute monarch of this small kingdom, and you
are not to question my doings or decrees?"

Then in a more serious tone, "No, daughter, I do not allow it as a
regular thing, because I do not think it for your good; but for
once, I thought it would not hurt you. I know you are not one to
presume upon favors, and I wanted to indulge you a little, because
I fear my little girl has been made to suffer perhaps more than
she quite deserved this afternoon."

His voice had a very tender tone as he uttered the concluding
words, and stooping, he pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Don't think, though," he added the next moment, "that I am
excusing you for impertinence, not at all; but it was what you
have had to suffer from Enna's insolence. I shall put a stop to
that, for I will not have it."

"I don't mind it much, papa," said Elsie gently, "I am quite used
to it, for Enna has always treated me so."

"And why did _I_ never hear of it before?" he asked, half
angrily. "It is abominable! not to be endured!" he exclaimed, "and
I shall see that Miss Enna is made to understand that _my_
daughter is fully her equal in every respect, and always to be
treated as such."

He paused; but, Elsie, half frightened at his vehemence, made no reply;
and he went on: "I have no  doubt your grandfather and his wife would have
been better pleased had I forced you to yield to Enna's whim; but I had
no idea of such a thing; you shall use your own pleasure whenever she
is concerned; but: if _I_ had bidden you to  tell her that
story it would have been a very different matter; you need  never
set up your will, or your opinion of right and wrong, against mine,
Elsie, for I shall not allow it. I don't altogether like some of those
strict  notions you have got into your head, and I give you fair warning,
that should  they ever come into collision with _my_ wishes and
commands, they will have to be given up. But don't look so alarmed,
daughter; I hope it may never happen; and we will say no more about
it to-night," he added, kindly, for she had grown very pale and
trembled visibly.

"O papa, dear papa! don't ever bid me do anything wrong; it would
break my heart," she said, laying her head on his shoulder as he
sat down and drew her to his side.

"I never intend to bid you do wrong, but, on the contrary, wish
you always to do right. But then, daughter, _I_ must be the
judge of what is wrong or right for you; you must remember that
you are only a very little girl, and not yet capable of judging
for yourself, and all you have to do is to obey your father
without murmuring or hesitation, and then there will be no
trouble."

His tone, though mild, and not unkind, was very firm and decided,
and Elsie's heart sank; she seemed to feel herself in the shadow
of some great trouble laid up in store for her in the future. But
she strove, and ere long with success, to banish the foreboding of
evil which oppressed her, and give herself up to the enjoyment of
present blessings. Her father loved her dearly--she knew that--and
he was not _now_ requiring her to do aught against her conscience,
and perhaps he never might; he had said so himself, and God could incline
his heart to respect her scruples; or if, in His infinite wisdom, He saw
that the dreaded trial was needed, He would give her strength to bear it;
for had He not promised, "As thy day, so shall thy strength be"?

Her father's arm was around her, and she had been standing
silently, with her face hidden on his shoulder, while these
thoughts were passing through her mind, and the little heart going
up in prayer to God for him and for herself.

"What is my little girl thinking of?" he asked presently.

"A good many things, papa," she said, raising her face, now quite
peaceful and happy again. "I was thinking of what you had just
been saying to me, and that I am so glad I know that you love me
dearly; and I was asking God to help us both to do His will, and
that I might always be able to do what you bid me, without
disobeying Him," she added simply; and then asked, "May I say my
lesson now, papa? I think I know it quite perfectly."

"Yes," he said, in an absent way; "bring me the book."

Elsie brought it, and putting it into his hands, drew up a stool
and sat down at his feet, resting her arm on his knee, and looking
up into his face; then in her sweet, low voice, she repeated
slowly and feelingly, with true and beautiful emphasis, the
chapters he had given her to learn; that most touching description
of the Last Supper, and our Saviour's farewell address to His
sorrowing disciples.

"Ah! papa, is it not beautiful?" she exclaimed, laying her head
upon his knee, while the tears trembled in her eyes. "Is not that
a sweet verse, 'Having loved His own which were in the world, He
loved them unto the end'? It seems so strange that He could be so
thoughtful for them, so kind and loving, when all the time He knew
what a dreadful death He was just going to die; and knew besides
that they were all going to run away and leave Him alone with His
cruel enemies. Oh! it is so sweet to know that Jesus is so loving,
and that He loves me, and will always love me, even to the end,
_forever_."

"How do you know that, Elsie?" he asked.

"I know that He loves me, papa, because I love Him, and He has
said, 'I love them that love me;' and I know that He will love me
always, because He has said, 'I have loved thee with an
_everlasting_ love,' and in another place, 'I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee.'"

"But do you think you are good enough, daughter, for Jesus to love
you?"

"Ah! papa, I know I am not at all good. I have a very wicked
heart, and often my thoughts and feelings are all wrong, and Jesus
knows all about it, but it does not keep Him from loving me, for
you know it was _sinners_ He died to save. Ah! papa, how _good_
and _kind_ He was! Who could help loving Him? I used to feel
_so_ lonely and sad sometimes, papa, that I think my heart would
have broken quite, and I should have died, if I had not had Jesus to love
me."

"When were you so sad and lonely, darling?" he asked in a moved
tone, as he laid his hand gently on her head, and stroked her hair
caressingly.

"Sometimes when you were away, papa, and I had never seen you; but
then I used to think of you, and my heart would long and
_ache_ so to see you, and hear you call me daughter, and to
lay my head against your breast and feel your arms folding me
close to your heart, as you do so often now."

She paused a moment, and struggled hard to keep down the rising
sobs, as she added, "But when you came, papa, and I saw you did
not love me, oh! papa, that was the worst. I thought I could
never, _never_ bear it. I thought my heart would break, and I
wanted to die and go to Jesus, and to mamma."

The little frame shook with sobs.

"My poor darling! my poor little pet!" he said, taking her in his
arms again, and caressing her with the greatest tenderness, "it
was very hard, very cruel. I don't know how I could steel my heart
so against my own little child; but I had been very much
prejudiced, and led to suppose that you looked upon me with fear
and dislike, as a hated tyrant."

Elsie lifted her eyes to his face with a look of extreme surprise.

"O papa!" she exclaimed, "how _could_ you think that? I have
always loved you, ever since I can remember."

When Elsie went to her room that evening she thought very
seriously of all that had occurred during the afternoon, and all
that her papa had said to her; and to her usual petitions was
added a very fervent one that he might never bid her break any
command of God; or if he did, that she might have strength given
her according to her day.

A shadow had fallen on her pathway, faint, but perceptible; a
light, fleecy cloud obscured the brightness of her sun; yet it was
not for some weeks that even the most distant mutterings of the
coming storm could be heard.




CHAPTER TENTH


    "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing
    thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a Delight,
    the Holy of the Lord, Honorable, and shalt honor him, not
    doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor
    speaking thine own words."
                                 --_Isaiah_ Iviii. 13.

    "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto
    you, more than unto God, judge ye."
                                 --_Acts_ iv. 19.


Quite a number of guests had dined at Roselands. They were nearly
all gentlemen, and were now collected in the drawing-room,
laughing, jesting, talking politics, and conversing with each
other and the ladies upon various worldly topics, apparently quite
forgetful that it was the Lord's day, which He has commanded to be
kept holy in thought and word, as well as deed.

"May I ask what you are in search of, Mr. Eversham?" inquired
Adelaide, as she noticed one of the guests glance around the room
with a rather disappointed air.

"Yes, Miss Adelaide; I was looking for little Miss Elsie. Travilla
has given me so very glowing an account of her precocious musical
talent, that I have conceived a great desire to hear her play and
sing."

"Do you hear that, Horace?" asked Adelaide, turning to her
brother.

"Yes, and I shall be most happy to gratify you, Eversham," replied
the young father, with a proud smile.

He crossed the room to summon a servant, but as he placed his hand
upon the bell-rope, Mrs. Dinsmore arrested his movement.

"Stay, Horace," she said; "you had better not send for her."

"May I be permitted to ask _why_, madam?" he inquired in a
tone of mingled surprise and annoyance.

"Because she will not sing," answered the lady, coolly.

"Pardon me, madam, but I think she will, if _I bid_ her to do
it," he said with flashing eyes.

"No, she will not," persisted Mrs. Dinsmore, in the same cold,
quiet tone; "she will tell you she is wiser than her father, and
that it would be a sin to obey him in this. Believe me, she will
most assuredly defy your authority; so you had better take my
advice and let her alone--thus sparing yourself the mortification
of exhibiting before your guests your inability to govern your
child."

Mr. Dinsmore bit his lip with vexation.

"Thank you," he said, haughtily, "but I prefer convincing you that
that inability lies wholly in your own imagination; and I am quite
at a loss to understand upon what you found your opinion, as Elsie
has never yet made the very slightest resistance to my authority."

He had given the bell-rope a vigorous pull while speaking, and a
servant now appearing in answer to the summons, he sent him with a
message to Elsie, requiring her presence in the drawing-room.

Then turning away from his step-mother, who looked after him with
a gleam of triumph in her eye, he joined the group of gentlemen
already gathered about the piano, where Adelaide had just taken
her seat and begun a brilliant overture.

Yet, outwardly calm and self-satisfied as his demeanor may have
been, Horace Dinsmore was even now regretting the step he had just
taken; for remembering Elsie's conscientious scruples regarding
the observance of the Sabbath--which he had for the moment
forgotten--he foresaw that there would be a struggle, probably a
severe one; and though, having always found her docile and
yielding, he felt no doubt of the final result, he would willingly
have avoided the contest, could he have done so without a
sacrifice of pride; but, as he said to himself, with a slight
sigh, he had now gone too far to retreat; and then he had all
along felt that this struggle must come _some_ time, and perhaps it
was as well now as at any other.

Elsie was alone in her own room, spending the Sabbath afternoon in
her usual manner, when the servant came to say that her papa
wished to see her in the drawing-room. The little girl was a good
deal alarmed at the summons, for the thought instantly flashed
upon her, "He is going to bid me play and sing, or do something
else which it is not right to do on the Sabbath day."

But remembering that he never had done so, she hoped he might not
now; yet ere she obeyed the call she knelt down for a moment, and
prayed earnestly for strength to do right, however difficult it
might be.

"Come here, daughter," her father said as she entered the room. He
spoke in his usual pleasant, affectionate tone, yet Elsie started,
trembled, and turned pale; for catching sight of the group at the
piano, and her Aunt Adelaide just vacating the music-stool, she at
once perceived what was in store for her.

"Here, Elsie," said her father, selecting a song which she had
learned during their absence, and sang remarkably well, "I wish
you to sing this for my friends; they are anxious to hear it."

"Will not to-morrow do, papa?" she asked in a low, tremulous tone.

Mrs. Dinsmore, who had drawn near to listen, now looked at Horace
with a meaning smile, which he affected not to see.

"Certainly not, Elsie," he said; "we want it now. You know it
quite well enough without any more practice."

"I did not want to wait for _that_ reason, papa," she replied
in the same low, trembling tones, "but you know this is the holy
Sabbath day."

"Well, my daughter, and what of that? _I_ consider this song
perfectly proper to be sung to-day, and that ought to satisfy you
that you will not be doing wrong to sing it; remember what I said
to you some weeks ago; and now sit down and sing it at once,
without any more ado."

"O papa! I _cannot_ sing it to-day; _please_ let me wait
until to-morrow."

"Elsie," he said in his sternest tones, "sit down to the piano
instantly, and do as I bid you, and let me hear no more of this
nonsense."

She sat down, but raising her pleading eyes, brimful of tears to
his face, she repeated her refusal. "Dear papa, I _cannot_
sing it to-day. I _cannot_ break the Sabbath."

"Elsie, you _must_ sing it," said he, placing the music
before her. "I have told you that it will not be breaking the
Sabbath, and that is sufficient; you must let me judge for you in
these matters."

"Let her wait until to-morrow, Dinsmore; tomorrow will suit us
quite as well," urged several of the gentlemen, while Adelaide
good-naturedly said, "Let me play it, Horace; I have no such
scruples, and presume I can do it nearly as well as Elsie."

"No," he replied, "when I give my child a command, it is to be
obeyed; I have _said_ she should play it, and play it she
_must_; she is not to suppose that she may set up her opinion
of right and wrong against mine."

Elsie sat with her little hands folded in her lap, the tears
streaming from her downcast eyes over her pale cheeks. She was
trembling, but though there was no stubbornness in her countenance,
the expression meek and humble, she made no movement toward obeying
her father's order.

There was a moment of silent waiting; then he said in his severest
tone, "Elsie, you shall sit there till you obey me, though it
should be until to-morrow morning."

"Yes, papa," she replied in a scarcely audible voice, and they all
turned away and left her.

"You see now that you had better have taken my advice, Horace,"
remarked Mrs. Dinsmore, in a triumphant aside; "I knew very well
how it would end."

"Excuse me," said he, "but it has _not_ ended; and ere it
does, I think she will learn that she has a stronger will than her
own to deal with."

Elsie's position was a most uncomfortable one; her seat high and
uneasy, and seeming to grow more and more so as the weary moments
passed slowly away. No one came near her or seemed to notice her,
yet she could hear them conversing in other parts of the room, and
knew that they were sometimes looking at her, and, timid and
bashful as she was, it seemed hard to bear. Then, too, her little
heart was very sad as she thought of her father's displeasure, and
feared that he would withdraw from her the affection which had
been for the last few months the very sunshine of her life.
Besides all this, the excitement of her feelings, and the close
and sultry air--for it was a very warm day--had brought on a
nervous headache. She leaned forward and rested her head against
the instrument, feeling in momentary danger of falling from her
seat.

Thus two long hours had passed when Mr. Travilla came to her side,
and said in a compassionate tone, "I am really very sorry for you,
my little friend; but I advise you to submit to your papa. I see
you are getting very weary sitting there, and I warn you not to
hope to conquer him. I have known him for years, and a more
determined person I never saw. Had you not better sing the song?
it will not take five minutes, and then your trouble will be all
over."

Elsie raised her head, and answered gently, "Thank you for your
sympathy, Mr. Travilla, you are very kind; but I could not do it,
because Jesus says, 'He that loveth father or mother more than me,
is not worthy of me;' and I cannot disobey Him, even to please my
own dear papa."

"But, Miss Elsie, why do you think it would be disobeying Him? Is
there any verse in the Bible which says you must not sing songs on
Sunday?"

"Mr. Travilla, it says the Sabbath is to be kept holy unto the
Lord; that we are not to think our own thoughts, nor speak our own
words, nor do our own actions; but all the day must be spent in
studying God's word, or worshipping and praising Him; and there is
no praise in that song; not one word about God or heaven."

"That is very true, Elsie, but still it is such a _very
little_ thing, that I cannot think there would be much harm in
it, or that God would be very angry with you for doing it."

"O Mr. Travilla!" she said, looking up at him in great surprise,
"surely you know that there is no such thing as a _little
sin_; and don't you remember about the man who picked up sticks
on the Sabbath day?"

"No; what was it?"

"God commanded that he should be stoned to death, and it was done.
Would you not have thought _that_ a very little thing, Mr.
Travilla?"

"Yes, I believe I should," said he, turning away with a very grave
face.

"Dinsmore," he said, going up to his friend; "I am sure that child
is conscientious; had you not better give up to her in this
instance?"

"_Never_, Travilla," he answered, with stern decision. "This
is the first time she has rebelled against my authority, and if I
let her conquer now, she will think she is always to have her own
way. No; cost what it may, I _must_ subdue her; she will have
to learn that my will is law."

"Right, Horace," said the elder Mr. Dinsmore, approvingly, "let
her understand from the first that you are to be master; it is
always the best plan."

"Excuse me, Dinsmore," said Travilla; "but I must say that I think
a parent has no right to coerce a child into doing violence to its
conscience."

