THE RIGHT 
 PRINCESS
 
 v/ 

 
 BY 
 
 Clara Louise Burnham 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 CONTEXTS 
 
 PASS 
 
 L AT WATEB"VTEW ...... 1 
 
 IL THE HOUSEKEEPER ..... 10 
 
 TTT. FRANCES ROGERS ...... 20 
 
 IV. THE AUTOMOBILE ...... 33 
 
 V. A CONTROVERSY ...... 46 
 
 VL THE BEGINNING ...... 58 
 
 VIL TEMMY ........ 71 
 
 VT1L THE PAGODA ....... 83 
 
 IX. CATCHING AT A STRAW ..... 97 
 
 X. A RENCONTRE ...... 118 
 
 XL STRINGING BEADS ...... 130 
 
 XIL A BROKEN BRACELET ..... 146 
 
 XIIL AN AFTERNOON CALL ..... 157 
 
 XTV. A HOSPITAL ....... 170 
 
 XV. THE REMEMBERING RINGS .... 183 
 
 XVI. THE ONLY POWER ..... 199 
 
 XVII. THE MORNING LESSOR ..... 211 
 
 XVUL AN- lyTERRCPTED GAME .... 230 
 
 XIX. SAJTDERS S Accoryr ...... 242 
 
 XX. THE TREE or KNOWLEDGE .... 252 
 
 XXT. THE FIRST STEPS ...... 261 
 
 XXTT. GOLF ........ 272 
 
 XXILL MORE LIGHT ....... 284 
 
 XXTV. THE LAST DAT ...... 298 
 
 XXV. BY MOONLIGHT ....... 310 
 
 XXVI. BON VOYAGE ....... 324 
 
 XXVLL. FRANCES S CORRESPOSDESC* .... 336 
 
 XXVIIL BY CABLE 349 
 
 222S46S
 
 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 AT WATERVIEW 
 
 "Ox a morning like this it looks quite like 
 England, Maurice, does n t it? " asked Miss Here 
 ford wistfully. 
 
 " The spring makes you homesick, Aunt Elea 
 nor," remarked the deep, pleasant voice of the 
 man standing beside her in the broad window. 
 
 They were looking through heavy plate glass 
 upon long stretches of tree-shaded sward surround 
 ing a spacious country house on Long Island. 
 Through fresh vistas of leaves new born they 
 caught the sparkle of the blue waters of the Sound, 
 and even through windows closed against the 
 bracing breezes of early day, the fluting of the 
 thrushes reached their ears. 
 
 "But I m not homesick, Maurice," returned 
 the lady decidedly. " When I made up my mind 
 to come out, it was settled. If you could make a 
 noble sacrifice, why, so could I." 
 
 The other smiled, revealing teeth long, white, 
 and firm, that suited his slender, strong physique,
 
 2 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 lithe as a boy s now that he was in his thirty-sixth 
 year. 
 
 " If it is a mark of nobility to come to the 
 States, I should be an exalted character," he re 
 turned. " I certainly began early." 
 
 Miss Hereford nodded her head. "To be a 
 cowboy on your own ranch was only a bit of fun 
 once in a way. That was quite different .to this, 
 Maurice." 
 
 " My own ranch that s good ! " 
 
 " Why, you own it with Lord Lenox, I m 
 sure." 
 
 "Yes, about as much of it as would hold the 
 Hotel Majestic. What should a pauper like me 
 be doing with a ranch ? " 
 
 Miss Hereford s gentle eyes met his quizzical 
 ones with a grateful glance. " You were very 
 good to bring us away from that hotel," she said, 
 his words suggesting a new train of thought. " I m 
 afraid you 11 be bored here, Maurice." 
 
 " And so will you, Aunt Eleanor ; and so were 
 you at the Majestic. We change the place and 
 keep the pain, eh ? " 
 
 " Yes, that s it, that s it," she sighed in assent. 
 " Central Park was very nice to walk in, and Billy 
 liked the squirrels. I m not sure," anxiously, 
 " that Billy won t miss the squirrels ; but on the 
 whole this is much better, much better, so much 
 room and such privacy. Ah, the privacy ! " She 
 drew a deep breath of relief. " People did n t 
 seem to do him any good, did they, Maurice ? " she 
 went on. " We tried it faithfully, did n t we ? "
 
 AT WATER VIEW 3 
 
 Her companion nodded. He began unconsciously 
 drumming on the window, and a sombre look over 
 spread his high-bred face. " We 11 round off the 
 year, Aunt Eleanor. The doctor will be satisfied 
 with that, I suppose, and Edward does n t care." 
 
