"Oh, I am very glad," said Fanny, "I have so wished them to know at the

Homestead," and her deepened colour revealed, against her will, that she

had not been insensible to the awkwardness of the secrecy.

"I should rather like to tell your cousin Rachel myself," said the

Colonel; "she has always been very kind to Ermine, and appreciated her

more than I should have expected. But she is not easily to be seen now."

"Her whole heart is in her orphan asylum," said Fanny. "I hope you will

soon go with us and see it; the little girls look so nice."

The brightening of his prospects seemed to have quite consoled her for

her own perplexities.

That Avonmouth should have no suspicion of the cause of the sudden

change of pastor could hardly be hoped; but at least Lady Temple did not

know how much talk was expended upon her, how quietly Lord Keith hugged

himself, how many comical stories Bessie detailed in her letters to her

Clare cousins, nor how Mrs. Curtis resented the presumption; and while

she shrank from a lecture, more especially as she did not see how dear

Fanny was to blame, flattered herself and Grace that, for the future,

Colonel Keith and Rachel would take better care of her.

Rachel did not dwell much on the subject, it was only the climax of

conceit, croquet, and mere womanhood; and she was chiefly anxious to

know whether Mr. Mitchell, the temporary clergyman, would support the

F. U. E. E., and be liberal enough to tolerate Mr. Mauleverer. She had

great hopes from a London incumbent, and, besides, Bessie Keith knew

him, and spoke of him as a very sensible, agreeable, earnest man.

"Earnest enough for you, Rachel," she said, laughing.

"Is he a party man?"

"Oh, parties are getting obsolete! He works too hard for fighting

battles outside."

The Sunday showed a spare, vigorous face, and a voice and pronunciation

far more refined than poor Mr. Touchett's; also the sermons were far

more interesting, and even Rachel granted that there were ideas in it.

The change was effected with unusual celerity, for it was as needful to

Mrs. Mitchell to be speedily established in a warm climate, as it was

desirable to Mr. Touchett to throw himself into other scenes; and the

little parsonage soon had the unusual ornaments of tiny children with

small spades and wheelbarrows.

The father and mother were evidently very shy people, with a great

deal beneath their timidity, and were much delighted to have an old

acquaintance like Miss Keith to help them through their introductions,

an office which she managed with all her usual bright tact. The

discovery that Stephana Temple and Lucy Mitchell had been born within

two days of one another, was the first link of a warm friendship between

the two mammas; and Mr. Mitchell fell at once into friendly intercourse

with Ermine Williams, to whom Bessie herself conducted him for his first

visit, when they at once discovered all manner of mutual acquaintance

among his college friends; and his next step was to make the very

arrangement for Ermine's church-going, for which she had long been

wishing in secret, but which never having occurred to poor Mr.

Touchett, she had not dared to propose, lest there should be some great

inconvenience in the way.




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