"No, no, my good friend, wait a bit. We got most of that out again, and gave it to our geraniums. She stole it out of a sack as Charley kept in the washhouse. There was feathers in it. That put it into her head, I suppose. But as for your going, Miss Valence, that will never do. Never, never. Will it now, Miss Idols? And to see her dress, to be sure, that baggage! Why, my best tarlatan, as dear Miss Minto give me to be married in, wasn’t good enough for her to sweep the stairs in. Sweep the stairs--yes, yes, she did sweep the stairs when I see her last; and she had afore, I know; she was so clever at it; and that was why one leg was so much more than the other." "Mrs. Shelfer, do you expect us to listen to you all night?" "True, my good friend, quite true. But when I thinks of my feathers, something comes over me, I must out with my troubles, or burst. But you musn’t go, Miss Valence. That will never do, never; ask Miss Idols now." And she turned to Isola, who was quite ready to be turned to. "Of course it won’t, Mrs. Shelfer. You are quite right, my good friend. I won’t hear of it for a moment. Why Mr. Shelfer was drunk. I know it by the way he held his pipe. Quite ’drunk and incapable,’ you know. And he will be so sorry, and he’ll never do it again. And he did not mean to be drunk at all, but the frost was very hard, and the cold got into his head. I am sure it would into mine, if I had stayed much longer; and he didn’t understand brandy-balls, as we do at College--you could not expect it, you know." The pure good faith of this last was too much for me. I laughed outright, having no husband concerned in it. As for the dry little woman, she actually cried. I had never seen a tear in her quick, shy eyes before, though the feather-bed nearly brought them, and so did the death of the elder Sandy, the squirrel. She turned away. She was always ashamed of emotion. "Bless your innocent heart, Miss Idols, if you don’t marry a king! Not one of us is good enough to tie your shoes as you talked of, you are that simple and good of heart." Is there any goodness more touching to a veteran than a soft young nature’s disbelief in evil? But for bitter experience, I might have been sweet as Isola. Thank God, that in spite of all vinegar, the ailment is still infectious. Isola could not make it all out. "To-morrow morning, Miss Valence," began Mrs. Shelfer again, "to-morrow morning, after I have wigged him well all night, and then given him a good breakfast, he’ll come and beg your pardon like a child, and be ashamed to look any higher than your flounces; and I know you’ll forgive him."