Who can express Mr. Howard’s feelings at that moment. “Thank God!” the kind-hearted physician exclaimed, “the sight of the eye in this dear child is not destroyed;” and on examining the other, the result was equally satisfactory. “This is not so bad as we dreaded,” he said; but he whispered something to Mr. Howard, and seemed about to quit the room. He had asked to speak to him alone. Leila had not caught the words, but she suspected something; and springing up she said, “Do let him tell me every thing, papa, I am quite able to bear it. Does Dr. B---- think I shall still be blind?--do let him speak out the truth.” Mr. Howard assented. The good doctor was much affected. “My dear young lady,” he said, “I hope and trust that you will not always be blind; but I am not prepared to say that you certainly will recover the power of raising your eyelids--there have been frequent instances of the nerves never recovering their powers; but you are young, and in good health; your well-turned mind, and your power of commanding your feelings, (and I am sure from the highest motives,) is much in your favour, and with God nothing is impossible. And now I will take my leave for to-day. I have only one caution to give, and I address it to all,--agitation of every kind must as much as possible be avoided.” It was no unnecessary caution, for the lively joy expressed by Matilda and Alfred when Dr. B---- pronounced his opinion, Leila felt more difficult to bear than their former sorrow; and Mr. Howard now expressed a wish, which was immediately complied with, that Leila should be left alone with him for the rest of the evening. Before night the oculist from London also arrived. He confirmed all that the physician had said; he could pronounce nothing positive as to Leila’s recovering her sight, but he had hope; and he enforced still more strictly, if possible, that every thing should be done to strengthen her general health, and agitation and excitement of every kind carefully avoided. “Don’t let any one be with her,” he said, “who is likely to agitate her; there is an old woman in the passage in such a state of distress; she is clamorous for admittance, but it must not be yielded to.” This was spoken aside to Mr. Howard, but Leila caught the words, “old woman.” “It is Peggy Dobie,” she said, “my dear Peggy; oh, papa, let her come in for a moment, only one moment, papa, and then I shall keep myself quite still, and not be agitated again.”