"And to think that I did not even know his name!" Philippa exclaimed when a hundred questions had been asked and answered, and Hope had been kissed and hugged to her heart's content. "You _were_ quiet about it! How did you manage to get along without some one to comfort you all these long months?" "Theo knew," said Hope; and at that a little frown showed itself on Philippa's forehead. It was a blow to her vanity to find that another had been chosen before herself, and though she made no comment, she was filled with a yearning for a closer sympathy and appreciation than she received in the home circle. "Sometimes I feel as if I had come to the end of my work," she said wistfully to the Hermit when he came upstairs during the evening to congratulate the bride-elect. "When Barney goes abroad and Hope marries we shall be a very small family, and Theo is growing so clever at housekeeping. When I was ill they got on quite well without me. It seems as if the time had come when I was no longer needed. It makes me feel quite sad!" "You must not feel that. Er--er--_fresh_ duties may arise," stammered the Hermit in consolation. Madge looked at them across the room, and dropped her sagacious chin. "At this rate," she said to herself--"at this precipitate rate--they will be finding out what they want in the course of the next three or four years!" The End.