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that you evidently dislike her, when she is not allowed to have an idea what she has done to deserve it.'

'I should think she must know,' answered Annie,' that she told Edith she thought me very deceitful, to begin with, and she is always interfering in some way or other.'

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I cannot remember her saying that, though,' said Edith. I suppose she said it to some one else, and Milly thought it was to me.'

'If Milly has made one mistake, she is as likely to have made another, I should think,' remarked David. 'But I want to know,' he continued, 'how you expect Emma to know what accusations are laid against her, if she is not told?'

'I suppose she has a conscience,' answered Annie, sharply.

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Well,' said David, 'if you do not agree to a court of justice, I shall tell her myself what is laid to her charge, so that, even if she cannot defend herself, she may at least amend her wicked ways. Happy are they who hear their detractions and can put them to mending."

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From where did you get that wonderfully wise saying?' asked Edith.

'Dear me, don't you know? It's out of "Much ado about Nothing," answered David.

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Ah, yes! I thought I saw you deep in Shakespeare yesterday, as you lay resting your weary bones under the chestnut tree,' replied Edith.

'All very fine,' said Annie, having nothing more to say.

'Beware of Emma's clap-trap,' remarked Edith. 'Fiddles! I wear armour over my senses,' answered David, laughing.

'Amour peut-être,' Edith said, drily.

'It seems so,' added Annie, 'you are SO anxious to defend her.'

'My dearly beloved sister,' began David, with a comic expression, as he turned right-about-face towards Annie, 'I feel it my bounden duty as a true knight, to defend the cause of the innocent and oppressed, as far as in me lies.'

'Of the impudent and depressed,' remarked Edith.

'That remains to be proved,' replied David.

'Which it will be before long,' said Annie. 'Here comes little Titus,' she continued, as Milly ran towards them.

'What's up now?' asked David, as Milly

came to them, looking very excited, and out of breath.

'Emma Ray is in hysterics in her bedroom. She is crying and sobbing, and says she shall go home to-day,' exclaimed Milly.

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'Nonsense, Milly!' said Edith.

She cannot go home alone very well, all the way to Jersey, I should think,' remarked Annie.

'I overheard her say she wondered what time he would come. I don't know who he is, but I suppose she has written home to say that we are all unkind to her, so some one has come to take her home,' continued Milly.

'I call that a leetle stretch of imagination,' said David.

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Poor pretty dear!' said Edith, in her most satirical tone.

David looked vexed, but did not say anything more. He resolved in his mind that all this should be cleared up before he went away, and that Emma should be able to defend herself, for he felt sure that there had been misrepresentations, and that there must be some other reason for what Milly called Emma's' hysterics.'

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ET us tell mamma all about it,' said
Annie, as they went into the house;

'she will know best what to do.'

'What's the good of tattling our little affairs to her?' replied David; 'she has enough worries of her own to think of."

'I shall tell her, though,' continued Annie,' because I think she ought to know how badly Emma has behaved to us. I am very sorry we ever asked her here for the holidays.'

'You can please yourself, but I shall have nothing to do with it,' said David.

The drawing-room door was open, so Annie looked in, and seeing her mamma sitting at the table writing letters, she asked

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Mamma, do you know if it is true that Emma Ray is going home to-day?'

'No, I have not heard anything of the sort. What do you mean, Annie?' replied Mrs. Ellis.

Milly heard her say that she was,' said Annie, 'and I hope she is, too, because we none of us like her. She is a regular hypocrite; she says all sorts of things behind our backs that she would not say to our faces, and she lately avoids joining in our fun, and she has grown so queer and disagreeable.'

'She has never seemed so to me,' answered Mrs. Ellis; on the contrary, she always speaks of you with the greatest affection.'

'I wish you would speak to her, mamma, and-' Annie did not finish her sentence, because Mrs. Ellis interrupted her by saying

'Do not ask me to interfere in the matter, Annie. You must settle your own little differences between yourselves. I do not encourage taletelling in my children, as you very well know.'

'Why do you not go up to Emma and find out if it is true that she is going?' David whispered to Edith, while Annie was in the dining-room.

'I have a good mind to do it,' answered Edith,

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