"Nonsense!" replied his friend, a little angrily. "Elsie is
entirely too young to set up her opinion against mine; she must
allow me to judge for her in these matters for some years to
come."

Eversham, who had been casting uneasy glances at Elsie all the
afternoon, now drawing his chair near to Adelaide, said to her in
an undertone, "Miss Adelaide, I am deeply sorry for the mischief I
have unwittingly caused, and if you can tell me how to repair it
you will lay me under lasting obligations."

Adelaide shook her head. "There is no moving Horace when he has
once set his foot down," she said; "and as to Elsie, I doubt
whether any power on earth can make her do what she considers
wrong."

"Poor little thing!" said Eversham, sighing; "where in the world
did she get such odd notions?"

"Partly from a pious Scotch woman, who had a good deal to do with
her in her infancy, and partly from studying the Bible, I believe.
She is always at it."

"Indeed!" and he relapsed into thoughtful silence.

Another hour passed slowly away, and then the tea-bell rang.

"Elsie," asked her father, coming to her side, "are you ready to
obey me now? if so, we will wait a moment to hear the song, and
then you can go to your tea with us."

"Dear papa, I cannot break the Sabbath," she replied, in a low,
gentle tone, without lifting her head.

"Very well then, I cannot break my word; you must sit there until
you will submit; and until then you must fast. You are not only
making yourself miserable by your disobedience and obstinacy,
Elsie, but are mortifying and grieving _me_ very much," he
added in a subdued tone, that sent a sharp pang to the loving
little heart, and caused some very bitter tears to fall, as he
turned away and left her.

The evening passed wearily away to the little girl; the drawing-
room was but dimly lighted, for the company had all deserted it to
wander about the grounds, or sit in the portico enjoying the
moonlight and the pleasant evening breeze, and the air indoors
seemed insupportably close and sultry. At times Elsie could
scarcely breathe, and she longed intensely to get out into the
open air; every moment her seat grew more uncomfortable and the
pain in her head more severe: her thoughts began to wander, she
forgot where she was, everything became confused, and at length
she lost all consciousness.

Several gentlemen, among whom were Mr. Horace Dinsmore and Mr.
Travilla, were conversing together on the portico, when they were
suddenly startled by a sound as of something falling.

Travilla, who was nearest the door, rushed into the drawing-room,
followed by the others.

"A light! quick, quick, a light!" he cried, raising Elsie's
insensible form in his arms; "the child has fainted."

One of the others, instantly snatching a lamp from a distant
table, brought it near, and the increased light showed Elsie's
little face, ghastly as that of a corpse, while a stream of blood
was flowing from a wound in the temple, made by striking against
some sharp corner of the furniture as she fell.

She was a pitiable sight indeed, with her fair face, her curls,
and her white dress all dabbled in blood.

"Dinsmore, you're a brute!" exclaimed Travilla indignantly, as he
placed her gently on a sofa.

Horace made no reply, but, with a face almost as pale as her own,
bent over his little daughter in speechless alarm, while one of
the guests, who happened to be a physician, hastily dressed the
wound, and then applied restoratives.

It was some time ere consciousness returned, and the father
trembled with the agonizing fear that the gentle spirit had taken
its flight.

But at length the soft eyes unclosed, and gazing with a troubled
look into his face, bent so anxiously over her, she asked, "Dear
papa, are you angry with me?"

"No, darling," he replied in tones made tremulous with emotion,
"not at all."

"What was it?" she asked in a bewildered way; "what did I do? what
has happened?"

"Never mind, daughter," he said, "you have been ill; but you are
better now, so don't think any more about it."

"She had better be put to bed at once," said the physician.

"There is blood on my dress," cried Elsie, in a startled tone;
"where did it come from?"

"You fell and hurt your head," replied her father, raising her
gently in his arms; "but don't talk any more now."

"Oh! I remember," she moaned, an expression of keen distress
coming over her face; "papa--"

"Hush! hush! not a word more; we will let the past go," he said,
kissing her lips. "I shall carry you to your room now, and see you
put to bed."

He held her on his knee, her head resting on his shoulder, while
Chloe prepared her for rest.

"Are you hungry, daughter?" he asked.

"No, papa; I only want to go to sleep."

"There, Aunt Chloe, that will do," he said, as the old nurse tied
on the child's night-cap; and raising her again in his arms, he
carried her to the bed and was about to place her on it.

"Oh papa! my prayers first, you know," she cried eagerly.

"Never mind them to-night," said he, "you are not able."

"Please let me, dear papa," she pleaded; "I cannot go to sleep
without"

Yielding to her entreaties, he placed her on her knees, and stood
beside her, listening to her murmured petitions, in which he more
than once heard his own name coupled with a request that he might
be made to love Jesus.

When she had finished, he again raised her in his arms, kissed her
tenderly several times, and then laid her carefully on the bed,
saying, as he did so, "Why did you ask, Elsie, that I might love
Jesus?"

"Because, papa, I do so want you to love Him; it would make you so
happy; and besides, you cannot go to heaven without it; the Bible
says so."

"Does it? and what makes you think I don't love Him?"

"Dear papa, please don't be angry," she pleaded, tearfully, "but
you know Jesus says, 'He that keepeth my commandments, he it is
that loveth me.'"

He stooped over her. "Good night, daughter," he said.

"Dear, _dear_ papa," she cried, throwing her arm round his
neck, and drawing down his face close to hers, "I do love you so
very, _very_ much!"

"Better than anybody else?" he asked

"No, papa, I love Jesus best; you next."

He kissed her again, and with a half sigh turned away and left the
room. He was not entirely pleased; not quite willing that she
should love even her Saviour better than himself.

Elsie was very weary, and was soon asleep. She waked the next
morning feeling nearly as well as usual, and after she had had her
bath and been dressed by Chloe's careful hands, the curls being
arranged to conceal the plaster that covered the wound on her
temple, there was nothing in her appearance, except a slight
paleness, to remind her friends of the last night's accident.

She was sitting reading her morning chapter when her father came
in, and taking a seat by her side, lifted her to his knee, saying,
as he caressed her tenderly, "My little daughter is looking pretty
well this morning; how does she feel?"

"Quite well, thank you, papa," she replied, looking up into his
face with a sweet, loving smile.

He raised the curls to look at the wounded temple; then, as he
dropped them again, he said, with a shudder, "Elsie, do you know
that you were very near being killed last night?"

"No, papa, was I?" she asked with an awe-struck countenance.

"Yes, the doctor says if that wound had been made half an inch
nearer your eye--I should have been childless."

His voice trembled almost too much for utterance as he finished
his sentence, and he strained her to his heart with a deep sigh of
thankfulness for her escape.

Elsie was very quiet for some moments, and the little face was
almost sad in its deep thoughtfulness.

"What are you thinking of, darling?" he asked.

She raised her eyes to his face and he saw that they were brimful
of tears.

"O papa!" she said, dropping her head on his breast while the
bright drops fell like rain down her cheeks, "would you have been
so very sorry?"

"Sorry, darling! do you not know that you are more precious to me
than all my wealth, all my friends and relatives put together?
Yes, I would rather part with everything else than lose this one
little girl," he said, kissing her again and again.

"Dear, _dear_ papa! how glad I am that you love me so much!"
she replied; and then relapsed into silence.

He watched her changing countenance for some time, then asked,
"What is it, darling?"

"I was just thinking," she said, "whether I was ready to go to
heaven, and I believe I was; for I know that I love Jesus; and
then I was thinking how glad mamma would have been to see me;
don't you think she would, papa?"

"I can't spare you to her yet," he replied with emotion, "and I
think she loves me too well to wish it."

As Miss Day had not yet returned, Elsie's time was still pretty
much at her own disposal, excepting when her papa gave her
something to do; so, after breakfast, finding that he was engaged
with some one in the library, she took her Bible, and seeking out
a shady retreat in the garden, sat down to read.

The Bible was ever the book of books to her, and this morning the
solemn, tender feelings naturally caused by the discovery of her
recent narrow escape from sudden death made it even more than
usually touching and beautiful in her eyes. She had been alone in
the arbor for some time, when, hearing a step at her side, she
looked up, showing a face all wet with tears.

It was Mr. Travilla who stood beside her.

"In tears, little Elsie! Pray, what may the book be that effects
you so?" he asked, sitting down by her side and taking it from her
hand. "The Bible, I declare!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What can
there be in it that you find so affecting?"

"O Mr. Travilla!" said the little girl, "does it not make your
heart ache to read how the Jews abused our dear, dear Saviour? and
then to think that it was all because of our sins," she sobbed.

He looked half distressed, half puzzled; it seemed a new idea to
him.

"Really, my little Elsie," he said, "you are quite original in
your ideas, I suppose I _ought_ to feel unhappy about these
things, but indeed the truth is, I have never thought much about
them."

"Then you don't love Jesus," she answered, mournfully. "Ah! Mr.
Travilla, how sorry I am."

"Why, Elsie, what difference can it make to you whether I love Him
or not?"

"Because, Mr. Travilla, the Bible says, 'If any man love not the
Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha,' accursed from
God. Oh! sir, think how dreadful! You cannot be _saved_ unless you
love Jesus, and believe on Him. 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved.' That is what God says in his word."

She spoke with deep solemnity, the tears trembling in her eyes. He
was touched, but for a while sat perfectly silent.

Then he said, with an effort to speak lightly. "Ah, well, my
little friend, I certainly intend to repent and believe before I
die, but there is time enough yet."

"Mr. Travilla," she said, laying her hand on his arm and looking
earnestly into his face, "how do you know that there is time
enough yet? _don't_ put it off, I beg of you."

She paused a moment; then asked, "Do you know, Mr. Travilla, how
near I came to being killed last night?"

He nodded.

"Well, suppose I had been killed, and had not loved Jesus; where
would I be now?"

He put his arm round her, and giving her a kiss, said, "I don't
think you would have been in any very bad place, Elsie; a sweet,
amiable little girl, who has never harmed any one, would surely
not fare very badly in another world."

She shook her head very gravely.

"Ah! Mr. Travilla, you forget the anathema, maranatha; if I had
not loved Jesus, and had my sins washed away in His blood, I could
not have been saved."

Just at this moment a servant came to tell Elsie that her papa
wanted her in the drawing-room, and Mr. Travilla, taking her hand,
led her into the house.

They found the company again grouped about the piano, listening to
Adelaide's music.

Elsie went directly to her father and stood by his side, putting
her hand in his with a gesture of confiding affection.

He smiled down at her, and kept fast hold of it until his sister
had risen from the instrument, when putting Elsie in her place, he
said, "Now, my daughter, let us have that song."

"Yes, papa," she replied, beginning the prelude at once, "I will
do my very best."

And so she did. The song was both well played and well sung, and
her father looked proud and happy as the gentlemen expressed their
pleasure and asked for another and another.

Thus the clouds which had so suddenly obscured little Elsie's sky,
seemed to have vanished as speedily as they had arisen.

Her father again treated her with all his wonted affection, and
there even seemed to be a depth of tenderness in his love which it
had not known before, for he could not forget how nearly he had
lost her.



CHAPTER ELEVENTH


   "In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank
    thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid
    these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
    them unto babes; even so, Father; for so it seemed good in
    thy sight."
                                 --_Luke_ x. 21.


Says the Apostle Paul, "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my
conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have
great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could wish
that myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen
according to the flesh.... Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer
to God for Israel is, that they might be saved."

And such, dear reader, is, in greater or less degree, the feeling
of every renewed heart; loving Jesus, it would fain have others
love Him too; it desires the salvation of all; but for that of its
own dear ones it longs and labors and prays; it is like Jacob
wrestling with the angel, when he said, "I will not let thee go
except thou bless me."

And thus it was with Elsie. She knew now that her father was not a
Christian; that he had no real love for Jesus, none of the true
fear of God before his eyes. She saw that if he permitted her to
read to him from God's word, as he sometimes did, it was not that
he felt any pleasure in listening, but only to please her; she had
no reason to suppose he ever prayed, and though he went regularly
to church, it was because he considered it proper and respectable
to do so, and not that he cared to worship God, or to learn His
will.

This conviction, which had gradually dawned upon Elsie, until now
it amounted to certainty, caused her great grief; she shed many
tears over it in secret, and very many and very earnest were the
prayers she offered up for her dear father's conversion.

She was sitting on his knee one evening in the drawing-room, while
he and several other gentlemen were conversing on the subject of
religion. They were discussing the question whether or no a change
of heart were necessary to salvation.

The general opinion seemed to be that it was not, and Elsie
listened with pain while her father expressed his decided
conviction that all who led an honest, upright, moral life, and
attended to the outward observances of religion, were quite safe.

"He could see no necessity for a change of heart; he did not
believe in the doctrine of total depravity, not he; no indeed, he
thought the world much better than many people would have us
believe."

Elsie fixed her eyes on his face with a very mournful gaze while
he was speaking, but he was busy with his argument and did not
notice her.

But one of the guests was just expressing his approval of Mr.
Dinsmore's sentiments, when catching sight of Elsie's face, he
stopped, remarking, "Your little girl looks as if she had
something to say on the subject; what is it, my dear?"

Elsie blushed, hesitated, and looked at her father.

"Yes, speak, my daughter, if you have anything to say," he said
encouragingly.

Elsie lifted her eyes timidly to the gentleman's face as she
replied, "I was just thinking, sir, of what our Saviour said to
Nicodemus: 'Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' 'Marvel not that I said
unto thee, Ye must be born again.'"

She repeated these words of inspiration with a deep, earnest
solemnity that seemed to impress every hearer.

For a moment there was a deep hush in the room.

Then the gentleman asked, "Well, my little lady, and what is meant
by being born again?"

"O sir!" she replied, "surely you know that it means to have the
image of God, lost in Adam's fall, restored to us; it means what
David asked for when he prayed, 'Create in me a clean heart, O
God, and renew a right spirit within me.'"

"Where did you learn all this?" he asked, looking at her with
mingled surprise and admiration.

"In the Bible, sir," she modestly replied.

"You seem to have read it to some purpose," said he; "and now
since you consider that change so necessary, can you tell me how
it is to be brought about?"

"God's Holy Spirit, alone, can change a sinner's heart, sir."

"And how am I to secure His aid?" he asked.

Elsie answered with a text: "God is more willing to give His Holy
Spirit to them that ask Him, than parents are to give good gifts
unto their children."

He paused a moment; then asked, "Have you obtained this new heart,
Miss Elsie?"

"I hope I have, sir," she replied, the sweet little face all
suffused with blushes, and the soft, downcast eyes filling with
tears.

"Why do you think so?" he asked again, "I think there is a text
that says you must be able always to give a reason for the hope
that is in you, or something to that effect, is there not?"

"Yes, sir: 'Be ready always to give an answer to every man that
asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and
fear.'" Then raising her eyes to his face with a touching mixture
of deep humility and holy boldness, she continued, "And this, sir
is my answer: Jesus says, 'Him that cometh unto me, I will in no
wise cast out;' and I believe Him. I did go to Him, and He did not
cast me out, but forgave my sins, and taught me to love Him and
desire to serve Him all my life."

This conversation between the gentleman and the little girl had
drawn the attention of all present; and now Mrs. Dinsmore, who had
more than once shown signs of impatience, said, "Well, Elsie, I
think you have now talked quite enough for a child of your age."
Then, pulling out her watch, "It is high time for little folks to
be in bed."

Elsie, blushing deeply, would have retired immediately, but her
father held her fast, saying, as he gave his stepmother an angry
glance, "You need not go, Elsie, unless you choose; I am quite
capable of judging when it is time to send you to bed."

"I would rather go, if you please, papa," whispered Elsie, who had
a great dread of Mrs. Dinsmore's anger.

"Very well, then, you may do as you like," he replied, giving her
a good-night kiss. And with a graceful good-night to the company,
the little girl left the room.

