“No, my dear child, I am in no hurry to resume my book; I am quite pleased to have a little talk with you; besides, if I had not heard your little tap at the door just then, I meant to have sent for you--I have got something to show you.” “To show me, papa?” “Yes, my love; something which will interest you, but will also bring to your mind sorrowful recollections.” Leila looked up anxiously in her papa’s face. “Is it about Dash?” she said; “has any one answered the advertisement? or Peggy?--but no, about Peggy, that is impossible; poor Peggy!” Mr. Howard smiled mournfully as he answered. “No, my child, I have heard nothing of them.” Leila continued: “I have tried to bear it, papa, and not to give way; and I have prayed to God, and He has strengthened me, and often I feel quite comforted, sometimes I feel quite happy, just as if it had never been; but often when I am talking and laughing I am not really happy--I am only pretending, for Selina and Matilda always look so distressed when I am sorrowful; but night is the worst--I always think of Peggy at night;--and how kind she was to me; and there is nobody to be made sorrowful then, and so I often cry very much; but I won’t talk of it any more, and I am forgetting you had something to show me;” and she hastily brushed the tears from her eyes. Her papa carefully unfolded a small paper which he took from his pocket-book, and showed Leila a very few small seeds. “Flower-seeds?” she asked, inquiringly; “are they not, papa?” “Yes, my love, they are the seeds of Clara’s flower.” She started. “Of Clara’s flowers! Who has been to visit her lonely grave? Who, papa?” “No, one, my love; I gathered those seeds the day we left the island; but I did not mention it to you, because I thought I had lost them, and that they had dropped from my pocket-book. This morning I found that this paper had fallen within another, and that the seeds were still there; there are only seven of them, but I don’t think there ever were more, for I remember I had difficulty in finding even these.” Leila gazed at them earnestly. “I also tried to find seeds that day, and could get none--how interesting they will be to me. I will plant them instantly, and when they spring up, I will have some of Clara’s flower to give to her mamma.” “But, my dear Leila,” Mr. Howard said, “had you not better wait till spring? I fear this is not a good time to sow flower-seeds;” but seeing her look of distress, he added,--“at least, it would be more prudent to sow only part now, and the others in spring, this will give you the best chance of securing some of the plants.”