On the evening of this exciting day she looked so pale and fatigued that she yielded to Rose's solicitations, and without Aaron's knowledge sent for the physician who was in the habit of attending her. While waiting for him she fell asleep in her armchair in the cozy room. At her request Rose played softly some of Rachel's favorite pieces. The piano was behind a screen at one end of the room, and Rose did not know that she had fallen asleep. While thus employed Prissy quietly entered the room. The faithful woman looked at her mistress, and stepped noiselessly to the screen. "Miss Rose," she whispered. The girl stopped playing immediately, and came from behind the screen. "Is it the doctor, Prissy?" she asked. "No, miss." Prissy pointed to her mistress, and Rose went to the armchair, and adjusted a light shawl which was falling from the sleeping lady's shoulder. It was a slight action, but it was done with so much tenderness that Prissy smiled approvingly. She liked Rose much better than Ruth, who did not hold in her affections the place the other members of the family did. Humble as was her position in the household, she had observed things of which she disapproved. Ruth was from home more frequently than she considered proper, and had often said to her: "You need not tell my mother that I have gone out unless she asks you." Prissy had not disobeyed her, and the consequence was that Ruth was sometimes absent from the house for hours without her father or mother being aware of it. Prissy's idea was that her young mistress would bring trouble on the house, but she kept silence, because she would otherwise have got into trouble herself with Ruth, and would also have distressed her dear lady if she had made mention of her suspicions, for which she could have offered no reasonable explanation. Prissy's distress of mind was not lessened because Ruth, when she enjoined secrecy upon her, gave her money, as if to purchase her silence. She would have refused these bribes, but Ruth forced them upon her, and she felt as if she were in a conspiracy to destroy the peace of the family. "I did not know she was asleep," said Rose, coming back to Prissy. "I'm sure you didn't, miss. She falls off, you know." "Yes, I know," said Rose with affectionate solicitude. "What do you want, Prissy?" "I've got a letter for you, miss." "I didn't hear the postman." "The postman didn't bring it, miss," said Prissy, giving her the letter. "A boy. Said immejiet." "It must be from--no." She was thinking of her lover as she looked at the letter, but she saw it was not his hand. She recognized the writing--it was Ruth's. "The envelope is not very clean, Prissy." "So I told the boy when he brought it to the back door." "The back door!" exclaimed Rose, rather bewildered. "It's curious, isn't it, miss, that it wasn't sent by post?" "Yes, it is. What did the boy say?"