Her questioner followed her with an admiring glance, then turning
to her father, exclaimed warmly, "She is a _remarkably_ intelligent
child, Dinsmore! one that any father might be proud of. I was astonished
at her answers."

"Yes," remarked Travilla, "a text has been running in my head ever
since you commenced your conversation; something about these
things being hid from the wise and prudent, and revealed unto
babes. And," he added, "I am sure if ever I saw one who possessed
that new nature of which she spoke, it is she herself. Has she any
faults, Dinsmore?"

"Very few, _I_ think; though she would tell you a different
story," replied her father with a gratified smile.

The next morning Elsie was sitting reading her Bible, when she
suddenly felt a hand laid on her head, and her father's voice
said, "Good morning, little daughter."

"Ah! papa, is that you?" she asked, raising her head to give him a
smile of joyful welcome. "I did not know you were there."

"Ah! I have been watching you for several minutes," he said;
"always poring over the same book, Elsie; do you never tire of
it?"

"No, indeed, papa; it is always new, and I do love it so; it is so
very sweet. May I read a little to you?" she added coaxingly.

"Yes, I love to listen to anything read by my darling," he said,
sitting down and taking her on his knee.

She opened at the third chapter of John's Gospel and read it
through. At the sixteenth verse, "For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life," she paused, and
asked, "Was not that a wonderful gift, papa? and wonderful love
that prompted it?"

"Yes," he said, absently stroking her hair.

She finished the chapter, and closing the book, laid her head on
his breast, asking, "Dear papa, don't you believe the Bible?"

"Certainly, daughter; I am not an infidel," he replied in a
careless tone.

"Well, then, papa," she continued, half hesitatingly, "does not
this chapter teach very plainly that we must love Jesus, and have
new hearts, if we want to go to heaven?"

"Yes," he said, "I dare say it does."

Then taking the book from her, he laid it aside, and giving her a
kiss, said, "I was much pleased with your intelligent answers to
Mr. Lee, last evening."

Elsie sighed, and her eyes filled with tears. It was not what she
wanted.

"What an odd child you are!" he said, laughing. "You really look
as though I had been scolding, instead of praising you."

She dropped her head on his breast, and burst into tears and sobs.

"Why, Elsie, my own darling, what ails you?" he asked in great
surprise.

"O papa!" she sobbed, "I want you to love Jesus."

"Oh! is _that_ all?" he said.

And setting her on her feet, he took her by the hand and led her
out into the garden, where they met Mr. Travilla and another
gentleman, who immediately entered into conversation with Mr.
Dinsmore, while Elsie wandered about amongst the flowers and
shrubs, gathering a nosegay for her Aunt Adelaide.




CHAPTER TWELFTH


   "She had waited for their coming,
      She had kiss'd them o'er and o'er--
    And they were so fondly treasured
      For the words of love they bore,
    Words that whispered in the silence,
      She had listened till his tone
    Seemed to linger in the echo
      'Darling, thou art all mine own!'"
                                 --MRS. J. C. NEAL.


"Pray, what weighty matter is troubling your young brain, birdie?"
asked Adelaide, laughingly laying her hand on Elsie's shoulder.
"Judging from the exceeding gravity of your countenance, one might
imagine that the affairs of the nation had been committed to your
care."

"O auntie! can't you help me? won't you?" answered the little
girl, looking up coaxingly into the bright, cheerful face bent
over her.

"Help you in what? reading with your book upside down, eh?" asked
Adelaide, pointing with a quizzical look at the volume of fairy
tales in her little niece's lap.

"Oh!" cried Elsie, coloring and laughing in her turn, "I was not
reading, and did not know that my book was wrong side up. But,
Aunt Adelaide, you know Christmas is coming soon, and I want to
give papa something, and I am quite puzzled about it. I thought of
slippers, but he has a very handsome pair, and besides there would
hardly be time to work them, as I have so many lessons; a purse
won't do either, because I have given him one already, and I would
like it to be something worth more than either slippers or purse.
But you are so much wiser than I, can't you help me think?"

"So _this_ is what has kept you so quiet and demure all day
that I have scarcely once heard you laugh or sing; quite an
unusual state of things of late," and Adelaide playfully pinched
the round, rosy cheek. "Ahem! let me put on my thinking cap,"
assuming an air of comic gravity. "Ah! yes, I have it! your
miniature, little one, of course; what could please him better?"

"Oh! yes," cried Elsie, clapping her hands, "that will do nicely;
why didn't I think of it? Thank you, auntie. But then," she added,
her countenance falling, "how can I get it taken without his
knowledge? you know the surprise is half the fun."

"Never mind, my dear, I'll find a way to manage that," replied
Adelaide, confidently; "so just run away with you now, and see how
much money you can scrape together to spend on it."

"It won't take long to count it," Elsie said with a merry laugh.
"But here is papa just coming in at the door; I hope he won't
suspect what we have been talking about," and she bounded away to
meet him and claim the kiss he never refused her now.

Once Adelaide would not have been surprised at Elsie's quietness.
Patient and sweet tempered the little girl had always been, but
more especially after her father's return from Europe--very quiet
and timid, seeming to shrink from observation, with a constant
dread of incurring reproof or punishment; but the last few happy
months, during which her father had continued to lavish upon her
every proof of the tenderest affection, had wrought a great change
in her; her manner had lost its timidity, she moved about the
house with a light and joyous step, and it was no unusual thing to
hear her merry, silvery laugh ring out, or her sweet voice
carolling like some wild bird of the wood--the natural outgushings
of her joy and thankfulness; for the little heart that had so long
been famishing for love, that had often grown so weary and sick in
its hungering and thirsting for it, was now fully satisfied, and
revelled in its new-found happiness.

"I have got it all arranged nicely, Elsie," Adelaide said, coming
into the room with a very pleased face as the little girl was
preparing for bed that evening. "Your papa is going away in a day
or two to attend to some business matters connected with your
property, and will be absent at least two weeks; so, unless he
should take it into his head to carry you along, we can easily
manage about the picture."

Elsie looked up with a countenance of blank dismay.

"Why," said Adelaide, laughing, "I thought you'd be delighted with
my news, and instead of that, you look as if I had read you your
death-warrant."

"O Aunt Adelaide! two whole weeks without seeing papa! just think
how long."

"Pooh! nonsense, child! it will be gone before you know it. But
now tell me, how much money have you?"

"I have saved my allowance for two months; that makes twenty
dollars, you know, auntie, and I have a little change besides; do
you think it will be enough?"

"Hardly, I'm afraid; but I can lend you some, if necessary."

"Thank you, auntie," Elsie answered gratefully, "you are very
kind; but I couldn't take it, because papa has told me expressly
that I must never borrow money, nor run into debt in any way."

"Dear me!" exclaimed Adelaide, a little impatiently; "Horace
certainly is the most absurdly strict person I ever met with. But
never mind, I think we can manage it somehow," she added, in a
livelier tone, as she stooped to kiss her little niece good-night.

Elsie's gentle rap was heard very early at her papa's door the
next morning.

He opened it immediately, and springing into his arms, she asked,
almost tearfully, "Are you going away, papa?"

"Yes, darling," he said, caressing her fondly. "I must leave home
for a few weeks; and though I at first thought of taking you with
me, upon further consideration I have decided that it will be
better to leave you here; yet, if you desire it very much, my pet,
I will take you along. Shall I?"

"You know I would always rather be with you than anywhere else,
papa," she answered, laying her head on his shoulder; "but you
know best, and I am quite willing to do whatever you say."

"That is right, daughter; my little Elsie is a good, obedient
child," he said, pressing her closer to him.

"When are you going papa?" she asked, her voice trembling a
little.

"To-morrow, directly after dinner, daughter."

"So soon," she sighed.

"The sooner I leave you the sooner I shall return, you know,
darling," he said, patting her cheek, and smiling kindly on her.

"Yes, papa; but two weeks seems such a long, long time."

He smiled. "At your age I suppose it does, but when you are as old
as I am, you will think it very short. But to make it pass more
quickly, you may write me a little letter every day, and I will
send you one just as often."

"Oh! thank you, papa; that will be so pleasant," she answered,
with a brightening countenance. "I do so love to get letters, and
I would rather have one from you than from anybody else."

"Ah? then I think you ought to be willing to spare me for two
weeks. I have been thinking my little girl might perhaps be glad
of a little extra pocket-money for buying Christmas gifts," he
said, taking out his purse. "Would you?"

"Yes, papa; oh! _very_ much, indeed."

He laughed at her eager tone, and putting a fifty-dollar note into
her hand, asked, "Will that be enough?"

Elsie's eyes opened wide with astonishment.

"I never before had half so much as this," she exclaimed. "May I
spend it _all_, papa?"

"Provided you don't throw it away," he answered gravely; "but
don't forget that I require a strict account of all your
expenditure."

"Must I tell you _every_ thing I buy?" she asked, her
countenance falling considerably.

"Yes, my child, you must; not until after Christmas, however, if
you would rather not."

"I will not mind it so much then," she answered, looking quite
relieved; "but indeed, papa, it is a great deal of trouble."

"Ah! my little girl must not be lazy," he said, shaking his head
gravely.

This was Elsie's first parting from her father since they had
learned to know and love each other; and when the time came to say
good-by, she clung to him, and seemed so loath to let him go, that
he quite repented of his determination to leave her at home.

"O papa, papa! I cannot bear to have you go, and leave me behind,"
she sobbed. "I feel as if you were never coming back."

"Why, my own darling," he said, kissing her again and again, "why
do you talk so? I shall certainly be at home again in a fortnight;
but if I had thought you would feel so badly, I would have made
arrangements to take you with me. It is too late now, however, and
you must let me go, dearest. Be a good girl while I am gone, and
when I return I will bring you some handsome presents."

So saying, he embraced her once more, then putting her gently from
him, sprang into the carriage and was driven rapidly away.

Elsie stood watching until it was out of sight, and then ran away
to her own room to put her arms round her nurse's neck and hide
her tears on her bosom.

"Dere, dere, darlin'! dat will do now. Massa Horace he be back
'fore long, and ole Chloe don' like for to see her chile
'stressin' herself so," and the large, dusky hand was passed
lovingly over the bright curls, and tenderly wiped away the
falling tears.

"But, O mammy! I'm afraid he will never come back. I'm afraid the
steamboat boiler will burst, or the cars will run off the track,
or----"

"Hush, hush, darlin'! dat's wicked; you must jes' trust de Lord to
take care of Massa Horace; He's jes' as able to do it one place as
in tudder; an ef you an' your ole mammy keep prayin' for Massa,
I'se _sure_ he'll come back safe, kase don't you remember
what de good book says, 'If any two of you agree----'"

"Oh! yes, dear mammy, thank you for remembering it," exclaimed the
little girl, lifting her head and smiling through her tears. "I
won't cry any more now, but will just try to keep thinking how
glad I will be when papa comes home again."

"A very sensible resolution, my dear," said Adelaide, putting her
head in at the door; "so come, dry your eyes, and let mammy put on
your bonnet and cloak as fast as possible, for I have begged a
holiday for you, and am going to carry you off to the city to do
some shopping, et cetera."

"Ah! I think I know what that et cetera means, auntie, don't I?"
laughed Elsie, as she hastened to obey.

"Dear me! how very wise some people are," said her aunt, smiling
and nodding good-naturedly. "But make haste, my dear, for the
carriage is at the door."

When Elsie laid her head upon her pillow that night she
acknowledged to herself, that in spite of her father's absence--
and she had, at times, missed him sadly--the day had been a very
short and pleasant one to her, owing to her Aunt Adelaide's
thoughtful kindness in taking her out into new scenes, and giving
agreeable occupation to her thoughts.

She rose at her usual early hour the next morning, and though
feeling lonely, comforted herself with the hope of receiving the
promised letter; and her face was full of eager expectation, as
her grandfather, in his usual leisurely manner, opened the bag and
distributed its contents.

"Two letters for Elsie!" he said, in a tone of surprise, just as
she was beginning to despair of her turn coming at all. "Ah; one
is from Horace, I see; and the other from Miss Allison, no doubt."

Elsie could hardly restrain her eagerness while he held them in
his hand, examining and commenting upon the address, postmark,
etc.

But at length he tossed them to her, remarking, "There! if you are
done your breakfast, you had better run away and read them."

"Oh! thank you, grandpa," she said, gladly availing herself of his
permission.

"Elsie is fortunate to-day," observed Lora looking after her. "I
wonder which she will read first."

"Her father's, of course," replied Adelaide. "He is more to her
than all the rest of the world put together."

"A matter of small concern to the rest of the world, I opine,"
remarked Mrs. Dinsmore, dryly.

"Perhaps so, mamma," said Adelaide, quietly; "yet I think there
are _some_ who prize Elsie's affection."

Yes, Adelaide was right. Miss Rose's letter was neglected and
almost forgotten, while Elsie read and reread her papa's with the
greatest delight.

It gave an amusing account of the day's journey; but what
constituted its chief charm for the little girl was that it was
filled with expressions of the tenderest affection for her.

Then came the pleasant task of answering, which occupied almost
all her spare time, for letter-writing was still, to her, a rather
new and difficult business, Miss Allison having hitherto been her
only correspondent. And this was a pleasure which was renewed
every day, for her papa faithfully kept his promise, each morning
bringing her a letter, until at length one came announcing the
speedy return of the writer.

Elsie was almost wild with delight.

"Aunt Adelaide," she cried, running to her to communicate the glad
tidings, "papa says he will be here this very afternoon."

"Well, my dear, as we have already attended to all the business
that needed to be kept secret from him, I am very glad to hear it,
especially for _your_ sake," replied Adelaide, looking up for
a moment from the book she was reading, and then returning to it
again, while her little niece danced out of the room, with her
papa's letter still in her hand, and a face beaming with
happiness.

She met Mrs. Dinsmore in the hall.

"Why are you skipping about in that mad fashion, Elsie?" she
asked, severely; "I believe you will never learn to move and act
like a lady."

"I will try, madam, indeed," Elsie answered, subsiding into a slow
and steady gait which would not have disgraced a woman of any age;
"but I was so glad that papa is coming home to-day, that I could
not help skipping."

"Indeed!" and with a scornful toss of the head, Mrs. Dinsmore
sailed past her and entered the drawing-room.

Elsie had once, on her first arrival at Roselands, addressed Mrs.
Dinsmore, in the innocence of her heart, as "grandma," but that
lady's horrified look, and indignant repudiation of the ancient
title, had made a deep impression on the little girl's memory, and
effectually prevented any repetition of the offence.

As the hour drew near when her father might reasonably be
expected, Elsie took her station at one of the drawing-room
windows overlooking the avenue, and the moment the carriage
appeared in sight, she ran out and stood waiting for him on the
steps of the portico.

Mr. Dinsmore put out his head as they drove up the avenue, and the
first object that caught his eye was the fairy-like form of his
little daughter, in her blue merino dress, and the golden brown
curls waving in the wind. He sprang out and caught her in his arms
the instant the carriage stopped.

"My darling, darling child," he cried, kissing her over and over
again, and pressing her fondly to his heart, "how glad I am to
have you in my arms again!"

"Papa, papa, my own dear, dear papa!" she exclaimed, throwing her
arms around his neck, "I'm _so_ happy, now that you have come
home safe and well."

"Are you, darling? but I must not keep you out in this wind, for
it is quite chilly."

He set her down, and leaving the servant to attend lo his baggage,
led her into the hall.

"Will you come into the drawing-room, papa?" she said; "there is a
bright, warm fire there."

"Is there not one in my dressing-room?" he asked.

"Yes, papa, a very good one."

"Then we will go there. I dare say the rest of the family are in
no great hurry to see me, and I want my little girl to myself for
half an hour," he said, leading the way up-stairs as he spoke.

They found, as Elsie had reported, a very bright fire in the
dressing-room. A large easy chair was drawn up near it, and a
handsome dressing-gown and slippers were placed ready for use; all
the work of Elsie's loving little hands.