 At the quiet bitterness of the last two words, 
 Miss Hereford winced. " I know my brother ought 
 to be here," she said deprecatingly, " but I try to 
 fill his place." 
 
 " You more than fill it. You re worth a dozen 
 of him." 
 
 The curt reply did not seem to be reassuring. 
 Miss Hereford wiped her eyes openly. 
 
 " Not a tear ! " said the other, without looking 
 at her ; " not one ! It is n t worth it. Brace up, 
 little woman." 
 
 " But I should defend the absent, Maurice." 
 
 " That would be a big contract, as we say in 
 America. Come now, Aunt Eleanor ; I have n t 
 said very much about Billy s father since we came 
 over last autumn, have I?" 
 
 " Indeed, you have not," returned Miss Hereford 
 warmly, " and I feel as deeply as you can that he 
 should be standing where you are this minute. 
 Edward is selfish ; he is indifferent, and I don t 
 know why you are so good indeed, I don t." 
 The handkerchief again came in use. 
 
 "A case of necessity, that s all," returned the 
 other, resuming his ordinary manner. " I m do 
 ing for my sweet sister what you are doing for 
 your brother. I could n t face her in that world 
 where she is if I m ever lucky enough to come
 
 4 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 near her unless I stuck by her boy. Lucky for 
 me, you are just you, and not some possible she 
 who would have made the situation unbearable." 
 
 " There are some people you would n t have 
 asked to call Aunt, I m sure, Maurice," re 
 sponded Miss Hereford, smoothing her little lace 
 head-dress with a comforted and comforting touch. 
 
 Maurice Burling continued to gaze reflectively 
 before him. Only yesterday he had received a 
 letter from London bringing disheartening tales 
 of his brother-in-law s manner of living. The in 
 roads made on the family fortune had already been 
 considerable, and he knew they were being in 
 creased to a damaging extent. 
 
 " One thing must be said for Edward," ven 
 tured Miss Hereford, her tender heart still yearn 
 ing over the younger brother whom she had mo 
 thered before Maurice was born : " he is always 
 most generous in all our arrangements." 
 
 Her companion uttered an inarticulate sound of 
 assent and smiled. " Oh, Edward is always lavish 
 in his arrangements," he agreed. " The upshot 
 of it may be that you and I shall have to take 
 care of Billy one of these days." 
 
 " Now, Maurice, you certainly are unjust to my 
 brother." 
 
 " I hope so. It won t make much difference to 
 Billy," added Burling, with a sigh : " purple and 
 fine linen and ancestral halls on the one hand, or 
 on the other a collai less life on the ranch. It 
 would be all one to him." 
 
 " And have you thought " Miss Hereford s
 
 AT WATERVJEW 5 
 
 voice trembled and she hesitated ; then, to her 
 companion s amazement and concern, she stopped 
 short and, clasping her little hands on his arm, 
 buried her face in the unsympathetic harshness of 
 his coat-sleeve and burst into tears. 
 
 " What is it, Aunt Eleanor ? What is it ? " 
 
 " His birthday Billy s birthday," she sobbed. 
 " It s to-morrow. The poor child will be of age. 
 Think what it would be, what it ought to be : 
 the rejoicing the celebration. And here we are 
 alone on an island his father across the seas 
 and his mother dead and nobody to know 
 or care not even B-B-Billy ! " 
 
 The climax of this speech was followed by a 
 paroxysm of weeping, during which the young man 
 placed an arm around the convulsed figure, a lump 
 rising in his own throat as he gazed down on the 
 lace head-dress. 
 
 " We have it to bear, Aunt Eleanor, we have 
 it to bear," was his low response ; and the pressure 
 of his arm was loving. 
 
