‘Yes, I suppose it is, in most things; and papa has been the best and kindest of parents to us. Yet, if mamma had lived, Hilda, she might—I have always heard she was so fond of him—she might——’ But here the supposition of what her mother might have done was lost, in consequence of Tessie bursting into a flood of tears. Her sudden emotion both surprised and shocked me. I had never dreamt that the death of a mother whom she had lost so early could have dwelt upon her mind to such a degree as this, neither had I ever seen her give vent to such violent grief before. Had it been Ange I should not have been so much astonished, for the ‘little maid’ was romantic and easily moved to tears; but that Tessie, who had so calm and equable a disposition, should be so overcome was quite another thing. I soothed her to the best of my ability, but the storm was as genuine as it was unaccountable to me, and some minutes elapsed before she was restored to anything like composure. I was just congratulating myself that it was over, and thanking Heaven that no one else had witnessed her weakness, when I perceived, to my annoyance, the gaunt figure of Mrs. Carolus climbing, by means of a stick, the steep and stony ascent in front of us. ‘Here is Mrs. Carolus,’ I said hastily. ‘Do dry your eyes, Tessie, or the whole of St. Pucelle will be informed before to-morrow morning, that I brought you out here and beat you.’ She laughed hysterically at the idea, and rose to her feet. ‘Let me go back a little way and meet Ange, Hilda! I shall recover myself in five minutes, if I am left alone; but Mrs. Carolus’s intrusive curiosity would be sure to set me off again.’ ‘Go, by all manner of means,’ I replied, ‘and leave me, like a second St. George, to face the dragon! Only come back as soon as your eyes have regained their normal condition, or the saint will be found to have turned tail as usual, leaving his stockings, darning-thread and needle behind him.’ This I said because I had suffered many things at the hands of Mrs. Carolus and Miss Markham during the last two months, and was noted for running away as soon as I saw them coming. Tessie smiled sadly and nodded acquiescence as she turned to ascend the hill. ‘Oh, Miss Marsh!’ cried Mrs. Carolus, now within a few yards of me; ‘what an awfully steep hill this is! I really thought at one time that I could neither go backward nor forward. And the loose stones cut one’s boots to ribbons. If I hadn’t brought Willie’s stick with me, I should never have had the courage to mount it. Why has Miss Lovett walked off just as I arrived?’ ‘She has gone back a little way to meet her sister. Why do you attempt to ascend the hill where there is no path, Mrs. Carolus? Boys and girls can do it, perhaps, and goats, but not——’