‘Lost! my twinnies, all lost and gone!’ she whispered brokenly, with long, shuddering sobs between the words. ‘I look—look—look; never, never find!’ ‘No, no, dear,’ Mary answered, stroking the lines from her forehead, ‘not lost any more; found, Lisa—do you understand? They are found, they are safe and well, and nobody blames you; and you are safe, too, your new self, your best self unharmed, thank God; so go to sleep, little sister, and dream happy dreams!’ Glad tears rushed from the poor child’s eyes, tears of conscious happiness, and the burden rolled away from her heart now, as yesterday’s whirring shuttles in her brain had been hushed into silence by her long sleep. She raised her swimming eyes to Mistress Mary’s with a look of unspeakable trust. ‘I love you! oh, I love, love, love you!’ she whispered, and, holding the flower close to her breast, she breathed a sigh of sweet content, and sank again into quiet slumber. XII FLOTSAM AND JETSAM IT may be said in justice to Mrs. Grubb that she was more than usually harassed just at this time. Mrs. Sylvester, her voluble next-door neighbour, who had lifted many sordid cares from her shoulders, had suddenly become tired of the ‘new method of mental healing,’ and during a brief absence of Mrs. Grubb from the city had issued a thousand embossed gilt-edged cards, announcing herself as the Hand Reader in the following terms:— TO THE ELITE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE CITY! I take this method of introducing myself to your kind consideration as a Hand Reader of _rare_ and _genuine merit_; catering merely to the Creme du le Creme of this city. No others need apply. Having been educated carefully and refinedly, speaking French fluently, therefore I only wish to deal with the elite of the bon-ton. I do not advertise in papers nor at residence. Ladies $1.50. Gents $2. Yours truly, MRS. PANSY SYLVESTER, 3 Eden Place near 4th, Lower bell _P.S._ Pupil of S. CORA GRUBB. Inasmuch as Mrs. Sylvester had imbibed all her knowledge from Mrs. Grubb, that prophet and scholar thought, not unnaturally, that she might have been consulted about the enterprise, particularly as the cards were of a nature to prejudice the better class of patients, and lower the social tone of the temple of healing.