He saw it all at a glance, and with a pleased smile, stooped and
kissed her again, saying, "My dear little daughter is very
thoughtful for her papa's comfort."

Then exchanging his warm out-door apparel and heavy boots for the
dressing-gown and slippers, he seated himself in the chair and
took her on his knee.

"Well, daughter," he said, passing his hand caressingly over her
curls, "papa has brought you a present; will you have it now, or
shall it be kept for Christmas?"

"Keep it for Christmas, papa," she answered gayly. "Christmas is
almost here, and besides, I don't want to look at anything but you
to-night."

"Very well, look at me as much as you like," was his laughing
rejoinder. "And now tell me, have you been a good girl in my
absence?"

"As good as I ever am, I believe, papa. I tried very hard; but you
can ask Miss Day."

"No, I am entirely satisfied with your report, for I know my
little daughter is quite truthful."

Elsie colored with pleasure, then calling to mind the time when he
had for a moment suspected her of falsehood, she heaved a deep
sigh, dropping her head upon his breast.

He seemed to understand her thoughts, for, pressing his lips to
her forehead, he said gently and kindly, "I think I shall never
again doubt my little daughter's truth."

She looked up with a grateful smile.

"Miss Day has gone away to stay until after New Year's day, papa,"
she said, "and so our holidays have begun."

"Ah! I am very well satisfied," said he. "I think you have earned
a holiday, and I hope you will enjoy it. But I don't know that I
shall let _you_ play _all_ the time," he added with a smile;
"I have some notion of giving you a lesson now and then, myself."

"Dear papa, how pleasant!" she exclaimed delightedly; "I do so
love to say lessons to you."

"Well, then, we will spend an hour together every morning. But are
you not to have some company?"

"Oh! yes, papa, quite a house full," she said with a slight sigh.
"The Percys, and the Howards, and all the Carringtons, and some
others too, I believe."

"Why do you sigh, daughter?" he asked; "do you not expect to enjoy
their company?"

"Yes, sir, I hope so," she answered, rather dubiously; "but when
there are so many, and they stay so long, they are apt to
disagree, and that, you know, is not pleasant. I am sure I shall
enjoy the hour with you better than anything else; it is so sweet
to be quite alone with my own darling papa," and the little arm
stole softly round his neck again, and the rosy lips touched his
cheek.

"Well, when are the little plagues coming?" he asked, returning
her caress.

"Some of them to-morrow, papa; no, Monday--to-morrow is Sabbath
day."

"Shall I bring in de trunks now, massa?" asked Mr. Dinsmore's
servant, putting his head in at the door.

"Yes, John, certainly."

"Why, you brought back a new one, papa, didn't you?" asked Elsie,
as John carried in one she was sure she had never seen before, and
in obedience to a motion of her father's hand, set it down quite
near them.

"Yes, my dear, it is yours. There, John, unlock it," tossing him
the key. "And now, daughter, get down and see what you can find in
it worth having."

Elsie needed no second bidding, but in an instant was on her knees
beside the trunk, eager to examine its contents.

"Take the lid off the band-box first, and see what is there," said
her father.

"O papa, how _very_ pretty!" she cried, as she lifted out a
beautiful little velvet hat adorned with a couple of ostrich
feathers.

"I am very glad it pleases you, my darling," he said, putting it
on her head, and gazing at her with proud delight in her rare
beauty. "There! it fits exactly, and is very becoming."

Then taking it off, he returned it to the box, and bade her look
further.

"I am reserving the present for Christmas," he said, in answer to
her inquiring look.

Elsie turned to the trunk again.

"Dear papa, how good you are to me!" she said, looking up at him
almost with tears of pleasure in her eyes, as she lifted out, one
after another, a number of costly toys, which she examined with
exclamations of delight, and then several handsome dresses, some
of the finest, softest merino, and others of thick rich silk, all
ready made in fashionable style, and doing credit to his taste and
judgment; and lastly a beautiful velvet pelisse, trimmed with
costly fur, just the thing to wear with her pretty new hat.

He laughed and patted her cheek.

"We must have these dresses tried on," he said, "at least one of
them; for as they were all cut by the same pattern--one of your
old dresses which I took with me--I presume they will all fit
alike. There, take this one to mammy, and tell her to put it on
you, and then come back to me."

"Oh! I wondered how you could get them the right size, papa,"
Elsie answered, as she skipped gayly out of the room.

She was back again in a very few moments, arrayed in the pretty
silk he had selected.

"Ah! it seems to be a perfect fit," said he, turning her round and
round, with a very gratified look.

"Mammy must dress you to-morrow in one of these new frocks, and
your pretty hat and pelisse."

Elsie looked troubled.

"Well, what is it?" he asked.

"I am afraid I shall be thinking of them in church, papa, if I
wear them then for the first time."

"Pooh! nonsense! what harm if you do? This squeamishness, Elsie,
is the one thing about you that displeases me very much. But
there! don't look so distressed, my pet. I dare say you will get
over it by-and-by, and be all I wish; indeed I sometimes think you
have improved a little already, in that respect."

Oh! what a pang these words sent to her heart! was it indeed true
that she was losing her tenderness of conscience? that she was
becoming less afraid of displeasing and dishonoring her Saviour
than in former days? The very thought was anguish.

Her head drooped upon her bosom, and the small white hands were
clasped convulsively together, while a bitter, repenting cry, a
silent earnest prayer for pardon and help went up to Him whose ear
is ever open to the cry of His children.

Her father looked at her in astonishment.

"What is it, darling?" he asked, drawing her tenderly toward him,
and pushing back the curls from her face; "why do you look so
pained? what did I say that could have hurt you so? I did not mean
to be harsh and severe, for it was a very trifling fault."

She hid her face on his shoulder and burst into an agony of tears.

"It was not that, papa, but--but----"

"But what, my darling? don't be afraid to tell me," he answered,
soothingly.

"O papa! I--I am afraid I don't--love Jesus--as much as I did,"
she faltered out between her sobs.

"Ah! _that_ is it, eh? Well, well, you needn't cry any more.
_I_ think you are a very good little girl, though rather a
silly one, I am afraid, and quite too morbidly conscientious."

He took her on his knee as he spoke, wiped away her tears, and
then began talking in a lively strain of something else.

Elsie listened, and answered him cheerfully, but all the evening
he noticed that whenever she was quiet, an unusual expression of
sadness would steal over her face.

"What a strange child she is!" he said to himself, as he sat
musing over the fire, after sending her to bed. "I cannot
understand her; it is very odd how often I wound, when I intend to
please her."

As for Elsie, she scarcely thought of her new finery, so troubled
was her tender conscience, so pained her little heart to think
that she had been wandering from her dear Saviour.

But Elsie had learned that "if any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," and to Him she went
with her sin and sorrow; she applied anew to the pardoning, peace-
speaking blood of Christ--that "blood of sprinkling that speaketh
better things than that of Abel;" and thus the sting of conscience
was taken away and her peace restored, and she was soon resting
quietly on her pillow, for, "so He giveth His beloved sleep."

Even her father's keen, searching glance, when she came to him in
the morning, could discover no trace of sadness in her face; very
quiet and sober it was, but entirely peaceful and happy, and so it
remained all through the day. Her new clothes did not trouble her;
she was hardly conscious of wearing them, and quite able to give
her usual solemn and fixed attention to the services of the
sanctuary.

"Where are you going, daughter?" Mr. Dinsmore asked, as Elsie
gently withdrew her hand from his on leaving the dining-room.

"To my room, papa," she replied.

"Come with me," he said; "I want you."

"What do you want me for, papa?" she asked, as he sat down and
took her on his knee.

"What for? why to keep, to love, and to look at," he said
laughing. "I have been away from my little girl so long, that now
I want her close by my side, or on my knee, all the time. Do you
not like to be with me?"

"_Dearly_ well, my own darling papa," she answered, flinging
her little arms around his neck, and laying her head on his
breast.

He fondled her, and chatted with her for some time, then, still
keeping her on his knee, took up a book and began to read.

Elsie saw with pain that it was a novel and longed to beg him to
put it away, and spend the precious hours of the holy Sabbath in
the study of God's word, or some of the lesser helps to Zion's
pilgrims which the saints of our own or other ages have prepared.
But she knew that it would be quite out of place for a little
child like her to attempt to counsel or reprove her father; and
that, tenderly as he loved and cherished her, he would never for
one moment allow her to forget their relative positions.

At length she ventured to ask softly, "Papa, may I go to my own
room now?"

"What for?" he asked; "are you tired of my company?"

"No, sir, _oh! no;_ but I want--" she hesitated and hung her
head for an instant, while the rich color mounted to cheek and
brow; then raising it again, she said fearlessly, "I always want
to spend a little while with my best Friend on Sabbath afternoon,
papa."

He looked puzzled, and also somewhat displeased.

"I don't understand you, Elsie," he said; "you surely can have no
better friend than your own father; and can it be _possible_
that you love any one else better than you love me?"

Again the little arms were round his neck, and hugging him close
and closer, she whispered, "It was Jesus I meant, papa; you know
He loves me even better than you do, and I must love Him best of
all; but there is no one else that I love half so much as I love
you, my own dear, dear precious father."

"Well, you may go; but only for a little while, mind," he
answered, giving her a kiss, and setting her down. "Nay," he added
hastily, "stay as long as you like; if you feel it a punishment to
be kept here with me, I would rather do without you."

"Oh! no, no, papa," she said beseechingly, and with tears in her
eyes; "I do so love to be with you. Please don't be angry; please
let me come back soon."

"No, darling, I am not angry," he answered, smoothing her hair and
smiling kindly on her; "come back just when you like, and the
sooner the better."

Elsie did not stay away very long; in less than an hour she
returned, bringing her Bible and "Pilgrim's Progress" with her.

Her father welcomed her with a smile, and then turned to his novel
again, while she drew a stool to his side, and, sitting down,
leaned her head against his knee, and read until the short winter
day began to close in, and Mr. Dinsmore, whose hand had been every
now and then laid caressingly upon her curls, said, "Put away your
book now, daughter; it is growing too dark for you to read without
straining your eyes."

"Please, papa, let me finish the paragraph first; may I?" she
asked.

"No; you must always obey the instant I speak to you."

Elsie rose at once, and without another word laid her books upon
the table; then coming back, claimed her accustomed place upon his
knee, with her head resting on his shoulder.

He put his arm around her, and they sat silently thus for some
moments. At length Elsie asked, "Papa, did you ever read
'Pilgrim's Progress!'"

"Yes; a good while ago, when I was quite a boy."

"And you did not like it, papa?"

"Yes, very much, though I have nearly forgotten the story now. Do
_you_ like it?"

"Very much, indeed, papa; I think it comes next to the Bible."

"Next to the Bible, eh? well, I believe you are the only little
girl of my acquaintance who thinks _that_ the most beautiful
and interesting book in the world. But, let me see, what is this
'Pilgrim's Progress' about? some foolish story of a man with a
great load on his back; is it not?"

"Foolish! papa; oh! I am sure you don't mean it; you couldn't
think it foolish. Ah! I know by your smile that you are only
saying it to tease me. It is a beautiful story, papa, about
Christian: how he lived in the City of Destruction, and had a
great burden on his back, which he tried in every way to get rid
of, but all in vain, until he came to the Cross; but then it
seemed suddenly to loosen of itself, and dropped from his back,
and rolled away, and fell into the sepulchre, where it could not
be seen any more."

"Well, and is not _that_ a foolish story? can you see any
sense or meaning in it?" he asked, with a slight smile, and a keen
glance into the eager little face upturned to his.

"Ah! papa, I know what it means," she answered, in a half-
sorrowful tone. "Christian, with the load on his back, is a person
who has been convinced of sin by God's Holy Spirit, and feels his
sins a heavy burden--too heavy for him to bear; and then he tries
to get rid of them by leaving off his wicked ways, and by doing
good deeds; but he soon finds he can't get rid of his load that
way, for it only grows heavier and heavier, until at last he gives
up trying to save himself, and just goes to the cross of Jesus
Christ; and the moment he looks to Jesus and trusts in Him, his
load of sin is all gone."

Mr. Dinsmore was surprised; as indeed he had often been at Elsie's
knowledge of spiritual things.

"Who told you all that?" he asked.

"I read it in the Bible, papa; and besides, I know, because I have
felt it."

He did not speak again for some moments; and then he said very
gravely, "I am afraid you read too many of those dull books. I
don't want you to read things that fill you with sad and gloomy
thoughts, and make you unhappy. I want my little girl to be merry
and happy as the day is long."

"Please don't forbid me to read them, papa," she pleaded with a
look of apprehension, "for indeed they don't make me unhappy, and
I love them so dearly."

"You need not be alarmed. I shall not do so unless I see that they
do affect your spirits," he answered in a reassuring tone, and she
thanked him with her own bright, sweet smile.

She was silent for a moment, then asked suddenly, "Papa, may I say
some verses to you?"

"Some time," he said, "but not now, for there is the tea-bell;"
and taking her hand, he led her down to the dining-room.

They went to the drawing-room after tea, but did not stay long.
There were no visitors, and it was very dull and quiet there, no
one seeming inclined for conversation. Old Mr. Dinsmore sat
nodding in his chair, Louise was drumming on the piano, and the
rest were reading or sitting listlessly, saying nothing, and Elsie
and her papa soon slipped away to their old seat by his dressing-
room fire.

"Sing something for me, my pet, some of those little hymns I often
hear you singing to yourself," he said, as he took her on his
knee; and Elsie gladly obeyed.

Some of the pieces she sang alone, but in others which were
familiar to him, her father joined his deep bass notes to her
sweet treble, at which she was greatly delighted. Then they read
several chapters of the Bible together, and thus the evening
passed so quickly and pleasantly that she was very much surprised
when her papa, taking out his watch, told her it was her bed-time.

"O papa! it has been such a nice, _nice_ evening!" she said,
as she bade him good-night; "so like the dear old times I used to
have with Miss Rose, only--"

She paused and colored deeply.

"Only what, darling?" he asked, drawing her caressingly to him.

"Only, papa, if you would pray with me, like she did," she
whispered, winding her arms about his neck, and hiding her face on
his shoulder.

"That I cannot do, my pet, I have never learned how; and so I fear
you will have to do all the praying for yourself and me too," he
said, with a vain effort to speak lightly, for both heart and
conscience were touched.

The only reply was a tightening of the clasp of the little arms
about his neck, and a half-suppressed sob; then two trembling lips
touched his, a warm tear fell on his cheek, and she turned away
and ran quickly from the room.

Oh! how earnest and importunate were Elsie's pleadings at a throne
of grace that night, that her "dear, _dear_ papa might soon
be taught to love Jesus, and how to pray to Him." Tears fell fast
while she prayed, but she rose from her knees feeling a joyful
assurance that her petitions had been heard, and would be granted
in God's own good time.

She had hardly laid her head upon her pillow, when her father came
in, and saying, "I have come to sit beside my little girl till she
falls asleep," placed himself in a chair close by her side, taking
her hand in his and holding it, as she loved so to have him do.

"I am _so_ glad you have come, papa," she said, her whole
face lighting up with pleased surprise.

"Are you?" he answered with a smile. "I'm afraid I am spoiling
you; but I can't help it to-night. I think you forget your wish to
repeat some verses to me?"

"Oh! yes, papa!" she said, "but may I say them now?"

He nodded assent, and she went on. "They are some Miss Rose sent
me in one of her letters. She cut them out of a newspaper, she
said, and sent them to me because she liked them so much; and I
too think they are very sweet. The piece is headed:

             "'THE PILGRIM'S WANTS.'

    "'I want a sweet sense of Thy pardoning love,
      That my manifold sins are forgiven;
    That Christ, as my Advocate, pleadeth above,
      That my name is recorded in heaven.

