But Mrs. Deborah was not to be pacified. She scolded us in no measured terms, and finally bade us begone to our room since she was not good company enough for two such young saints. We betook ourselves to our little study, and girl like, had a good cry over our disgrace. Then having relieved our spirits, I opened the harpsichord, and we began to sing out of Ravenscroft's Psalms, of which we found a book in our book-case. We had not been singing long, before Mrs. Chloe came in and seated herself, followed presently by Mrs. Deborah. We sung several psalms and two or three sacred pieces of Mr. Handel's for the ladies, and Mrs. Chloe professed herself much delighted with the music. Mrs. Deborah did not say a great deal, but she bade us a kind good-night, and her regular—"I hope I see you well, nieces," was spoken in the morning with the same cordiality as ever. We were not again asked to play cards on Sunday evening, and after a while it became a regular thing for us to entertain our aunts with sacred music at that time. Mrs. Deborah had a hasty temper naturally, which was not improved by a long course of absolute rule, but she had not one atom of malice or rancor in her disposition. She liked the music at first, because it gave pleasure to poor Mrs. Chloe, and afterward for its own sake, and she was never the stuff whereof persecutors are made. [Illustration] CHAPTER XVIII. WINTER. WE soon began to feel quite at home at Highbeck Hall, and knew all the nooks and corners about the old place, which were accessible to us. We were not a little curious about the shut up rooms, but of course we asked no questions, though I for one associated them with the beautiful lady in the saloon, and determined to get the story out of old Elsie some day. We prescribed to ourselves a regular routine of study, practise, and work, beginning of course with about twice as much as we could do, and coming by degrees down to a more reasonable plan, to which we adhered as well as people generally do in such circumstances. We read in our history which we had begun with Mrs. Cropsey, but at last abandoned it, for my Lord Clarendon's history of the Rebellion, at the request of Mrs. Deborah; who was determined to make us into as thorough Jacobites as she was herself. Even as Lord Clarendon tells the story, I must say, I did not acquire as greet an admiration for poor King Charles as I could have wished. He seemed to me to be tyrannical and timid both at once, and I could not forgive his abandonment of Lord Strafford, and the way in which he deceived his friends. But it may easily be guessed, that I no more hinted anything of this kind to Aunt Deborah, than I should have dared to suggest to Mother Prudentia a doubt of St. Agnes' prudence, in running away to St. Francis in the middle of the night. * * Which she did at the age of fourteen, and afterward persuaded her Sister Clare, aged twelve, to do the same.—L. E. G.