 " And his father taking to bad courses quite 
 bad, for I know he is ! " wept the poor little woman, 
 her defenses entirely broken down. " I know much 
 more than you think, Maurice and the doctor 
 giving us this hope that the voyage and change 
 might help Billy, and it has n t at all and that 
 hotel all the long winter was so strange, though 
 )he lift was very smooth and quick, I must say, 
 itnd they were so attentive to Billy " 
 
 "Shall we go back, Aunt Eleanor? Do you 
 wish to gw home ? It is for you to say." Burling
 
 6 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 spoke quietly, and without impatience. He sud 
 denly realized as never before the strain involved 
 to his companion in the mere unaccustomedness of 
 her environment. 
 
 " The doctor said a year," returned Miss Here 
 ford, struggling to be calm. 
 
 " Eight months of the year are gone. I see no 
 vestige of improvement, do you ? " 
 
 "None none; but," releasing her companion 
 and turning her reddened eyes from him, " but 
 we d best round out the year as you said, espe 
 cially now you have taken this house for the sea 
 son. I m sure it s most ungrateful of me, and 
 silly to make such an exhibition ; but I woke early 
 this morning thinking of Billy s birthday, and 
 your poor sister, and how glad we should be that 
 she is spared this long heartbreak. Sometimes 
 the evil one possesses me with a horror lest the 
 dear boy outlive us. Nothing," the little woman 
 shuddered, " nothing drives me so nearly frantic 
 as the thought of Billy being dependent on hire 
 lings." 
 
 " What a long way around you go to borrow 
 trouble ! " said Burling. 
 
 " No, not a long way. Your life and mine are 
 all that stand between the child and that. Edward 
 would n t " Whatever the speaker had been 
 about to declare, her kind heart refused to put 
 into words. " It is only an automaton, a machine 
 like Sanders, who has no repulsion or fear of Billy. 
 Nothing else has driven away both those house 
 keepers. One of them said his eyes haunted her,
 
 AT WATERVIEW 7 
 
 and the other said she dreamed of him. Only 
 fancy ! Neither of them stayed more than a week, 
 and I don t know what I m to do. One must 
 have a housekeeper in this strange country, surely ; 
 but," recurring to her tender apprehensions, "sup 
 posing such creatures were all Billy had to look 
 after him ! " 
 
 " That problem is n t imminent, Aunt Eleanor, 
 but this trouble about housekeepers is. Afraid of 
 Billy, eh ? You did n t tell me that before." 
 
 " Yes, it was mostly that, and partly, I must say, 
 it s Dudley s fault. She can t abide the ways of 
 Americans, and she gave great offense to the last 
 one." 
 
 "She did, eh? Why don t you send her pack 
 ing ? She must n t embarrass your plans." 
 
 " Dudley packing ? Dudley here ? The 
 gentle voice took a tone of amazement. " What 
 ever would the poor creature do, astray in a strange 
 land, and whatever should I do with some barba 
 rian in her place ? I ve talked to her I have, 
 indeed ; I dare n t let her go near the other ser 
 vants, and there s another housekeeper coming 
 to see me to-day. I picked out her letter as the 
 most promising of those who answered the adver 
 tisement, and I do oh, how I do hope she 11 
 answer ! " 
 
 A soft sound behind them caused Burling to turn, 
 as Dudley the maid approached, a small silk shawl 
 in her hand. 
 
 " You 11 be wanting this, I should think, Miss 
 Hereford," she said. " It is chilly this morning."
 
 8 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Burling fixed his eyes upon the newcomer, half 
 frowning. 
 
 " Dudley, a new housekeeper is to arrive to-day," 
 he announced. 
 
 " Yes, sir," responded the woman, whose pursed 
 lips seemed to suggest the repression of sentiments 
 concerning a country where a new housekeeper was 
 a possibility. 
 
 " See that you do all that you can to make it 
 agreeable for her, providing your mistress accepts 
 her services. It is very embarrassing for Miss 
 Hereford to be obliged to give orders to strange 
 servants. The housekeeper is to relieve her of 
 much annoyance." 
 
 "The sillies are afraid of Mr. William, sir," 
 remarked Dudley with pert contempt. 
 
 " Very well. See that they need not be afraid 
 of you as well." The woman was curtsying and 
 departing when he added, " And, Dudley." 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 "I m afraid you don t altogether understand 
 that you are now in a land where everybody is as 
 good as everybody else." 
 
 The maid knew the quizzical light in the eyes 
 bent upon her. 
 
