boys, good bye, Mr Rivers," she added, holding out her hand, and giving his a friendly shake. "Come along, Toby."

It seemed to Stephen as though the sun had suddenly left off shining when that bright face was gone.

CHAPTER XII.

A YOUNG RADICAL.

"WHAT a clever interesting face the new schoolmaster has," said Edith, as she and her sister were trundling home in their little carriage, "it seems a shame that he should be shut up in a wretched village school."

"I don't know that," replied Violet, "I think teaching is good enough work for any man; for my part, I can never see so much difference between a village clergyman and a village schoolmaster, for both have to educate people. I should like to be a schoolmistress very much."

"What nonsense you do talk, Vi," said Edith. "You would like to change places with Mary Sherwin, I suppose, and live in that tiny cottage, and spend all your days in a stuffy schoolroom, full of stupid, dirty, children."

"No Edith, I am too happy at home to wish to change places with any one, but I admire Mary Sherwin very much, she is leading a far nobler life than I am, for she is doing some good in the world, and I am doing none," said Violet.

"Why, Violet, I am sure you are always doing something good and kind; you never seem to me to think of yourself at all; you are not obliged to do anything, and of course that makes it ever so much better. Now,

poor Mary Sherwin is a very good girl, no doubt, but I cannot see anything particularly noble in her life, she is working for her living, that is all."

"And because she earns her living by it, that does not make her work any less good," replied Violet. "You might say the same of Uncle, he gets his living by being a clergyman, but in such work as theirs I do not consider that the money is to be thought of; no money could ever buy the good that they do."

Edith laughed. "So you place Uncle, and Mary Sherwin, and Mr Rivers too, I suppose, all on the same level?"

Certainly I do, Edith, if they all do their work conscientiously, and with all their might. I do think it is as noble a work as there could be to train children; and, I can tell you, that when I compare myself to Mary Sherwin, I feel ashamed of being such an idler in the world, when there is so much to be done."

There was a pause after this; both the sisters looked unusually thoughtful; presently Edith said,

"Well, Violet, if you have such feelings as that, I wonder you can always thwart me whenever I try to take my part in life."

"You, Edith-how do I ever thwart you ?"

"You do, you know you do," replied Edith. "Every one' does, every one has done it ever since I was a child. You say that you feel it hard to be an idler, how much harder must it be for me? You are always active and working at something or other, and yet you complain ; There is only one

and how can you wonder at me?

thing I can do, and that I am not allowed to do.""

"What do you mean?" said Violet in astonishment.

"You must know what I mean, Violet. You know that this place is too narrow for me, that I have a burning desire to go out into the world and try my powers there. This love of art was not given me for nothing, to be cooped up and suppressed; it was meant to be my life, I feel it more and more every day. I must have a fair trial, and proper teaching, and try my powers, and if I fail, why then, I will just break my heart, and own that I have been mistaken. But I shan't fail; I feel that if only I have a fair chance, I shall succeed, and it is hard, it is intolerable, to be kept back, and hampered at every turn, in this way."

"Don't excite yourself so, dear Edith," said Violet; "no one wishes to hinder you, and hamper you, I am sure."

"Yes, you do, mother and you both do. I know well enough what she went to say to uncle the other day. She went to tell him not to encourage me in this freak about taking drawing lessons; she would bind me hand and foot."

"Do not say such things of her," said Violet, looking reproachfully at her sister, "You know it is her anxiety and love for you, she is afraid you will overwork yourself."

"It is a very selfish love," said Edith, bitterly. "You cannot understand me-neither you nor mother: uncle is the only one that has the least sympathy for me. I am not like you and mother, Violet, I was not born to spend my life in a village. I cannot be content to be a Lady Bountiful and live and die in this hole."

"You may say what you like about me, Edith, but I will not have you speak in such a way of our mother.

You know she is the best and dearest woman that ever girls had for a mother," said Violet, looking as angry as those kind eyes were capable of doing, and they brimmed over with angry tears.

"Yes, that's always the way," Edith went on; "if ever I speak out what is in my heart I am reproached. I am not as soft and amiable as you are, Violet. I know it as well as you do; but you need not taunt me with it, it is not my fault that I was born such a sickly, suffering creature, that I am a burden to myself and everyone about me. It is not my fault that I am irritable and ill-tempered, and that every one dislikes me; I can no more help it than you can help being healthy and happy and sweet-tempered and making every one love you. It is all very fine for you to talk of mother being the best and dearest, and for her to say that 'Violet never pains her by unkind speeches,' of course you don't," she went on bitterly. "Why, she loves your little finger more than she does my whole body; and she knows it, and you know it too, Miss Violet, and it's no good to pretend you don't."

"Oh, Edith," said Violet, very sadly; all the anger had died out of her eyes now. "I cannot think what evil spirit has got possession of you, to make you say such wicked things."

And then, in an instant, Violet began to sob as though her very heart would break. This turned poor Edith at once. She implored her sister's forgiveness; she called herself a heartless wretch, and every hard name she could think of, and declared she did not mean one word of the wicked things she had said.

"You are right, Violet," she said; "it is some evil