    "'I want every moment to feel
      That thy Spirit resides in my heart--
    That his power is present to cleanse and to heal,
      And newness of life to impart.

    "'I want--oh! I want to attain
       Some likeness, my Saviour, to thee!
    That longed for resemblance once more to regain,
      Thy comeliness put upon me.

    "'I want to be marked for thine own--
      Thy seal on my forehead to wear;
    To receive that new name on the mystic white stone
      Which none but thyself can declare.

    "'I want so in thee to abide
      As to bring forth some fruit to thy praise;
    The branch which thou prunest, though feeble and dried,
      May languish, but never decays.

    "'I want thine own hand to unbind
      Each tie to terrestrial things,
    Too tenderly cherished, too closely entwined,
      Where my heart so tenaciously clings.

    "'I want, by my aspect serene,
      My actions and words, to declare
    That my treasure is placed in a country unseen,
      That my heart's best affections are there.

    "'I want as a trav'ller to haste
      Straight onward, nor pause on my way;
    Nor forethought in anxious contrivance to waste
      On the tent only pitched for a day.

    "'I want--and this sums up my prayer--
      To glorify thee till I die;
    Then calmly to yield up my soul to thy care,
      And breathe out in faith my last sigh.'"

[Footnote: These beautiful words are not mine, nor do I know
either the name of the author or where they were originally
published.]

He was silent for a moment after she had repeated the last verse,
then laying his hand softly on her head, and looking searchingly
into her eyes, he asked, "And does my little one really wish all
that those words express?"

"Yes, papa, for myself and for you too," she answered. "O papa! I
do want to be all that Jesus would have me! just like Him; so like
Him that everybody who knows me will see the likeness and know
that I belong to Him."

"Nay, you belong to me," he said, leaning over her and patting her
cheek. "Hush! not a syllable from your lips. I will have no
gainsaying of my words," he added, with a mixture of authority and
playfulness, as she seemed about to reply. "Now shut your eyes and
go to sleep; I will have no more talking to-night."

She obeyed at once; the white lids gently closed over the sweet
eyes, the long, dark lashes rested quietly on the fair, round
cheek, and soon her soft regular breathing told that she had
passed into the land of dreams.

Her father sat, still holding the little hand, and still gazing
tenderly upon the sweet young face, till, something in its
expression reminding him of words she had just repeated,

    "I want to be marked for thine own--
     Thy seal on my forehead to wear,"

he laid it gently down, rose, and bent over her with a troubled
look.

"Ah, my darling, _that_ prayer is granted already!" he
murmured; "for, ah me! you seem almost too good and pure for
earth. But oh, God forbid that you should be taken from me to that
place where I can see that your heart is even now. How desolate
should I be!" and he turned away with a shiver and a heavy sigh,
and hastily quitted the room.




CHAPTER THIRTEENTH


   "An angel face! its sunny wealth of hair,
    In radiant ripples bathed the graceful throat
    And dimpled shoulders."
                                 --MRS. OSGOOD.


The cold gray light of a winter morning was stealing in through
the half-closed blinds as Elsie awoke, and started up in bed, with
the thought that this was the day on which several of her young
guests were expected, and that her papa had promised her a walk
with him before breakfast, if she were ready in time.

Aunt Chloe had already risen, and a bright fire was blazing and
crackling on the hearth, which she was carefully sweeping up.

"Good morning, mammy," said the little girl. "Are you ready to
dress me now?"

"What, you 'wake, darlin'?" cried the fond old creature, turning
quickly round at the sound of her nursling's voice. "Better lie
still, honey, till de room gets warm."

"I'll wait a little while, mammy," Elsie said, lying down again,
"but I must get up soon; for I wouldn't miss my walk with papa for
a great deal. Please throw the shutters wide open, and let the
daylight in. I'm so glad it has come."

"Why, my bressed lamb, you didn't lie awake lookin' for de
mornin', did you? You ain't sick, nor sufferin' any way?"
exclaimed Chloe, in a tone of mingled concern and inquiry, as she
hastily set down her broom, and came toward the bed, with a look
of loving anxiety on her dark face.

"Oh, no, mammy! I slept nicely, and feel as well as can be,"
replied the little girl; "but I am glad to see this new day,
because I hope it is going to be a very happy one. Carry Howard,
and a good many of my little friends are coming, you know, and I
think we will have a very pleasant time together."

"Your ole mammy hopes you will, darlin'," replied Chloe, heartily;
"an' I'se glad 'nough to see you lookin' so bright an' well; but
jes you lie still till it gets warm here. I'll open de shutters,
an' fotch some more wood for de fire, an' clar up de room, an' by
dat time I reckon you can get up."

Elsie waited patiently till Chloe pronounced the room warm enough,
then sprang up with an eager haste, asking to be dressed as
quickly as possible, that she might go to her papa.

"Don't you go for to worry yourself, darlin'; dere's plenty ob
time," said Chloe, beginning her work with all speed, however; "de
mistress had ordered de breakfast at nine, dese holiday times, to
let de ladies an' gen'lemen take a mornin' nap if dey likes it."

"Oh, yes, mammy! and that reminds me that papa said I must eat a
cracker or something before I take my walk, because he thinks it
isn't good for people to exercise much on an entirely empty
stomach," said Elsie. "Will you get me one when you have done my
curls?"

"Yes, honey, dere's a paper full in de drawer yonder," replied
Chloe, "an' I reckon you better eat two or three, or you'll be
mighty hungry 'fore you gits your breakfast."

It still wanted a few minutes of eight o'clock when Elsie's gentle
rap was heard at her papa's dressing-room door. He opened it, and
stooping to give her a good-morning kiss, said, with a pleased
smile, "How bright and well my darling looks! Had you a good
night's rest?"

"Oh, yes, papa! I never waked once till it began to be light," she
replied; "and now I'm all ready for our walk."

"In good season, too," he said. "Well, we will start presently;
but take off your hat and come and sit on my knee a little while
first; breakfast will be late this morning, and we need not hurry.
Did you get something to eat?" he asked, as he seated himself by
the fire and drew her to his side.

"Yes, papa, I ate a cracker, and I think I will not get very
hungry before nine o'clock; and I'm very glad we have so much time
for our walk," she replied, as she took her place on his knee.
"Shall we not start soon?"

"Presently," he said, stroking her hair; "but it will not hurt you
to get well warmed first, for it is a sharp morning."

"You are very careful of me, dear papa," she said, laying her head
on his breast, "and oh! it is so nice to have a papa to love me
and take care of me."

"And it is so nice to have a dear little daughter to love and to
take care of," he answered, pressing her closer to him.

The house was still very quiet, no one seeming to be astir but the
servants, as Mr. Dinsmore and Elsie went down the stairs and
passed out through the hall.

"O papa! it is going to be such a nice day, and I feel so happy!"
Elsie gayly exclaimed, as they started down the avenue.

"Do you, daughter?" he said, regarding her with an expression of
intense yearning affection; "I wish I could make you always as gay
and happy as you are at this moment. But alas! it cannot be, my
darling," he added with a sigh.

"I know that, papa," she said with sudden gravity, "'for man that
is born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble,' the Bible
says; but I don't feel frightened at that, because it tells me,
besides, that Jesus loves me, _oh, so dearly!_ and will never
leave nor forsake me; and that He has all power in heaven and in
earth, and will _never_ let anything happen to me but what
shall do me good. O papa, it is such a _happy_ thing to have
the dear Lord Jesus for your friend!"

"It is strange how everything seems to lead your thoughts to Him,"
he said, giving her a wondering look.

"Yes, papa, it is because I love Him so," she answered, simply;
and the father sighed as the thought arose, "Better than she loves
me, even as she told me herself. Ah! I would I could be
_all_--_everything_ to her, as she is fast becoming to
me. I cannot feel satisfied, and yet I believe few daughters love
their fathers as well as she loves me;" and fondly pressing the
little hand he held, he looked down upon her with beaming eyes.

She raised hers to his face with an expression of confiding
affection; and, as though she had read his thoughts: "Yes, papa,"
she said, "I love _you_ dearly, dearly, too; better than all
the world besides."

Breakfast--always a plentiful and inviting meal at Roselands--was
already upon the table when they returned, and they brought to it
appetites sufficiently keen to make it very enjoyable.

Elsie spent the first hour after breakfast at the piano,
practising, and the second in her papa's dressing-room, studying
and reciting to him; then they took a long ride on horseback, and
when they returned she found that quite a number of the expected
guests had already arrived.

Among them was Caroline Howard, a favorite friend of Elsie's; a
pretty, sweet-tempered little girl, about a year older than
herself.

Caroline had been away paying a long visit to some friends in the
North, and so the two little girls had not met for nearly a year,
and of course they had a great deal to say to each other.

They chatted a few moments in the drawing-room, and then Elsie
carried her friend off with her to her own room, that they might
go on with their talk while she was getting dressed for dinner.
Caroline had much to tell of her Northern relatives, and of all
she had seen and heard, and Elsie of her new-found parent, and her
happiness in being so loved and cared for; and so the little
tongues ran very fast, neither of them feeling Chloe's presence
any restraint. But she soon completed her task, and went out,
leaving the two sitting on the sofa together, laughing and talking
merrily while awaiting the summons to dinner, which they were to
take that day along with their elders.

"How pretty your hair is, Elsie," said Caroline, winding the
glossy ringlets around her finger. "I wish you'd give me one of
these curls. I want to get a bracelet made for mamma, and she
thinks so much of you, and your hair is such a lovely color, that
I am sure she would be delighted with one made of it."

"A Christmas gift is it to be?" asked Elsie; "but how will you get
it done in time? for you know day after to-morrow is Christmas."

"Yes, I know; but if I could get into the city this afternoon, I
think I might get them to promise it by to-morrow night."

"Well, you shall have the curl, at any rate, if you will just take
the scissors and help yourself, and poor mammy will have the fewer
to curl the next time," Elsie answered, laughingly. "But mind,"
she added, as Caroline prepared to avail herself of the
permission, "that you take it where it will not be missed."

"Of course I will; I don't want to spoil your beauty, though you
are so much prettier than I," was Caroline's laughing rejoinder.
"There," she cried, holding up the severed ringlet, "isn't it a
beauty? but don't look scared, it will never be missed among so
many; I don't even miss it myself, although I know it is gone."

"Well," Elsie said, shaking back her curls, "suppose we go down to
the drawing-room now, and I will ask papa to take us to the city
this afternoon; or, if he is too busy to go himself, to let Pomp
or Ajax drive us in."

"I think it would be better fun to go alone, Elsie--don't you?"
asked Caroline, with some hesitation; adding quickly: "Don't be
vexed, but I must confess I am more than half afraid of your
father."

"Oh! you wouldn't be, Carry, if you knew him," Elsie answered, in
her eager way; "I was a little myself, at first, but now I love
him so dearly, I never want to go anywhere without him."

They found Mr. Dinsmore in the drawing-room, where most of the
guests and the older members of the family were assembled. He was
conversing with a strange gentleman, and his little girl stood
quietly at his side, patiently waiting until he should be ready to
give her his attention. She had to wait some moments, for the
gentlemen were discussing some political question, and were too
much engaged to notice her.

But at length her father put his arm around her, and with a kind
smile asked, "What is it, daughter?"

"Carry and I want to go to the city, this afternoon; won't you
take us, papa?"

"I wish I could, my dear, but I have an engagement, which makes it
quite impossible."

"Ah, I'm so sorry! but then, papa, we may have one of the
carriages, and Pomp or Ajax to drive us, may we not?"

"No, daughter; I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am afraid you
are too young to be trusted on such an expedition with only a
servant. You must wait until to-morrow, when I can take you
myself."

"But, papa, we want to go to-day. Oh! please do say yes; we want
to go so very much, and I'm sure we could do very nicely by
ourselves."

Her arm was around his neck, and both tone and look were very
coaxing.

"My little daughter forgets that when papa says no, she is never
to ask again."

Elsie blushed and hung her head. His manner was quite too grave
and decided for her to venture another word.

"What is the matter? what does Elsie want?" asked Adelaide, who
was standing near, and had overheard enough to have some idea of
the trouble.

Mr. Dinsmore explained, and Adelaide at once offered to take
charge of the little girls, saying that she intended shopping a
little in the city herself that very afternoon.

"Thank you," said her brother, looking very much pleased; "that
obviates the difficulty entirely. Elsie, you may go, if Mrs.
Howard gives Caroline permission."

"Thank you, dear papa, thank you so very much," she answered
gratefully, and then ran away to tell Carry of her success, and
secure Mrs. Howard's permission, which was easily obtained.

Elsie had intended buying some little present for each of the
house-servants, and had taken a great deal of pleasure in making
out a list of such articles as she thought would be suitable; but,
on examining her purse, she found to her dismay that she had
already spent so much on the miniature, and various gifts intended
for other members of the family, that there was very little left;
and it was with a very sober, almost sorrowful face, that she came
down to take her place in the carriage; it brightened instantly,
though, as she caught sight of her father waiting to see her off.

"All ready, my darling?" he said, holding out his hand; "I think
you will have a pleasant ride."

"Ah! yes, if you were only going too, papa," she answered
regretfully.

"Quite impossible, my pet; but here is something to help you in
your shopping; use it wisely;" and he put a twenty-dollar gold
piece in her hand.

"Oh, thank you, papa! how good and kind you are to me!" she
exclaimed, her whole face lighting up with pleasure; "now I can
buy some things I wanted to get for mammy and the rest. But how
could you know I wanted more money?"

He only smiled, lifted her up in his arms, and kissed her fondly;
then, placing her in the carriage, said to the coachman, "Drive
carefully, Ajax; you are carrying my greatest treasure."

"Nebber fear, marster; dese ole horses nebber tink ob running
away," replied the negro, with a bow and a grin, as he touched his
horses with the whip, and drove off.

It was growing quite dark when the carriage again drove up the
avenue; and Mr. Horace Dinsmore, who was beginning to feel a
little anxious, came out to receive them, and ask what had
detained them so long.

"Long!" said Adelaide, in a tone of surprise, "you gentlemen
really have no idea what an undertaking it is to shop. Why, I
thought we got through in a wonderfully short time."

"O papa, I have bought such quantities of nice things," cried
Elsie, springing into his arms.

"Such as tobacco pipes, red flannel, et cetera," remarked
Adelaide, laughing.

"Indeed, Miss Adelaide!" exclaimed Carry, somewhat indignantly,
"you forget the----"

But Elsie's little hand was suddenly placed over her mouth, and
Carry laughed pleasantly, saying, "Ah! I forgot, I mustn't tell."

"Papa, papa," cried Elsie, catching hold of his hand, "do come
with me to my room, and let me show you my purchases."

"I will, darling," he answered, pinching her cheek, "Here, Bill"--
to a servant--"carry these bundles to Miss Elsie's room."

Then, picking her up, he tossed her over his shoulder, and carried
her up-stairs as easily as though she had been a baby, she
clinging to him and laughing merrily.

"Why, papa, how strong you are," she said, as he set her down. "I
believe you can carry me as easily as I can my doll."

"To be sure; you are my doll," said he, "and a very light burden
for a man of my size and strength. But here come the bundles! what
a number! no wonder you were late in getting home."

"Oh! yes, papa see! I want to show you!" and catching up one of
them, she hastily tore it open, displaying a very gay handkerchief.
"This is a turban for Aunt Phillis; and this is a pound of tobacco for
old Uncle Jack, and a nice pipe, too. Look, mammy! won't he be pleased?
And here's some flannel for poor old Aunt Dinah, who has the rheumatism;
and that--oh! no, no, mammy! don't you open that! It's a nice shawl for
her, papa," she whispered in his ear.

"Ah!" he said, smiling; "and which is my present? You had better
point it out, lest I should stumble upon it and learn the secret
too soon."

"There is none here for you, sir," she replied, looking up into
his face with an arch smile. "I would give you the bundle you
carried up-stairs, just now, but I'm afraid you would say that was
not mine to give, because it belongs to you already."