 " Quite so, Mr. Burling," she answered scorn- 
 fully. 
 
 " Yes ; but you must remember that they are 
 sometimes better than anybody else. Be quite 
 prepared to find the new housekeeper better than 
 anybody else. You understand? Then a sweet 
 American peace will reign over this household."
 
 AT WATERVIEW 9 
 
 " And I shan t have to understand the money," 
 said Miss Hereford, sighing. " Oh, I do hope 
 she 11 do!" 
 
 " I rely upon you, Dudley," said Burling im 
 pressively. And the maid, biting her lip, her eyes 
 falling under his admonitory look, curtsied once 
 more and departed.
 
 CHAPTER H 
 
 THE HOUSEKEEPER 
 
 WHEN Miss Miranda Graves took the train at 
 Long Island City for the exclusive and fashion 
 able resort whither she had been summoned, she 
 could not have told whether or no she hoped that 
 her errand would be successful. Her strongly 
 marked features would never give an impression 
 of indecision. They were set now in more than 
 their usual severity of outline ; and yet the thoughts 
 under the new straw bonnet, black as her hair, 
 were contradictory. 
 
 She had spent the winter with a relative in 
 Morristown, and having no especial plan for the 
 summer, it was like her thrift, when she saw Miss 
 Hereford s advertisement, to have a look at the 
 situation before returning to her home in Massa 
 chusetts. Miss Miranda would never experience 
 any loss in life from failure to seize an opportu 
 nity. 
 
 But there were circumstances to be considered, 
 and she considered them now while the train sped 
 on ; and the expression on her clear-cut profile, 
 could the black bonnet have changed into a three- 
 cornered hat, would have made striking her resem 
 blance to her Revolutionary forefather.
 
 THE HOUSEKEEPER 11 
 
 There was Frances, for instance. It was quite 
 possible that she owed something to Frances, who 
 had no relative in the world so near as herself. 
 They had not met for a year, and as the niece had 
 been engrossed in study and Miss Graves never 
 wrote a letter which conscience did not dictate, 
 their communication had been rare. 
 
 Her thoughts dwelt long on Frances now. She 
 had for years been looking forward to a time when 
 she might see more of this niece ; but business 
 first and pleasure afterward had had to be her 
 motto. Miss Miranda felt that the over-conscien 
 tious young girl had been inclined to take life too 
 seriously ; and while under the circumstances this 
 trait was a safeguard, she longed for a day to 
 come when she might give Frances " a real good 
 time." Was it right now to pin herself down to 
 another three months absence from her ? The 
 question was still an open one in Miss Graves s 
 thought when the train drew up at her station. 
 
 " There are pros and there are cons," she said 
 to herself as she left her seat. 
 
 A month later this spot would at train-time 
 be a nucleus for sleek-coated bobtailed horses and 
 smart equipages, but to-day only two carriages 
 were waiting, and into one of these Miss Graves 
 was ushered by a waiting groom. There was no 
 evidence in her unsmiling countenance of the 
 impression made upon her by the elegance of the 
 high cart. 
 
 A swift drive of twenty minutes through the 
 charming spring landscape followed, and the new-
 
 12 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 comer suspended her mental speculations to con 
 centrate her attention on the action of the horse, 
 whose spirit and strength would be counted among 
 the cons when Miss Miranda should have leisure 
 to renew her ruminations. 
 
 It seemed hours to her before they entered the 
 driveway winding toward the low, rambling house, 
 which aped expensively the simplicity of a bygone 
 century ; but at last Miss Graves found herself 
 alone in a small room whose windows commanded 
 a fine view. She regarded her surroundings as 
 one in a dream, her head being still somewhat 
 giddy from the excitement and apprehensions of 
 the drive. 
 
 " There are pros and there are cons," she said 
 to herself again mechanically, and then became 
 conscious of a jingling of bells and the entrance 
 of a small woman in a lavender gown and a lace 
 head-dress, preceded by a small pug dog, who 
 sniffed at the stranger inquisitively. 
 
 " This is Miss Graves ? " 
 
 Miranda instantly stood up, and made a move 
 ment to shake hands ; but the action was so 
 characteristically stiff and cautious, and such a 
 greeting was so remote from Miss Hereford s 
 thought, that the latter did not observe it. So 
 Miranda resumed her seat, her sub-conscious mind 
 adding another to her list of cons. 
 
