Whatever Helen intended to say she got no further, for she quite lost her self-control and burst out crying, her hot tears falling through her fingers and dropping on to her patent leather shoes. Poor Helen! it was indeed sad to have all the miseries of her past life recalled by a few thoughtless words expressed in a letter. Gladys who was sympathy itself, jumped up and ran to Helen's side. Putting her arms round her neck she kissed her, saying as she did so "never mind Helen dear, dont cry, I should not have hurt your feelings so, but cheer up and I'll tell you some news which will show you that we have _some_ friends, who are not on Mr. Palsey's side." Helen, who quickly got over her fits of sorrow dried her eyes and looked up. "What is it?" she asked. Gladys sat down again and opening her mother's letter said "you know what Mother says in the post-script, about my sisters and brothers being very upset and longing for me to marry James?" "Yes" answered Helen, "but how many have you got, I understood you were a very small family?" "Oh no, we are rather a large family" responded Gladys, "perhaps I had better tell you our names or you wont understand the news." "Yes please do" pleaded Helen. "Well I have three brothers and three sisters," said Gladys, "Lionel is the eldest of the family, he's about 25 or 26 I think, then there is Wilelmina, we always call her Minna, she is 24, then Lawrence is about 23 I fancy. I am the next, and I suppose you know I have just come of age. Ethel and Elsie (the twins) are just 19, and Hugh is the youngest, he is between 17 and 18." "You all seem to have very fanciful names" said Helen. "Do we?" said Gladys "well Mother is just that kind you know, her name being Ethelreda Aurora, I suppose she thinks we ought to have fancy names." "Yes I suppose so" replied Helen, "I certainly think you have sweet names, Ethel and Elsie are very nice for twins, are they pretty?" "Ethel and Elsie?" asked Gladys "oh yes fairly so they are both fair you know." "You must be a fair family" replied Helen "You are fair yourself." "Oh no we're not" answered Gladys, "Minna is like a gipsy almost and the boys are all dark." "Really?" said Helen "well Gladys what about this wonderful piece of news?" "Oh yes" said Gladys, "well when Mother wrote that postscript, I dont believe she asked the others about it at all, because only the other evening, I got a letter from Lawrence, (he is my favourite) and it seems he is quite in favour of me _not_ marrying James." "How lovely!" exclaimed Helen.