"Indeed it does, and I feel richer in that possession than all the
gold of California could make me," he said, pressing her to his
heart.

She looked surpassingly lovely at that moment, her cheeks burning,
and her eyes sparkling with excitement; the dark, fur-trimmed
pelisse, and the velvet hat and plumes, setting off to advantage
the whiteness of her pure complexion and the glossy ringlets
falling in rich masses on her shoulders.

"My own papa! I'm so glad I do belong to you," she said, throwing
her arms around his neck, and laying her cheek to his for an
instant. Then springing away, she added: "But I must show you the
rest of the things; there are a good many more."

And she went on opening bundle after bundle, displaying their
contents, and telling him for whom she intended them, until at
last they had all been examined, and then she said, a little
wearily, "Now, mammy, please put them all away until to-morrow.
But first take off my things and get me ready to go downstairs."

"No, daughter," Mr. Dinsmore said in a gentle but firm tone; "you
are not ready to have them put away until the price of each has
been set down in your book."

"Oh! papa," she pleaded, "won't to-morrow do? I'm tired now, and
isn't it almost tea-time?"

"No; never put off till to-morrow what may as well be done to-day.
There is nearly an hour yet before tea, and I do not think it need
fatigue you much."

Elsie's face clouded, and the slightest approach to a pout might
have been perceived.

"I hope my little girl is not going to be naughty," he said, very
gravely.

Her face brightened in an instant. "No, papa," she answered
cheerfully, "I will be good, and do whatever you bid me."

"That is my own darling," said he, "and I will help you, and it
will not take long."

He opened her writing-desk as he spoke, and took out her account-
book.

"Oh! papa," she cried in a startled tone, springing forward and
taking hold of his hand, "please, please don't look! you know you
said I need not show you until after Christmas."

"No, I will not," he replied, smiling at her eagerness; "you shall
put down the items in the book, while I write the labels, and Aunt
Chloe pins them on. Will that do?"

"Oh! that's a nice plan, papa," she said gayly, as she threw off
her hat and pelisse, and seating herself before the desk, took out
her pen and ink.

Chloe put the hat and pelisse carefully away, brought a comb and
brush, and smoothed her nursling's hair, and then began her share
of the business on hand.

Half an hour's work finished it all, and Elsie wiped her pen, and
laid it away, saying joyously, "Oh! I'm so glad it is all done."

"Papa knew best, after all, did he not?" asked her father, drawing
her to him, and patting her cheek.

"Yes, papa," she said softly; "you always know best, and I am very
sorry I was naughty."

He answered with a kiss, and, taking her hand, led her down to the
drawing-room.

After tea the young people adjourned to the nursery, where they
amused themselves with a variety of innocent games. Quite early in
the evening, and greatly to Elsie's delight, her father joined
them; and, though some of the young strangers were at first rather
shy of him, they soon found that he could enter heartily into
their sports, and before the time came to separate for the night,
he had made himself very popular with nearly all.

Time flew fast, and Elsie was very much surprised when the clock
struck eight. Half-past was her bedtime; and, as she now and then
glanced up at the dial-plate, she thought the hands had never
moved so fast. As it struck the half hour she drew near her
father's side.

"Papa," she asked, "is the clock right?"

"Yes, my dear, it is," he replied, comparing it with his watch.

"And must I go to bed now?" she asked, half hoping for permission
to stay up a little longer.

"Yes, daughter; keep to rules."

Elsie looked disappointed, and several little voices urged, "Oh,
do let her stay up another hour, or at least till nine o'clock."

"No; I cannot often allow a departure from rules," he said kindly,
but firmly; "and to-morrow night Elsie will find it harder to go
to bed in season than to-night. Bid your little friends good-
night, my dear, and go at once."

Elsie obeyed, readily and cheerfully. "You, too, papa," she said,
coming to him last.

"No, darling," he answered, laying his hand caressingly on her
head, and smiling approvingly on her; "I will come for my good-
night kiss before you are asleep."

Elsie looked very glad, and went away feeling herself the happiest
little girl in the land, in spite of the annoyance of being forced
to leave the merry group in the nursery. She was just ready for
bed when her papa came in, and, taking her in his arms, folded her
to his heart, saying, "My own darling! my good, obedient little
daughter!"

"Dear papa, I love you so much!" she replied, twining her arms
around his neck, "I love you all the better for never letting me
have my own way, but always making me obey and keep to rules."

"I don't doubt it, daughter," he said, "for I have often noticed
that spoiled, petted children, usually have very little love for
their parents, or indeed for any one but themselves. But I must
put you in your bed, or you will be in danger of taking cold."

He laid her down, tucked the clothes snugly about her, and
pressing one more kiss on the round, rosy cheek, left her to her
slumbers.




CHAPTER FOURTEENTH


                  "You play the spaniel,
    And think with wagging of your tongue to win me."
                           --SHAKESPEARE's _Henry Eighth_.

   "These delights, if thou canst give,
    Mirth, with thee I mean to live."
                                 --MILTON's _L'Allegro_.


The young party at Roselands had now grown so large--several
additions having been made to it on Monday afternoon and evening--
that a separate table was ordered to be spread for them in the
nursery, where they took their meals together; Mrs. Brown, the
housekeeper, taking the head of the table, for the double purpose
of keeping them in order, and seeing that their wants were well
supplied.

Elsie came in to breakfast, from a brisk walk with her papa,
looking fresh and rosy, and bright as the morning; quite different
from some of the little guests, who had been up far beyond their
usual hours the night before, and, having just left their beds,
had come down pale and languid in looks, and in some instances
showing peevish and fretful tempers, very trying to the patience
of their attendants.

"O Elsie!" exclaimed Carry Howard, as the little girl took her
place at the table, "we were all so sorry that you had to leave us
so soon last night; we had lots of fun after you left. I think
your papa might have let you stay up a little longer; but he has
promised that tonight--as we are to have the Christmas-tree, and
ever so much will be going on--you shall stay up till half-past
nine, if you like. Aren't you glad? I'm sure I am."

"Yes, papa is very kind, and I know I feel much better for going
to bed early last night," said Elsie, cheerfully.

"Yes, indeed," remarked Mrs. Brown, "late hours and rich food are
very bad for little folks, and I notice that Miss Elsie has grown
a deal stronger and healthier-looking since her papa came home; he
takes such good care of her."

"Indeed he does," said Elsie heartily, thanking Mrs. Brown with
one of her sweetest smiles.

"What are we going to do to-day, Elsie?" asked Caroline.

"Whatever you all prefer," said Elsie. "If you like I will
practice that duet with you the first hour after breakfast, or do
anything else you wish; but the second hour I must spend with
papa, and after that I have nothing to do but entertain my company
all day."

"Do you do lessons in holidays?" asked Mary Leslie, a merry, fun-
loving child, about Elsie's own age, who considered lessons an
intolerable bore, and had some vague idea that they must have been
invented for the sole purpose of tormenting children. Her blue
eyes opened wide with astonishment when Elsie quietly replied that
her papa had kindly arranged to give her an hour every morning,
because he knew it would be so much pleasanter for her than
spending the whole day in play.

Elsie did keenly enjoy that quiet hour spent in studying and
reciting to her father, sitting on a low stool at his feet, or
perhaps oftener on his knee, with his arm around her waist.

She had an eager and growing thirst for knowledge, and was an apt
scholar, whom any one with the least love for the profession might
have delighted in teaching; and Mr. Dinsmore, a thorough scholar
himself, and loving knowledge for its own sake--loving also his
little pupil with all a father's fond, yearning affection--
delighted in his task.

When Elsie left her father she found that the Carringtons had just
arrived. She and Lucy had not seen each other since the week the
latter had spent at Roselands early in the summer, and both felt
pleased to meet.

Mrs. Carrington gave Elsie a warm embrace, remarking that she had
grown, and was looking extremely well; better than she had ever
seen her. But no one was more delighted to meet Elsie than
Herbert, and she was very glad to learn that his health was
gradually improving. He was not, however, at all strong, even yet,
and his mother thought it best for him to lie down and rest a
little after his ride. She promised to sit by him, and the two
little girls went in search of the rest of the young folks.

Several of the older boys had gone out walking or riding, but the
younger ones, and all the little girls, were gathered in a little
back parlor, where, by Adelaide's care and forethought, a variety
of story-books, toys, and games, had been provided for their
amusement. Elsie's entrance was hailed with delight, for she was a
general favorite.

"Oh! Elsie, can't you tell us what to play?" cried Mary Leslie;
"I'm so tired," and she yawned wearily.

"Here are some dissected maps, Mary," replied Elsie, opening a
drawer; "would you not like them?"

"No, indeed, thank you; they are too much like lessons."

"Here are blocks; will you build houses?"

"Oh! I am too big for that; they are very nice for little
children."

"Will you play jack-stones? here are some smooth pebbles."

"Yes, if you and Carry, and Lucy, will play with me."

"Agreed!" said the others, "let's have a game."

So, Elsie having first set the little ones to building block-
houses, supplied Harry Carrington--an older brother of Lucy's--
with a book, and two younger boys with dissected maps to arrange,
the four girls sat down in a circle on the carpet and began their
game.

For a few moments all went on smoothly; but soon angry and
complaining words were heard coming from the corner where the
house-building was going on. Elsie left her game to try to make
peace.

"What is the matter, Flora, dear?" she asked soothingly of a
little curly-headed girl, who was sobbing, and wiping her eyes
with the corner of her apron.

"Enna took my blocks," sobbed the child.

"Oh! Enna, won't you give them back?" said Elsie, coaxingly; "you
know Flora is a visitor, and we must be very polite to her."

"No, I won't," returned Enna, flatly; "she's got enough now."

"No, I haven't; I can't build a house with those," Flora said,
with another sob.

Elsie stood a moment looking much perplexed; then, with a
brightening face, exclaimed in her cheerful, pleasant way, "Well,
never mind, Flora, dear, I will get you my doll. Will not that do
quite as well?"--"Oh! yes, I'd rather have the doll, Elsie," the
little weeper answered eagerly, smiling through her tears.

Elsie ran out of the room and was back again almost in a moment,
with the doll in her arms.

"There, dear little Flora," she said, laying it gently on the
child's lap, "please be careful of it for I have had it a long
while, and prize it very much, because my guardian gave it to me
when I was a very little girl, and he is dead now."

"I won't break it, Elsie, indeed I won't," replied Flora,
confidently; and Elsie sat down to her game again.

A few moments afterward Mr. Horace Dinsmore passed through the
room.

"Elsie," he said, as he caught sight of his little daughter, "go
up to my dressing-room."

There was evidently displeasure and reproof in his tone, and,
entirely unconscious of wrongdoing, Elsie looked up in surprise,
asking, "Why, papa?"

"Because _I bid_ you," he replied; and she silently obeyed,
wondering greatly what she had done to displease her father.

Mr. Dinsmore passed out of one door while Elsie left by the other.

The three little girls looked inquiringly into each other's faces.

"What is the matter? what has Elsie done?" asked Carry in a
whisper.

"I don't know; nothing I guess," replied Lucy, indignantly. "I do
believe he's just the crossest man alive! When I was here last
summer he was all the time scolding and punishing poor Elsie for
just nothing at all."

"I think he must be very strict," said Carry; "but Elsie seems to
love him very much."

"Strict! I guess he is!" exclaimed Mary; "why, only think, girls,
he makes her do her lessons in the holidays!"

"I suspect she did not know her lesson, and has to learn it over,"
said Carry, shaking her head wisely; and that was the conclusion
they all came to.

In the meantime, Elsie sat down alone in her banishment, and tried
to think what she could have done to deserve it.

It was some time before she could form any idea of its cause; but
at length it suddenly came to her recollection that once, several
months before this, her father had found her sitting on the
carpet, and had bade her get up immediately and sit on a chair or
stool, saying, "Never let me see you sitting on the floor, Elsie,
when there are plenty of seats at hand. I consider it a very
unladylike and slovenly trick."

She covered her face with her hands, and sat thus for some
moments, feeling very sorry for her forgetfulness and disobedience;
very penitent on account of it; and then, kneeling down, she asked
forgiveness of God.

A full hour she had been there alone, and the time had seemed very
long, when at last the door opened and her father came in.

Elsie rose and came forward to meet him with the air of one who
had offended and knew she was in disgrace; but putting one of her
little hands in his, she looked up pleadingly into his face,
asking, in a slightly tremulous tone, "Dear papa, are you angry
with me?"

"I am always displeased when you disobey me, Elsie," he replied,
very gravely, laying his other hand on her head.

"I am very sorry I was naughty, papa," she said, humbly, and
casting down her eyes, "but I had quite forgotten that you had
told me not to sit on the floor, and I could not think for a good
while what it was that I had done wrong."

"Is _that_ an excuse for disobedience, Elsie?" he asked in a
tone of grave displeasure.

"No, sir; I did not mean it so, and I am very, very sorry; dear
papa, please forgive me, and I will try never to forget again."

"I think you disobeyed in another matter," he said.

"Yes, sir, I know it was very naughty to ask why, but I think I
will remember not to do it again. Dear papa, won't you forgive
me?"

He sat down and took her on his knee.

"Yes, daughter, I will," he said, in his usual kind, affectionate
tone; "I am always ready to forgive my little girl when I see that
she is sorry for a fault."

She held up her face for a kiss, which he gave.

"I wish I could always be good, papa," she said, "but I am naughty
so often."

"No," said he, "I think you have been a very good girl for quite a
long time. If you were as naughty as Arthur and Enna, I don't know
what I should do with you; whip you every day, I suspect, until I
made a better girl of you. Now you may go down to your mates; but
_remember_, you are not to play jack-stones again."

It was now lunch-time, and Elsie found the children in the nursery
engaged in eating.

Flora turned to her as she entered.

"Please, Elsie, don't be cross," she said coaxingly: "I am real
sorry your doll's broken, but it wasn't my fault Enna would try to
snatch it, and that made it fall and break its head."

Poor Elsie! this was quite a trial, and she could scarcely keep
back the tears as, following Flora's glance, she saw her valued
doll lying on the window-seat with its head broken entirely off.
She said not a word, but, hastily crossing the room, took it up
and gazed mournfully at it.

Kind Mrs. Brown, who had just finished helping her young charge
all round, followed her to the window, "Never mind, dear," she
said in her pleasant, cheery tone, patting Elsie's cheek and
smoothing her hair "I've got some excellent glue, and I think I
can stick it on again and make it almost as good as ever. So come,
sit down and eat your lunch, and don't fret any more."

"Thank you, ma'am, you are very kind," Elsie said, trying to
smile, as the kind-hearted old lady led her to the table and
filled her plate with fruit and cakes.

"These cakes are very simple, not at all rich, my dear, but quite
what your papa would approve of," she said, seeing the little girl
look doubtfully at them.

"Doesn't your papa let you eat anything good, Elsie?" asked Mary
Leslie across the table. "He must be cross."

"No, indeed, he is not, Mary, and he lets me eat everything that
he thinks is good for me," Elsie answered with some warmth.

She was seated between Caroline Howard and Lucy Carrington.

"What _did_ your papa send you away for, Elsie?" whispered
the latter,

"Please don't ask me, Lucy," replied the little girl, blushing
deeply. "Papa always has a good reason for what he does, and he is
just the dearest, kindest, and best father that ever anybody had."

Elsie spoke in an eager, excited, almost angry manner, quite
unusual with her, while the hot tears came into her eyes, for she
knew very well what was Lucy's opinion of her father, and more
than half suspected that she had been making some unkind remark
about him to the others, and she was eager to remove any
unfavorable impression they might have received.

"I am sure he must love you very dearly, Elsie," remarked
Caroline, soothingly; "no one could help seeing that just by the
way he looks at you."