 But Miss Hereford s mental attitude was eager 
 and wistful, although she was not attracted by 
 the stolid, non-committal face of the stranger. 
 
 " I m sure she s part Indian. That nose ! "
 
 THE HOUSEKEEPER 13 
 
 thought the English lady, with a fluttering heart. 
 She had so disliked the letters of all the other 
 applicants ! She did so hope this one would do ! 
 
 "I am a a stranger in America," she said 
 with dignity. " We have recently taken this 
 house, and I wish a competent a competent " 
 
 Miss Miranda saw the hesitation. 
 
 " Of course you do. I see you ve got a big 
 establishment on your hands," she returned. 
 
 Miss Hereford glanced at the speaker quickly. 
 
 " We have been here but a few weeks," she 
 went on, " and I have already had two persons " 
 she hesitated again. 
 
 Miranda Graves was accustomed to taking care 
 of people. She saw the trouble in the question 
 ing, doubtful glances that were meeting her steady 
 eyes. 
 
 " Why, you ve had bad luck, have n t you ? " 
 she remarked kindly. 
 
 Whatever sensations the fraternal tone may have 
 caused her hostess, the latter made no sign. They 
 regarded each other in silence for a moment. 
 
 " Of course, if I m really needed," reflected 
 Miss Graves, " that s a pro." 
 
 " I should expect you to give orders to the ser 
 vants and keep the accounts. I suppose you are 
 familiar with the ordinary duties." 
 
 " It s a real pretty way she has of talking," 
 thought Miranda. " I guess she s English." 
 
 " Yes," she said aloud, " if I take the place I 
 guess I can do everything you want me to. I ve 
 got a good eye for dust and a good hand for cook-
 
 14 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 ing, and if the girls don t do things right I know 
 how to make em." 
 
 " Then in that case you d best come at once," 
 said Miss Hereford earnestly. 
 
 " What ailed the other housekeepers you had ? " 
 asked Miss Miranda cautiously. 
 
 " What what ? " inquired Miss Hereford. 
 
 "Yes. Why did they leave? You know, I 
 might not be able to fill the place either." 
 
 " I was going to tell you," said Miss Hereford 
 nervously. " We have an an invalid in the 
 family. It is for his sake that we have come to 
 this quiet spot. He the other women he 
 they were foolishly nervous " 
 
 The speaker seemed uncertain how to proceed, 
 {tad Miss Miranda helped her out with a sort of 
 sonorous gentleness. 
 
 " Has fits, has he ? " 
 
 Miss Hereford started and colored with momen 
 tary indignation. 
 
 " No, my nephew does not have fits." 
 
 " Well, if it s only waiting on him, I ain t afraid 
 of sick folks." 
 
 " He does not require waiting on except by his 
 man ; but he is not confined to the bed, and he is 
 peculiarly depressed, and if one is fanciful " 
 
 Miss Graves smiled for the first time as the 
 speaker paused. 
 
 " I ain t fanciful, Miss Hereford. You must 
 have got hold of a couple of weak sisters." 
 
 The Englishwoman liked her applicant s face at 
 this moment.
 
 THE HOUSEKEEPER 15 
 
 - L guess you ve done well to come down here," 
 went on Miranda pleasantly. " This is a place to 
 cheer your invalid up, surely." 
 
 " Poor child ! I hope it may ! " broke sadly 
 from Miss Hereford. 
 
 " A child, too ! I wonder where she picked up 
 the soft-heads," thought Miss Graves. " I guess 
 there must have been something else, and they 
 made that an excuse. I wonder what I 11 run up 
 against if I come. It s a place where money s no 
 object, that s plain." 
 
 At this juncture a man entered the room. He 
 was dressed in black and had small side whiskers. 
 As Miss Hereford turned he spoke. 
 
 " Excuse me, mum, but I think Mr. William s 
 beads are ere, mum." 
 
 He crossed softly to a table, and taking there 
 from a box of many colored glass beads which 
 had already attracted Miss Miranda s attention, he 
 disappeared. 
 
 "I should think you are the right person for 
 me," said Miss Hereford, who had been becoming 
 more impressed each moment with a belief in 
 Miranda s capability. " I wrote you the terms." 
 
