If Kitty Mastick had never known a mother's care, she had never missed it, for Mrs. Pomeroy had been father and mother, teacher and friend to her, ever since she could remember. Her mother had been one of Mrs. Pomeroy's early pupils. She had married contrary to the wishes of her father, who had cast her off during his life, and finally died, refusing to the last to see his offending child, and positively forbidding her sister to see or hold any communication with her. Her husband was killed by an accident soon after, and the young widow was left without friends or refuge. Hearing of her desolate condition, Mrs. Pomeroy sent for her and offered her an asylum, which Mrs. Mastick thankfully accepted, hoping that she might after a while be able to be useful to her benefactress, in the capacity of a teacher of music. After the birth of little Kitty, she did indeed rally a little, but soon sunk, and died, leaving her daughter no inheritance except a remarkable talent for music, and great delicacy of constitution. At the time our story commences, Kitty was twelve years old, but very small and slender for her age, and seemed likely soon to follow her mother to the grave. Mrs. Pomeroy, however, could not help hoping that by care and attention the predisposition to disease might be overcome, and she devoted to Kitty every moment of her spare time. It is not to be supposed that the teachers were blind to the influence that Delia was exerting, but they saw no way of interfering with advantage, and could not help hoping that the evil would, in time, cure itself. Delia was a good scholar, she was remarkably neat and very systematic in her habits for a girl of her age, and took a certain pride in maintaining a good place in the school, so that she was in this respect rather an advantage to Emily than otherwise. This increased Emily's dependence upon her, for she was unused to regular application, and having never been to school in her life, she found great difficulty in accommodating herself to the regular hours and exact punctuality of the establishment. This served to increase and maintain Delia's ascendancy over her. There was not, after all, however, so much difference between them as might have been imagined. Emily had religions feeling and habit, of both of which Delia was entirely destitute, but neither of them had any principle. CHAPTER II. AS we have before remarked, Emily had always been kept in a state of the most entire dependence, especially in money matters. She had hardly ever in her life known what it was to have fifty cents of her own, and it was not at all strange, that the four five dollar bills which her father had put into her hands at his departure, should appear an inexhaustible mine of wealth to her inexperienced eyes, or that this wealth should be spent very freely so long as it lasted.