"I will never be a butterfly--God helping me!" said Elizabeth. She spoke solemnly, with a noble light in her whole face which made it more than beautiful. Percival turned away his eyes from it; he did not dare to look. "If I have had wealth given me," said the girl, "I will use it for worthy ends. Others shall benefit by it as well as myself." "Don't squander it, Lizzie," said Percival, with a cynical smile, designed to cover the exceeding sadness and soreness of his heart. "Your philanthropist is not often the wisest person in the world." "No, but I will try to use it wisely," she said, with a touch of meekness in her voice which made him feel madly inclined to fall down and kiss the very hem of her garment--or rather the lowest flounce of her shabby, dark-blue, serge gown--"and my friends will see that I do not spend it foolishly. You do not think it would be foolish to use it for the good of others, do you, Percival? I suppose I shall be thought very eccentric if I do not take a large house in London, or go much into society; but, indeed, I should not be happy in spending money in those ways----" "Why, what on earth do you mean to do?" said Percival, sharply. "I see that you have some plan in your head; I should just like to know what it is." She was standing beside him on the hearth-rug, and she looked up at his face and down again before she answered. "Yes," she said, seriously, "I have a plan." "And you mean that I have no right to inquire what it is? You are perfectly correct; I have no right, and I beg your pardon for the liberty that I have taken. I think that I had better go." His manner was so restless, his voice so uneven and so angry, that Elizabeth lifted her eyes and studied his face a little before she replied. "Percival," she said at last, "why are you so angry with me?" "I'm not angry with you." "With whom or with what, then?" "With circumstances, I suppose. With life in general," he answered, bitterly, "when it sets up such barriers between you and me." "What barriers?" "My dear Elizabeth, you used to have faculties above those of the rest of your sex. Don't let your new position weaken them. I have surely not the least need to tell you what I mean." "You overrate my faculties," said Elizabeth. "You always did. I never do know what you mean unless you tell me. I am not good at guessing." "You need not guess then; I'll tell you. Don't you see that I am in a very unfortunate position? I said to you the other night that I--I loved you, that I would teach you to love me; and I could have done it, Elizabeth! I am sure that you would have loved me in time." "Well?" said Elizabeth, softly. Her lips were slightly tremulous, but they were smiling, too. "Well!" repeated her cousin. "That's all. There's an end to it. Do you think I should ever have breathed a word into your ear if I had known what I know now?"