 " Yes, and they are perfectly satisfactory, Miss 
 Hereford ; but I m in a kind of a quandary my 
 self. I could n t come for a week, anyway." 
 
 " I would wait a week." 
 
 " With me, home s where the trunk is." 
 
 The Englishwoman shuddered at the awful sen 
 timent. 
 
 " It s had to be so of late years, but still I ve 
 got a headquarters in Melrose."
 
 16 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Miss Hereford s eyebrows went up. The word 
 had a winningly familiar sound. 
 
 " It s near Boston. Perhaps you don t know ; 
 and I ve got a niece there that I have n t seen 
 in a year. She s my sister s child, and she s an 
 orphan, and she s graduating from Normal this 
 year, and I don t know what her plans are. If 
 I find she s fixed all right for the summer, why, 
 I 11 come just as quick as I can get ready ; but if 
 I find Frances has counted on me, I feel as if I 
 ought to stay by her for the present." 
 
 It was all very extraordinary to Miss Hereford, 
 the sonorous voice, the independence of manner 
 connected with candid kindness. 
 
 Again a bird-like indignation uprose that this 
 capable person should propose slipping away from 
 her and her needs. 
 
 " If I don t come, I 11 refund the money for this 
 trip, Miss Hereford, and I 11 try to find you some 
 body else, too, if you d like to have me." 
 
 Miss Graves s tall person towered above the Eng 
 lish lady as she rose, and Miss Hereford looked up 
 at her in desperation. 
 
 " This niece does she wish to go out to ser 
 vice?" 
 
 The expression which flashed over Miranda s 
 countenance reminded Miss Hereford suddenly of 
 Maurice s admonition to Dudley. Before her hesi 
 tating tongue could frame a mollifying word, Mis&. 
 Graves s face had resumed its usual immobility 
 and she spoke quietly. 
 
 " Frances calculates to be a teacher. She
 
 THE HOUSEKEEPER 17 
 
 toeen to Boston to school all winter." There was 
 an unconscious emphasis on the word " Boston." 
 How astonished she would have been to realize that 
 it meant no more to the Englishwoman than if she 
 had said that her niece attended school at Dobb s 
 Corners ! 
 
 " That s very nice, I dare say," observed Miss 
 Hereford, vague about everything except the clear 
 desire to propitiate this tower of strength who un 
 derstood American servants. " Then she has her 
 summer free, I suppose. Could n t she visit you 
 here, perhaps?" 
 
 Miss Miranda stared in astonishment. " I had n t 
 thought of such a thing as that," she said. 
 
 " There d be plenty of room with you, I should 
 think, and she can visit you if you like." 
 
 " I must say that s very kind," said Miranda 
 heartily. " I 11 talk it over with my niece." 
 
 " Then in a week at the outside I may expect 
 you," said Miss Hereford nervously, " and mean 
 time let me have your address." 
 
 It occurred to her that if Dudley continued to 
 make herself unpopular in the servants quarters 
 there might be necessity for Miss Graves to bring 
 new ones with her when she came. She would 
 know where and how to find them, thought preg 
 nant with relief ! 
 
 " I ve brought references from some folks in 
 New York," said Miranda, handing Miss Here 
 ford some papers which the latter received ab 
 sently. 
 
 " I will have my maid show you your rooms."
 
 18 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 The speaker rang as she spoke, and Dudley ap 
 peared, her chin discreetly raised. 
 
 " Show Mrs. Graves the housekeeper s rooms, 
 Dudley." 
 
 "Miss Graves," corrected Miranda imperturb- 
 ably. 
 
 " Quite so," said Miss Hereford. " Follow Dud 
 ley, if you please. One moment, Mrs. Graves," 
 with sudden, desperate determination. The little 
 woman felt she must ask it or she should not sleep 
 to-night. " Would you mind could you tell me 
 are you in fact are you part Indian ? " 
 
 "Part what? "asked Miranda, distrusting her 
 usually reliable ears. 
 
 "Part Indian?" repeated the other tremu 
 lously. From Miranda s expression she suspected 
 she might have roused the ancestral savage in her 
 breast, and she quaked until reassured by the 
 broad smile that suddenly overspread her house 
 keeper s countenance. 
 
