"Was Solomon a good man?" asked Sally. "He's said to be the wisest king that ever was known. He had a thousand wives." "Oh, my!" cried Sally, and would have continued the theme, but that Seth deemed it prudent to change the subject. CHAPTER XV. Mrs. Chester's recommendation to Seth Dumbrick to give the Duchess and Sally a day in the country was weighing heavily upon his mind. That it would do the Duchess good there could not be a shadow of doubt, and it was certain that she required a change of some sort; for although she was now better and moving about, her steps were languid, and there were no signs of a return to her old elasticity of spirits. Day after day Seth watched in vain for symptoms of vigour in the Duchess, and the more he watched, the more he was troubled. "She's well," he said to the doctor, "but she doesn't get strong." "She wants iron," said the doctor; and he gave her iron, but it did not improve her. Then the doctor said that the child wanted fresh air. "Can I get it in bottles?" asked Seth, with melancholy humour. The doctor smiled and walked away. Seth Dumbrick was afraid to mention the matter to the Duchess, for he knew that she would leap for joy at the prospect, and that the hope deferred would make her worse both in body and spirits. The truth was, he was too poor for the luxury. The Duchess's illness had exhausted every penny of his savings. He confided in Sally, who entered at once upon the consideration of the difficulty, but her suggestions were not of a practical character. "If we had some o' them cherubims o' gold," she mused, "or some o' them gold flowers out of the Temple----" "They might lead us," added Seth, "to the real flowers we want to see growing." Sally was ready with another suggestion, in the shape of a subscription among the Duchess's playmates. "They're so fond on her that they'll do anythink for her. They'll all give. Betsy Newbiggin, and Jane Preedy----" but she was stopped by the look of suppressed merriment on Seth's face. "Pins and spoonfuls of liquorice-water won't take us into the country, Sally. No, we must think of something else. Perhaps I shall have a bit of good luck"--adding, under his breath--"if I do, and there's money in it, it'll be the first bit of good luck that has ever fell to Seth Dumbrick's lot." There seemed no way out of the difficulty, and the Duchess remained in the same languid state. But the bit of good luck that Seth had not the slightest expectation of meeting with did occur, and in a strange way.