“Oh, ho! you’re afraid she will outshine Jo, are you?” laughed her husband, good-naturedly. “I should think one would set the other off, Star being so light and Jo so dark, and I should really enjoy seeing two pretty girls flitting about the house.” “I will never put Stella Gladstone on an equal footing with my daughter, so you can cease arguing upon that point,” reiterated Mrs. Richards, with a positiveness that was not to be mistaken. “If you insist,” she continued, after a minute’s thought, “upon her being allowed to pursue her education, since she makes such a parade of being a bookworm, let her; I will not interfere. But _I_ insist, on the other hand, that she make herself useful. She must work about the house before and after school, and do something in return for her support—more than this I will not concede;” and Mr. Richards, having gained this point, considered that he had won quite a victory for his wife’s pretty ward. “Very well,” he said; “I presume she will be satisfied with this arrangement. She said she was willing to work if she might only be allowed to study.” “Satisfied or not, it is all the concession that I shall make; and mark my words, George, I shall not _love_ her any better for this interference on your part,” his wife said, hotly. “Fie, Ellen! I thought you had a warmer heart; and it would not sound well outside if it should become known that you were making a servant of a relative. It would make quite a stir, let me tell you, if she should appeal to the courts to have a new guardian appointed,” Mr. Richards returned, in a conciliatory tone. Thus the matter was settled, to Star’s great joy. Mr. Richards made arrangements at once for her to enter a select school for young ladies, which was located quite near their residence, and she began her attendance there the following Monday, having passed a most “creditable examination,” the principal informed her. When she was advised of this pleasant change in her life, she thanked Mrs. Richards in a few well-chosen words for consenting to it; but the irate woman shut her up instantly by saying: “You owe me nothing, and I wish the subject never mentioned again in my presence. You will assist about the chamber-work in the morning before it is time for you to go to school, and help Mrs. Blunt with the mending on your return in the afternoon. Miss Baker will attend to the provision of suitable clothing for you, and you will work with her Saturdays. Now we will consider this matter disposed of until such time as you may deem your education finished;” and with this heartless speech, Star was summarily dismissed from the august matron’s presence. She was greatly rejoiced with even this ungracious permission to pursue her studies, and the hours spent in the school-room were a source of great delight to her; but her position at home was anything but agreeable.