"Miss Lottie--Miss! Well now, I have always said that if there was a genuine lady, and no nonsense in this house, it was you, ma'am. Even my mistress hasn't got up to that mark--Miss Lottie! Wouldn't that look beautiful on a yellow note like this? Miss Lottie--" She plumed herself, like a bird, in the ecstasy of my random speech, and both her hands and her heart opened at once. "Now, I'll tell you all about it! There's no secret, and if there is, I didn't promise not to tell; that is, down in my heart. Cora came to me just now, and says she, 'Lottie, you know all the men about the premises, I suppose?' "'Well, pretty much,' says I. "'I thought so,' she said. 'Now, here is a little note that my mistress wants to have sent right off. If you can coax one of the men to take a horse from the stable, and just gallop over to Mr. Bosworth's with it, and bring an answer back, she'll give you that dress you took such a fancy to.' "'Well,' says I, 'hand over the note; I'll get it done.' She had been holding the note seal up all the time, and says she, 'Lottie'--not Miss Lottie, mind--but, 'Lottie, can you read writing?' "'Can you?' says I. "'No,' says she; 'colored people seldom do.' "'Well, then I don't.' "'Well, this note is for a lady that is staying at Mr. Bosworth's; she's an old friend of Mrs. Dennison's, and we want to hear from her.' "'All right,' says I. 'If you hadn't told this, it would be Greek and Latin to me.' "She handed over the note, and told me to put it in my bosom for fear of its being seen. So I did; and came here, but not till I had read Mr. Lawrence's name on the outside. Now, Miss Hyde, just tell me what to do." "There is one thing you must not do, Lottie, and that is, tempt any of the men from their duty." "But then that dress! Light green foulard, with bunches of roses--sweet roses!" "Wait a moment, Lottie; we must not do anything without Mr. Lee's sanction: that will never answer." I went up to Mr. Lee, who was sitting in the window recess, apparently reading, and asked if he could spare a horse and man long enough to ride over to Mr. Bosworth's. "Who wishes to send?" he inquired, indifferently. "Mrs. Dennison," I answered, not unwilling to give him the information. He held the paper a little tighter in his hand, repeating: "Mrs. Dennison! What correspondent has she at Mrs. Bosworth's?" There was an effort at indifference in his voice, but it did not conceal that he was touched. I did not feel at liberty to answer his question, and said nothing. After a moment's silence, he said,-- "Certainly, Miss Hyde. Our guests always command here." I went back to Lottie, and told her to carry Mr. Lee's orders to the stable, and, if she wished it, claim her reward. She seized my hand in an ecstasy of delight. "Oh! Miss Hyde, I never will talk about poetry again, never so long as I live; but I'll tell everybody that you don't know a thing about it, no more than I do; and I believe it."