That was the secret that she had whispered in his ear when, after Mrs. Richards’ terrible accusations, they had been left alone and she had begged him to go away with her to make a little home of their own, telling him that what she should receive for her book, together with her hundred pounds, would be ample for their support until she could graduate and obtain a position as a teacher. She had written it that first winter; for after Mr. Richards had vetoed his wife’s plan of making her a servant, and insisted that she should be sent to school, there had been many lonely hours which would have been very irksome to her if she had not spent them in this way. Her studies that winter were not hard; she had no associates to help her pass the time pleasantly, and so her heart had overflowed in this way, and she had penned the charming little romance which had at once set everybody to wondering who the author might be. This was the package with which she had stolen forth so early one morning, taking it with fear and trembling, yet with something of hope, to the great publisher. When she was shown into his office and made known her errand there, he looked at her in wonder, astonished at the temerity of one so young and simple as she appeared to be in bringing her manuscript to him and asking him to publish it. But the deferential yet winning way in which she made her appeal, and the influence of her loveliness, won a reluctant promise on his part “to look it over.” He did so, opening the neatly folded package with an amused smile, and expecting after a casual glance at its contents to be nauseated with some sickly sentimental love-story. But he became strangely interested in it at once, and read on and on, now with smiles, then melting into tears, until it was finished, and pronounced a “little gem;” while he was convinced that a sensitive, refined, and talented girl had thrown her heart, and perhaps something of her own life, into those touching pages. He sent a note to her at once, asking her to come and see him again, and when she obeyed the summons, he questioned her about herself, how she had come to write her book, and what incidents had suggested it. She told him that the scene of her little romance was laid in Derbyshire, England, and that many of the incidents were connected with her childhood; and the tears sprang to his eyes as she related to him something of the misfortune which overtook her in the death of her mother, the subsequent loss of her father, and how she was obliged to come, a stranger, to this country; of the tempestuous voyage across the ocean, with its thrilling events, and that as soon as she could complete her education she intended to become a teacher. He was greatly interested in her, and told her that he should publish her book, and if the first edition sold well, she should have a thousand dollars, and a certain per cent. on all other editions.