Elsie answered her with a pleased and grateful look; and then
changed the subject by proposing that they should all take a walk
as soon as they had finished eating, as the day was fine, and
there would be plenty of time before dinner.

The motion was carried without a dissenting voice, and in a few
moments they all set out, a very merry party, full of fun and
frolic. They had a very pleasant time, and returned barely in
season to be dressed for dinner.

They dined by themselves in the nursery, but were afterward taken
down to the drawing-room. Here Elsie found herself immediately
seized upon by a young lady, dressed in very gay and fashionable
style, whom she did not remember ever to have seen before, but who
insisted on seating the little girl on the sofa by her side, and
keeping her there a long while, loading her with caresses and
flattery.

"My dear child," she said, "what lovely hair you have! so fine,
and soft, and glossy; such a beautiful color, too, and curls so
_splendidly! Natural_ ringlets, I'm sure, are they not?"

"Yes, ma'am," Elsie answered, simply, wishing from the bottom of
her heart that the lady would release her, and talk to some one
else.

But the lady had no such intention.

"You are a very sweet little girl, I am sure, and I shall love you
dearly," she said, kissing her several times. "Ah! I would give
_anything_ if I had such a clear fair complexion and such
rosy cheeks. That makes you blush. Well, I like to see it; blushes
are very becoming. Oh! you needn't pretend you don't know you're
handsome; you're a perfect little beauty. Do tell me, where did
you get such splendid eyes! But I needn't ask, for I have only to
look at your father to see where they came from. Mr. Dinsmore"--to
Elsie's papa, who just then came toward them--"you ought to be
very proud of this child; she is the very image of yourself, and a
perfect little beauty, too."

"Miss Stevens is pleased to flatter me," he said, bowing low; "but
flattery is not good for either grown-up children or younger ones,
and I must beg leave to decline the compliment, as I cannot see
that Elsie bears the slightest resemblance to me or any of my
family. She is very like her mother, though," he added, with a
half sigh and a tender, loving glance at his little girl, "and
that is just what I would have her. But I am forgetting my errand,
Miss Stevens; I came to ask if you will ride this afternoon, as we
are getting up a small party."

"Yes, thank you, I should like it dearly, it is such a lovely day.
But how soon do you start?"

"As soon as the ladies can be ready. The horses will be at the
door in a very few moments."

"Ah! then I must go and prepare," she said, rising and sailing out
of the room.

Mr. Dinsmore took the seat she had vacated, and, passing his arm
round his little girl, said to her in an undertone, "My little
daughter must not be so foolish as to believe that people mean all
they say to her; for some persons talk in a very thoughtless way,
and, without perhaps intending to be exactly untruthful, say a
great deal that they really do not mean. And I should be sorry,
indeed, to see my little girl so spoiled by all this silly
flattery as to grow up conceited and vain."

She looked at him with her own sweet innocent smile, free from the
slightest touch of vanity.

"No, papa," she said, "I do not mind, when people say such things,
because I know the Bible says, 'Favor is deceitful, and beauty is
vain;' and in another place, 'He that flattereth his neighbor
spreadeth a net for his feet.' So I will try to keep away from
that lady; shall I not, papa?"

"Whenever you can do so without rudeness, daughter;" and he moved
away, thinking to himself, "How strangely the teachings of that
book seem to preserve my child from every evil influence."

A sigh escaped him. There was lurking within his breast a vague
consciousness that her father needed such a safeguard, but had it
not.

Lucy, who was standing at the window, turned quickly round.

"Come, girls," she said, "let us run out and see them off; they're
bringing up the horses. And see, there's Miss Adelaide in her
riding-dress and cap; how pretty she looks! And there's that Miss
Stevens coming out now; hateful thing! I can't bear her! Come,
Elsie and Carry!"

And she ran out, Caroline and Elsie following. Elsie, however,
went no further than the hall, where she stood still at the foot
of the stairs.

"Come, Elsie," called the other two from the portico, "come out
here."

"No," replied the little girl, "I cannot come without something
round me. Papa says it is too cold for me to be out in the wind
to-day with my neck and arms bare."

"Pooh! nonsense!" said Lucy, "'tain't a bit cold; _do_ come
now."

"No, Lucy, I must obey my father," Elsie answered in a very
pleasant but no less decided tone.

Some one caught her round the waist and lifted her up.

"Oh! papa," she exclaimed, "I did not know you were there! I wish
I was going too; I don't like to have _you_ go without me."

"I wish you were, my pet; I always love to have you with me; but
you know it wouldn't do; you have your little guests to entertain.
Good-by, darling. Don't go out in the cold."

He kissed her, as he always did now, when leaving her even for an
hour or two, and set her down.

The little girls watched until the last of the party had
disappeared down the avenue, and then ran gayly up-stairs to
Elsie's room, where they busied themselves until tea-time in
various little preparations for the evening, such as dressing
dolls, and tying up bundles of confectionery, etc., to be hung
upon the Christmas-tree.

The children had all noticed that the doors of a parlor opening
into the drawing-room had been closed since morning to all but a
favored few, who passed in and out, with an air of mystery and
importance, and generally laden with some odd-looking bundle when
going in, which they invariably left behind on coming out again,
and many a whispered consultation had been held as to what was
probably going on in there. Elsie and Carry seemed to be in the
secret, but only smiled and shook their heads wisely when
questioned.

But at length tea being over, and all, both old and young,
assembled as if by common consent in the drawing-room, it began to
be whispered about that their curiosity was now on the point of
being gratified.

All were immediately on the _qui vive_, and every face
brightened with mirth and expectation; and when, a moment after,
the doors were thrown open, there was a universal burst of
applause.

A large Christmas-tree had been set up at the further end of the
room, and, with its myriad of lighted tapers, and its load of toys
and bonbons, interspersed with many a richer and more costly gift,
made quite a display.

"Beautiful! beautiful!" cried the children, clapping their hands
and dancing about with delight, while their elders, perhaps
equally pleased, expressed their admiration after a more staid and
sober fashion. When they thought their handiwork had been
sufficiently admired, Mrs. Dinsmore and Adelaide approached the
tree and began the pleasant task of distributing the gifts.

Everything was labelled, and each, as his or her name was called
out, stepped forward to receive the present.

No one had been forgotten; each had something, and almost every
one had several pretty presents. Mary Leslie and little Flora
Arnott were made perfectly happy with wax dolls that could open
and shut their eyes; Caroline Howard received a gold chain from
her mamma, and a pretty pin from Elsie; Lucy, a set of coral
ornaments, besides several smaller presents; and others were
equally fortunate. All was mirth and hilarity; only one clouded
face to be seen, and that belonged to Enna, who was pouting in a
corner because Mary Leslie's doll was a little larger than hers.

Elsie had already received a pretty bracelet from her Aunt
Adelaide, a needle-case from Lora, and several little gifts from
her young guests, and was just beginning to wonder what had become
of her papa's promised present, when she heard her name again, and
Adelaide, turning to her with a pleased look, slipped a most
beautiful diamond ring on her finger.

"From your papa," she said. "Go and thank him: it is well worth
it."

Elsie sought him out where he stood alone in a corner, an amused
spectator of the merry scene.

"See, papa," she said, holding up her hand. "I think it very
beautiful; thank you, dear papa, thank you very much."

"Does it please you, my darling?" he asked, stooping to press a
kiss on the little upturned face, so bright and happy.

"Yes, papa, I think it is lovely! the very prettiest ring I ever
saw."

"Yet I think there is something else you would have liked better;
is there not?" he asked, looking searchingly into her face.

"Dear papa, I like it _very_ much; I would rather have it
than anything else on the tree."

"Still you have not answered my question," he said, with a smile,
as he sat down and drew her to his side, adding in a playful tone,
"Come, I am not going to put up with any evasion; tell me truly if
you would have preferred something else, and if so, what it is."

Elsie blushed and looked down; then raising her eyes, and seeing
with what a tender, loving glance he was regarding her, she took
courage to say, "Yes papa, there is _one_ thing I would have
liked better, and that is your miniature."

To her surprise he looked highly pleased at her reply, and giving
her another kiss, said, "Well, darling, some day you shall have
it."

"Mr. Horace Dinsmore," called Adelaide, taking some small,
glittering object from the tree.

"Another present for me?" he asked, as Walter came running with
it.

He had already received several, from his father and sisters, but
none had seemed to give him half the pleasure that this did when
he saw that it was labelled, "From his little daughter."

It was only a gold pencil. The miniature--with which the artist
had succeeded so well that nothing could have been prettier except
the original herself--she had reserved to be given in another way.

"Do you like it, papa?" she asked, her face glowing with delight
to see how pleased he was.

"Yes, darling, very much; and I shall always think of my little
girl when I use it."

"Keep it in your pocket, and use it every day, won't you, papa?"

"Yes, my pet, I will; but I thought you said you had no present
for me?"

"Oh! no, no, papa; I said there was none for you amongst those
bundles. I had bought this, but had given it to Aunt Adelaide to
take care of, for fear you might happen to see it."

"Ah! that was it, eh?" and he laughed and stroked her hair.

"Here, Elsie, here is your bundle of candy," said Walter, running
up to them again. "Everybody has one, and that is yours, Adelaide
says."

He put it in her hand, and ran away again. Elsie looked up in her
father's face inquiringly.

"No, darling," he said, taking the paper from her hand and
examining its contents, "not to-night; to-morrow, after breakfast,
you may eat the cream-candy and the rock, but none of the others;
they are colored, and very unwholesome."

"Won't _you_ eat some, papa?" she asked with winning
sweetness.

"No, dearest," he said; "for though I, too, am fond of sweet
things, I will not eat them while I refuse them to you."

"Do, papa," she urged, "it would give me pleasure to see you
enjoying it."

"No, darling, _I_ will wait until to-morrow, too."

"Then please keep it for me until to-morrow, papa, will you?"

"Yes," he said, putting it in his pocket; and then, as the gifts
had all been distributed, and the little folks were in high glee,
a variety of sports were commenced by them, in which some of their
elders also took a part; and thus the hours sped away so rapidly
that Elsie was very much surprised when her father called her to
go to bed.

"Is it half-past nine already, papa?" she asked.

"It is ten, my dear child, and high time you were in bed," he
said, smiling at her look of astonishment. "I hope you have
enjoyed yourself."

"Oh! _so_ much, papa. Good-night, and thank you for letting
me stay up so long."




CHAPTER FIFTEENTH


   "Ask me not why I should love her;--
      Look upon those soulful eyes!
    Look while mirth or feeling move her,
      And see there how sweetly rise
    Thoughts gay and gentle from a breast
    Which is of innocence the nest--
    Which, though each joy were from it shred,
    By truth would still be tenanted!"
                                 --HOFFMAN'S _Poems_.


It was yet dark when Elsie awoke, but, hearing the clock strike
five, she knew it was morning. She lay still a little while, and
then, slipping softly out of bed, put her feet into her slippers,
threw her warm dressing-gown around her, and feeling for a little
package she had left on her toilet-table, she secured it and stole
noiselessly from the room.

All was darkness and silence in the house, but she had no thought
of fear; and, gliding gently down the hall to her papa's door, she
turned the handle very cautiously, when, to her great delight, she
found it had been left unfastened, and yielded readily to her
touch.

She entered as quietly as a little mouse, listened a moment until
satisfied from his breathing that her father was still sound
asleep, then, stepping softly across the room, she laid her
package down where he could not fail to see it as soon as daylight
came and his eyes were opened. This accomplished, she stole back
again as noiselessly as she had come.

"Who dat?" demanded Chloe, starting up in bed as Elsie reentered
her own apartment.

"It is only I; did I frighten you, mammy?" answered the little
girl with a merry laugh.

"Ki? chile, dat _you?_ what you doin' runnin' 'bout de house
all in de dark, cold night?"

"It isn't night, mammy; I heard it strike five some time ago."

"Well, den, dis chile gwine get right up an' make de fire. But jes
you creep back into de bed, darlin', 'fore you cotch your death ob
cold."

"I will, mammy," Elsie said, doing as she was desired; "but please
dress me as soon as the room is warm enough, won't you?"

"Yes, darlin', kase ob course I knows you want to be up early o'
Christmas mornin'. Ki! Miss Elsie, dat's a beautiful shawl you
gave your ole mammy. I sha'n't feel de cold at all dis winter."

"I hope not, mammy; and were Aunt Phillis, and Uncle Jack, and all
the rest pleased with their presents?"

"I reckon dey was, darlin', mos' ready to go off de handle,
'tirely."

Chloe had soon built up her fire and coaxed it into a bright
blaze, and in a few moments more she pronounced the room
sufficiently warm for her nursling to get up and be dressed.

Elsie was impatient to go to her father; but, even after she had
been carefully dressed and all her morning duties attended to, it
was still so early that Chloe advised her to wait a little longer,
assuring her that it was only a very short time since John had
gone in to make his master's fire and supply him with hot water
for shaving.

So the little girl sat down and tried to drown her impatience in
the pages of a new book--one of her Christmas presents. But Chloe
presently stole softly behind her chair, and, holding up high
above her head some glittering object attached to a pretty gold
chain, let it gradually descend until it rested upon the open
book.

Elsie started and jumped up with an exclamation of surprise.

"Wonder if you knows dat gen'leman, darlin'?" laughed Chloe.

"Oh! it is papa," cried the little girl, catching it in her hand,
"my own dear, darling papa! oh! how good of him to give it to me!"
and she danced about the room in her delight. "It is just himself,
so exactly like him! _Isn't_ it a good likeness, mammy?" she
asked, drawing near the light to examine it more closely. "Dear,
dear, _darling_ papa!" and she kissed it again and again.

Then gently drawing her mother's miniature from her bosom, she
laid them side by side.

"My papa and mamma; are they not beautiful, mammy? both of them?"
she asked, raising her swimming eyes to the dusky face leaning
over her, and gazing with such mournful fondness at the sweet
girlish countenance, so life-like and beautiful, yet calling up
thoughts of sorrow and bereavement.

"My darling young missus!" murmured the old nurse, "my own
precious chile dat dese arms hab carried so many years, dis ole
heart like to break when-eber I tinks ob you, an' 'members how
your bright young face done gone away foreber."

The big tears were rolling fast down the sable cheeks, and
dropping like rain on Elsie's curls, while the broad bosom heaved
with sobs. "But your ole mammy's been good to your little chile
dat you lef' behind, darlin','deed she has," she went on.

"Yes, mammy, indeed, indeed you have," Elsie said, twining her
arms lovingly around her. "But don't let us cry any more, for we
know that dear mamma is very happy in heaven, and does not wish us
to grieve for her now. I shall not show you the picture any more
if it makes you cry like that," she added half playfully.

"Not always, chile," Chloe said, wiping away her tears, "but jes
dis here mornin'--Christmas mornin', when she was always so bright
and merry. It seems only yesterday she went dancin' about jes like
you."

"Yes, mammy dear, but she is with the angels now--my sweet, pretty
mamma!" Elsie whispered softly, with another tender, loving look
at the picture ere she returned it to its accustomed resting-place
in her bosom.

"And now I must go to papa," she said more cheerfully, "for it is
almost breakfast time."

"Is my darling satisfied _now?_" he asked, as she ran into
his arms and was folded in a close embrace.

"Yes, papa, indeed I am; thank you a thousand times; it is all I
wanted."

"And you have given me the most acceptable present you could have
found. It is a most excellent likeness, and I am delighted with
it."

"I am so glad, papa, but it was Aunt Adelaide who thought of it."

"Ah! that was very kind of her. But how does my little girl feel
this morning, after all her dissipation?"

"Oh! very well, thank you, papa."

"You will not want to say any lesson to-day, I suppose?"

"Oh! yes, if you please, papa, and it does not give you too much
trouble," she said. "It is the very pleasantest hour in the day,
except--"

"Well, except what? Ah, yes, I understand. Well, my pet, it shall
be as you wish; but come to me directly after breakfast, as I am
going out early."

