"You evidently build on a great amount of faith from the public. How do

you induce them to believe--do you write in your own name?"

"No, it makes mamma unhappy. I was going to put R. C., but Grace said

people would think it meant Roman Catholic. Your sister thought I had

better put the initials of Female Union for Lacemaker's Employment."

"You don't mean that Bessie persuaded you to put that?" exclaimed Alick

Keith, more nearly starting up than Rachel had ever seen him.

"Yes. There is no objection, is there?"

"Oh, Rachel, Rachel, how could we have helped thinking of it?" cried

Grace, nearly in a state of suffocation.

Rachel held up her printed appeal, where subscriptions were invited to

the address of F. U. L. E., the Homestead, Avonmouth.

"Miss Curtis, though you are not Scottish, you ought to be well read in

Walter Scott."

"I have thought it waste of time to read incorrect pictures of

pseudo-chivalry since I have been grown up," said Rachel. "But that has

nothing to do with it."

"Ah, Rachel, if we had been more up in our Scotch, we should have known

what F. U. L. E. spells," sighed Grace.

A light broke in upon Rachel. "I am sure Bessie never could have

recollected it," was her first exclamation. "But there," she continued,

too earnest to see or stumble at straws, "never mind. It cannot be

helped, and I dare say not one person in ten will be struck by it."

"Stay," said Grace, "let it be Englishwoman's Employment. See, I can

very easily alter the L into an E."

Rachel would hardly have consented, but was forced to yield to her

mother's entreaties. However, the diligent transformation at L's did

not last long, for three days after a parcel was left at the Homestead

containing five thousand printed copies of the appeal, with the E

rightly inserted. Bessie laughed, and did not disavow the half reluctant

thanks for this compensation for her inadvertence or mischief,

whichever it might be, laughing the more at Rachel's somewhat ungrateful

confession that she had rather the cost had gone into a subscription for

the F. U. E. E. As Bessie said to herself, it was much better and

more agreeable for all parties that it should so stand, and she would

consider herself in debt to Alick for the amount. Indeed, she fully

expected him to send her in the bill, but in the meantime not one

word was uttered between the brother and sister on the subject. They

understood one another too well to spend useless words.

Contrary to most expectation, there was result enough from Rachel's

solicitations to serve as justification for the outlay in stamps. The

very number of such missives that fly about the world proves that

there must be a great amount of uninquiring benevolence to render the

speculation anything but desperate, and Rachel met with very tolerable

success. Mr. Mauleverer called about once a week to report progress on

his side, and, in his character of treasurer, to take charge of the sums

that began to accumulate. But Rachel had heard so much on all sides of

the need of caution in dealing with one so entirely a stranger, that

she resolved that no one should blame her for imprudence, and therefore

retained in her own name, in the Avoncester Bank, all the sums that

she received. Mr. Mauleverer declared himself quite contented with

this arrangement, and eagerly anticipated the apologies that Rachel was

ashamed even to make to him.




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