 " Law no ! " replied Miss Miranda heartily, 
 "not unless my forefathers met some of em in 
 your country before they took to the Mayflower." 
 
 " Oh, they could n t have, you know. We ve 
 none of them," said Miss Hereford earnestly, 
 while Dudley s nostrils dilated and her chin tilted 
 a fraction more. " Thank you, Mrs. Graves. 
 That s quite satisfactory." 
 
 " Miss," said Miranda. 
 
 " Quite so ; and, Dudley, bring Mrs. Graves 
 back again after she has seen the rooms." 
 
 When finally all preliminaries were arranged,
 
 THE HOUSEKEEPER 19 
 
 the trap with its fiery steed reappeared to take 
 the new housekeeper to the station. As Miranda 
 crossed a piazza to enter it, she passed a tall man 
 whose athletic build impressed her. As she ap 
 proached he turned his head and regarded her 
 listlessly with brown eyes whose beauty diverted 
 her for a moment from fear of the horse. Near 
 by lingered the servant who had asked for the 
 beads. 
 
 " Young nabob," she thought. " All your money 
 has n t taught you to be civil or you would n t stare 
 in that supercilious way. Maybe he thinks I m 
 an Indian too," thought Miss Graves ; but her 
 smile was quenched as the horse sprang forward 
 and she clutched the side of the seat.
 
 CHAPTER HI 
 
 FRANCES ROGERS 
 
 WHEN Miranda reached Melrose she went di 
 rectly to the room which for several years had been 
 her headquarters when some labor of love or busi 
 ness did not preoccupy her elsewhere. 
 
 The boarding-place of her niece was not far dis 
 tant ; but true to her rule of making business 
 come before pleasure, she wished to dispose of her 
 baggage and report to her landlady, a friend of 
 her youth, before she relaxed to the interview with 
 Frances for which she longed. 
 
 " I have n t even told her I m coming," she re 
 marked to her hostess, who occupied the lid of one 
 trunk while Miranda knelt before another and 
 unpacked it. " I thought I d surprise her." 
 
 " I guess you 11 find her changed some," said 
 Mrs. Smith, smoothing her gray hair and swinging 
 her feet in a luxury of unaccustomed idleness. 
 
 " Should n t wonder if I did, some ; but then, 
 Frances always did have an old head on young 
 shoulders. She won t seem as different as a good 
 many girls would. I expect there s a lot of folks 
 think I ought to have stayed by and mothered her 
 more than I have ; but I knew Frances, and I 
 knew the Peabodys were real kind to her, and,
 
 FRANCES ROGERS 21 
 
 truth is, I have n t got the means to be idle, 
 though that s nobody s business but nay own." 
 
 " Oh, yes," returned Mrs. Smith ; " Mrs. Pea- 
 body just swears by Frances. Welcomed her back 
 from Boston like her own daughter; and every 
 body knows Jim Peabody s just hankerin to be 
 kind to her all his life." 
 
 Miss Graves paused in the act of shaking out a 
 flannel skirt. 
 
 " Jim Peabody ? I want to know ! " 
 
 " Yes, indeed ; and he ain t the only one, either," 
 said Mrs. Smith knowingly. "Frances has been 
 getting to be quite a belle while you ve been skip 
 ping all over creation." 
 
 " Frances a belle ? Go way ! " returned Mi 
 randa, drawing down the corners of her lips in 
 endeavors to conceal her pleasure. " Frances is 
 nice looking, I think myself ; real fair complected 
 instead of black as an Indian, like her mother and 
 me." A memory caused the speaker to chuckle 
 into the depths of the trunk. " But I guess she 
 won t ever be hung for her beauty," she added, as 
 she reappeared. 
 
 " You have n t seen her. She s blossomed out, 
 I tell you," persisted Mrs. Smith. 
 
 " So much the better," returned Miranda, un 
 folding a shirt waist and wondering if the last 
 year s sleeves would scandalize Long Island. " I 
 shall be glad if she don t have to be a schoolma am 
 all her life. There is one man here and there who 
 would be better than that fate." 
 
 " Jim Peabody s a good boy," remarked Mrs, 
 Smith tentatively.
 
 22 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 "Squints, don t he?" 
 