Elsie had had her hour with her father, but, though he had left
her and gone out, she still lingered in his dressing-room, looking
over the next day's lesson. At length, however, she closed the
book and left the room, intending to seek her young guests, who
were in the lower part of the house.

Miss Stevens' door was open as she passed, and that lady called to
her, "Elsie, dear, you sweet little creature, come here, and see
what I have for you."

Elsie obeyed, though rather reluctantly, and Miss Stevens bidding
her sit down, went to a drawer, and took out a large paper of
mixed candy, all of the best and most expensive kinds, which she
put into the little girl's hands with one of her sweetest smiles.

It was a strong temptation to a child who had a great fondness for
such things, but Elsie had prayed from her heart that morning for
strength to resist temptation, and it was given her.

"Thank you, ma'am, you are very kind," she said gratefully, "but I
cannot take it, because papa does not approve of my eating such
things. He gave me a little this morning, but said I must not have
any more for a long time."

"Now, that is quite too bad," exclaimed Miss Stevens, "but at
least take one or two, child; that much couldn't possibly hurt
you, and your papa need never know."

Elsie gave her a look of grieved surprise.

"Oh! could you think I would do that?" she said. "But _God_
would know, Miss Stevens; and I should know it myself, and how
could I ever look my papa in the face again after deceiving him
so?"

"Really, my dear, you are making a very serious matter of a mere
trifle," laughed the lady; "why, I have deceived my father more
than fifty times, and never thought it any harm. But here is
something I am sure you can take, and indeed you must, for I
bought both it and the candy expressly for you."

She replaced the candy in the drawer as she spoke, and took from
another a splendidly-bound book which she laid in Elsie's lap,
saying, with a triumphant air, "There, my dear, what do you think
of that? is it not handsome?"

Elsie's eyes sparkled; books were her greatest treasures; but
feeling an instinctive repugnance to taking a gift from one whom
she could neither respect nor love, she made an effort to decline
it, though at the same time thanking the lady warmly for her kind
intentions.

But Miss Stevens would hear of no refusal, and fairly forced it
upon her acceptance, declaring that, as she had bought it
expressly for her, she should feel extremely hurt if she did not
take it.

"Then I will, Miss Stevens," said the little girl, "and I am sure
you are very kind. I love books and pictures, too, and these are
lovely engravings," she added turning over the leaves with
undisguised pleasure.

"Yes, and the stories are right pretty, too," remarked Miss
Stevens.

"Yes, ma'am, they look as if they were, and I should like dearly
to read them."

"Well, dear, just sit down and read; there's nothing to hinder.
I'm sure your little friends can do without you for an hour or
two. Or, if you prefer it, take the book and enjoy it with them;
it is your own, you know, to use as you like."

"Thank you, ma'am; but, though I can look at the pictures, I must
not read the stories until I have asked papa, because he does not
allow me to read anything now without first showing it to him."

"Dear me! how very strict he is!" exclaimed Miss Stevens.

"I wonder," she thought to herself, "if he would expect to
domineer over his wife in that style?"

Elsie was slowly turning over the leaves of the book, enjoying the
pictures very much, studying them intently, but resolutely
refraining from even glancing over the printed pages. But at
length she closed it, and, looking out of the window, said, with a
slight sigh, "Oh! I wish papa would come; but I'm afraid he won't
for a long while, and I do so want to read these stories."

"Suppose you let me read one to you," suggested Miss Stevens;
"that would not be _your_ reading it, you know."

Elsie looked shocked at the proposal. "Oh! no, ma'am, thank you, I
know you mean to be kind; but I could not do it; it would be so
very wrong; quite the same, I am sure, as if I read it with my own
eyes," she answered hurriedly; and then, fearing to be tempted
further, she excused herself and went in search of her young
companions.

She found them in the drawing-room.

"Wasn't it too provoking, Elsie, that those people didn't send
home my bracelet last night?" exclaimed Caroline Howard. "I have
just been telling Lucy about it. I think that it was such a shame
for them to disappoint me, for I wanted to have it on the tree."

"I am sorry you were disappointed, Carry, but perhaps it will come
to-day," Elsie answered in a sympathizing tone. And then she
showed the new book, which she still held in her hand.

They spent some time in examining it, talking about and admiring
the pictures, and then went out for a walk.

"Has papa come in yet, mammy?" was Elsie's first question on
returning.

"Yes, darlin', I tink he's in the drawin'-room dis berry minute,"
Chloe answered, as she took off the little girl's hat, and
carefully smoothed her hair.

"There, there! mammy, won't that do now? I'm in a little bit of a
hurry," Elsie said with a merry little laugh, as she slipped
playfully from under her nurse's hand, and ran down-stairs.

But she was doomed to disappointment for the present, for her papa
was seated on the sofa, beside Miss Stevens, talking to her; and
so she must wait a little longer. At last, however, he rose, went
to the other side of the room, and stood a moment looking out of
the window.

Then Elsie hastened to take her book from a table, where she had
laid it, and going up to him, said, "Papa!"

He turned round instantly, asking in a pleasant tone, "Well,
daughter, what is it?"

She put the book into his hand, saying eagerly, "It is a Christmas
gift from Miss Stevens, papa; will you let me read it?"

He did not answer immediately, but turned over the leaves,
glancing rapidly over page after page, but not too rapidly to be
able to form a pretty correct idea of the contents.

"No, daughter," he said, handing it back to her, "you must content
yourself with looking at the pictures; they are by far the best
part; the stories are very unsuitable for a little girl of your
age, and would, indeed, be unprofitable reading for any one."

She looked a little disappointed.

"I am glad I can _trust_ my little daughter, and feel certain
that she will not disobey me," he said, smiling kindly on her, and
patting her cheek.

She answered him with a bright, happy look, full of confiding
affection, laid the book await without a murmur, and left the
room--her father's eyes following her with a fond, loving glance.

Miss Stevens, who had watched them both closely during this little
scene, bit her lips with vexation at the result of her manoeuvre.

She had come to Roselands with the fixed determination to lay
siege to Mr. Horace Dinsmore's heart, and flattering and petting
his little daughter was one of her modes of attack; but his
decided disapproval of her present, she perceived, did not augur
well for the success of her schemes. She was by no means in
despair, however, for she had great confidence in the power of her
own personal attractions, being really tolerably pretty, and
considering herself a great beauty, as well as very highly
accomplished.

As Elsie ran out into the hall, she found herself suddenly caught
in Mr. Travilla's arms.

"'A merry Christmas and a happy New Year!' little Elsie," he said,
kissing her on both cheeks. "Now I have caught you figuratively
and literally, my little lady, so what are you going to give me,
eh?"

"Indeed, sir, I think you've helped yourself to the only thing I
have to give at present," she answered with a merry silvery laugh.

"Nay, _give_ me one, little lady," said he, "one such hug and
kiss as I dare say your father gets half-a-dozen times in a day."

She gave it very heartily.

"Ah! I wish you were ten years older," he said as he set her down.

"If I had been, you wouldn't have got the kiss," she replied,
smiling archly.

"Now, it's my turn," he said, taking something from his pocket.

"I expected you'd catch _me_, and so thought it best to come
prepared."

He took her hand, as he spoke, and placed a beautiful little gold
thimble on her finger. "There, that's to encourage you in
industry."

"Thank you, sir; oh! it's a little beauty! I must run and show it
to papa. But I must not forget my politeness," she added, hastily
throwing open the drawing-room door. "Come in, Mr. Travilla."

She waited quietly until the usual greetings were exchanged, then
went up to her father and showed her new gift.

He quite entered into her pleasure, and remarked, with a glance at
Miss Stevens, "that her friends were very kind."

The lady's hopes rose. He was then pleased with her attention to
his child, even though he did not altogether approve her choice of
a gift.

There was a large party to dinner that day, and the children came
down to the dessert. Miss Stevens, who had contrived to be seated
next to Mr. Dinsmore, made an effort, on the entrance of the
juveniles, to have Elsie placed on her other side; but Mr.
Travilla was too quick for her, and had his young favorite on his
knee before she could gain her attention.

The lady was disappointed, and Elsie herself only half satisfied;
but the two gentlemen, who thoroughly understood Miss Stevens and
saw through all her manoeuvres, exchanged glances of amusement and
satisfaction.

After dinner Mr. Travilla invited Elsie, Carry, Lucy, and Mary, to
take a ride in his carriage, which invitation was joyfully
accepted by all--Mr. Dinsmore giving a ready consent to Elsie's
request to be permitted to go.

They had a very merry time, for Mr. Travilla quite laid himself
out for their entertainment, and no one knew better than he how to
amuse ladies of their age.

It was nearly dark when they returned, and Elsie went at once to
her room to be dressed for the evening. But she found it
unoccupied--Aunt Chloe, as it afterward appeared, having gone down
to the quarter to carry some of the little girl's gifts to one or
two who were too old and feeble to come up to the house to receive
them.

Elsie rang the bell, waited a little, and then, feeling impatient
to be dressed, ran down to the kitchen to see what had become of
her nurse.

A very animated discussion was going on there, just at that
moment, between the cook and two or three of her sable companions,
and the first words that reached the child's ears, as she stood on
the threshold, were, "I tell you, you ole darkie, you dunno
nuffin' 'bout it! Massa Horace gwine marry _dat_ bit ob paint
an' finery! no such ting! Massa's got more sense."

The words were spoken in a most scornful tone, and Elsie, into
whose childish mind the possibility of her father's marrying again
had never entered, stood spellbound with astonishment.

But the conversation went on, the speakers quite unconscious of
her vicinity.

It was Pompey's voice that replied.

"Ef Marse Horace don't like her, what for they been gwine ridin'
ebery afternoon? will you tell me dat, darkies? an' don't dis
niggah see him sit beside her mornin', noon, an' night, laughin'
an' talkin' at de table an' in de parlor? an' don't she keep a
kissin' little Miss Elsie, an' callin' her pretty critter, sweet
critter, an'de like?"

"_She_ ma to our sweet little Miss Elsie! Bah! I tell you,
Pomp, Marse Horace got more sense," returned the cook, indignantly.

"Aunt Chloe don't b'lieve no such stuff," put in another voice;
"she says Marse Horace _couldn't_ put such trash in her sweet
young mistis's place."

"Aunt Chloe's a berry fine woman, no doubt," observed Pomp
disdainfully, "but I reckon Marse Horace ain't gwine to infide his
matermonical intentions to her; and I consider it quite
consequential on Marster's being young and handsome that he will
take another wife."

The next speaker said something about his having lived a good
while without, and though Miss Stevens _was_ setting her cap,
maybe he wouldn't be caught. But Elsie only gathered the sense of
it, hardly heard the words, and, bounding away like a frightened
deer to her own room, her little heart beating wildly with a
confused sense of suffering, she threw herself on the bed. She
shed no tears, but there was, oh! such a weight on her heart, such
a terrible though vague sense of the instability of all earthly
happiness.

There Chloe found her, and wondered much what ailed her darling,
what made her so silent, and yet so restless, and caused such a
deep flush on her cheek. She feared she was feverish, her little
hand was so hot and dry; but Elsie insisted that she was quite
well, and so Chloe tried to think it was only fatigue.

She would fain have persuaded the little girl to lie still upon
her bed and rest, and let her tea be brought to her there; but
Elsie answered that she would much rather be dressed, and join her
young companions in the nursery. They, too, wondered what ailed
her, she was so very quiet and ate almost nothing at all. They
asked if she was sick. She only shook her head. "Was she tired,
then?" "Yes, she believed she was," and she leaned her head
wearily on her hand.

But, indeed, most of the party seemed dull; they had gone through
such a round of pleasure and excitement, for the last two or three
days, that now a reaction was beginning, and they wanted rest,
especially the very little ones, who all retired quite early, when
Elsie and her mates joined their parents in the drawing-room.

Elsie looked eagerly around for her father, the moment she entered
the room. He was beside Miss Stevens, who was at the piano,
performing a very difficult piece of music. He was leaning over
her, turning the leaves, and apparently listening with a great
deal of pleasure, for she was really a fine musician.

Elsie felt sick at heart at the sight--although a few hours before
it would have given her no concern--and found it very difficult to
listen to and answer the remarks Mrs. Carrington was making to her
about her Christmas presents, and the nice ride they had had that
afternoon.

Mr. Travilla was watching her; he had noticed, as soon as she came
in, the sad and troubled look which had come over her face, and,
following the glance of her eyes, he guessed at the cause.

He knew there was no danger of the trial that she feared, and
would have been glad to tell her so; but he felt that it was too
delicate a subject for him to venture on; it might seem too much
like meddling in Mr. Dinsmore's affairs. But he did the next best
thing--got the four little girls into a corner, and tried to
entertain them with stories and charades.

Elsie seemed interested for a time, but every now and then her
eyes would wander to the other side of the room, where her father
still stood listening to Miss Stevens' music.

At length Mr. Travilla was called away to give his opinion about
some tableaux the young ladies were arranging; and Elsie, knowing
it was her usual time for retiring, and not caring to avail
herself of her father's permission to stay up until nine o'clock,
stole quietly away to her room unobserved by any one, and feeling
as if Miss Stevens had already robbed her of her father.

She wiped away a few quiet tears, as she went, and was very silent
and sad, while her mammy was preparing her for bed. She hardly
knew how to do without her good-night kiss, but feeling as she
did, it had seemed quite impossible to ask for it while Miss
Stevens was so near him.

When she knelt down to pray, she became painfully conscious that a
feeling of positive dislike to that lady had been creeping into
her heart, and she asked earnestly to be enabled to put it away.
But she prayed, also, that she might be spared the trial that she
feared, if God's will were so; and she thought surely it was
because she had found out that Miss Stevens was not good, not
truthful, or sincere.

"Perhaps dear papa will come to say good-night before I am
asleep," she murmured to herself as, calmed and soothed by thus
casting her burden on the Lord, she laid her head upon her pillow.

He, however, had become interested in the subject of the tableaux,
and did not miss his little girl until the sound of the clock
striking ten reminded him of her, and he looked around expecting
to see her still in the room; but, not seeing her, he asked Lucy
Carrington where she was.

"Oh!" said Lucy, "she's been gone these two hours, I should think!
I guess she must have gone to bed."

"Strange that she did not come to bid me goodnight," he exclaimed
in a low tone, more as if thinking aloud than speaking to Lucy.

He hastily left the room.

Mr. Travilla followed.

"Dinsmore," said he.

Mr. Dinsmore stopped, and Travilla, drawing him to one side, said
in an undertone, "I think my little friend is in trouble to-
night."

"Ah!" he exclaimed, with a startled look, "what can it be? I did
not hear of any accident--she has not been hurt? is not sick? tell
me, Travilla, quickly, if anything ails my child."

"Nothing, nothing, Dinsmore, only you know servants will talk, and
children have ears, and eyes, too, sometimes, and I saw her
watching you to-night with a very sad expression."

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mr. Dinsmore, growing very red and looking
extremely vexed; "I wouldn't have had such thoughts put into the
child's head for any money. Are you sure of it, Travilla?"

"I am sure she was watching you very closely tonight, and looking
very miserable."

"Poor darling!" murmured the father. "Thank you, Travilla,"
shaking his friend heartily by the hand. "Good-night; I shall not
be down again if you will be so good as to excuse me to the
others."

And he went up the stairs almost at a bound, and the next moment
was standing beside his sleeping child, looking anxiously down at
the little flushed cheeks and tear-swollen eyes, for, disappointed
that he did not come to bid her good-night, she had cried herself
to sleep.

"Poor darling!" he murmured again, as he stooped over her and
kissed away a tear that still trembled on her eyelash.

He longed to tell her that all her fears were groundless, that
none other could ever fill her place in his heart, but he did not
like to wake her, and so, pressing another light kiss on her
cheek, he left her to dream on unconscious of his visit.








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