 "Not every way you look at him. Sometimes 
 his eye s real straight." 
 
 " Then it depends on how Frances looks at him, 
 don t it? "returned Miranda dryly. "It nearly 
 always comes to that in the end." 
 
 " Tom Bowers is crazy about her, too." 
 
 " She might have him. Then her normal course 
 would n t be wasted. He needs to be taught a 
 little something as badly as anybody I know." 
 
 " Tom s as steady as a church," went on Mrs. 
 Smith. " If I was you, Miranda Graves, I would n t 
 discourage Frances about either of em. Their folks 
 are professors, all of em, and they re as well off 
 as the average." 
 
 Miss Miranda s eyes twinkled. " I did n t know 
 as you was such a matchmaker, Lucy. Which 
 one do you favor? " 
 
 Mrs. Smith met her friend s merry glance with 
 cheerful defiance. 
 
 "The same one Frances does," she rejoined 
 smartly. 
 
 "Which one s that?" 
 
 "It would take a Philadelphia lawyer to find 
 out or else you, Miranda. Perhaps you can." 
 
 " Well, I shan t be sorry," Miss Graves spoke 
 leniently, " if anybody s made Frances believe 
 that all work and no play is n t good for anybody. 
 I was always sorry for the child that she was made 
 up the way she was, takes everything so hard." 
 
 "She doesn t seem to any more," said Mrs. 
 Smith.
 
 FRANCES ROGERS 23 
 
 " Well, I m glad. She s healthy enough natu 
 rally, but she used to worry herself into a head 
 ache over mere trifles. How have her headaches 
 been lately ? " 
 
 " I have n t heard her complain. Of course I 
 don t see her often, but when I do, she seems as 
 gay as a lark." 
 
 " Frances gay as a lark ! Well, well ! " remarked 
 Miss Graves. " I never expected to hear anybody 
 say that." 
 
 " Then there are things for you to find out 
 about your own relations. Going to stay with U3 
 now awhile ? I do hope you are." 
 
 " Can t." Miss Graves shook her head. " Just 
 wait till I m independently wealthy. Then you 11 
 know where to put your finger on me." 
 
 There was a slight admixture of awe in Mrs. 
 Smith s regard for her girlhood friend. Experi 
 ence had taught her that it was not best to ques 
 tion Miranda too closely. 
 
 " Well, all is, I m sorry," she returned after a 
 pause ; and Miranda, recognizing her curiosity 
 and approving her reticence, rewarded her. 
 
 " I ve taken a job down Long Island way for 
 the summer. Going to keep house for some folks." 
 
 " I must say you ve got a knack for finding 
 work whenever you want it, Miranda," remarked 
 the other admiringly. " I only wish you d stay 
 in this part of the country long enough so s your 
 friends could keep acquainted with you. What s 
 Frances going to do with herself this summer ? " 
 
 " That s one of the things I m going to find 
 out."
 
 24 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Miss Graves finally locked the door of her room 
 behind her and hastened her steps in the direction 
 of the Peabody homestead. Fat, motherly Mrs. 
 Peabody herself came to the door in answer to her 
 summons, and threw up both hands in pleasure at 
 the unexpected apparition. 
 
 Instantly Miranda s gloved finger flew to her 
 lip. " Hush ! " she said. " I want to surprise 
 Frances. Is she in her room ? I 11 see you when 
 I come down." 
 
 So with smiling pantomime they parted, and 
 Miss Graves went as lightly as might be up the 
 steep old-fashioned staircase and took her way 
 toward a bedroom whose door stood ajar. Her 
 movement in slipping in did not disturb a girl 
 who sat in a low rocking-chair reading, her back 
 toward the entrance. 
 
 The sun shining full on her luxuriant light 
 brown hair made a sort of aureole around the 
 young head, and Miss Miranda smiled to see the 
 absorption betrayed in her attitude. " I 11 catch 
 her," she thought mischievously. " She s got hold 
 of something exciting, I know. That ain t any 
 arithmetic." 
 
 She tiptoed forward with successful caution until 
 she stood over the girl, and her eager eyes sought 
 the title of the book with intent to tease the 
 embryo teacher. 
 
 A sudden change overspread the visitor s face 
 as she recognized the volume, and she suddenly 
 placed her hand on the girl s shoulder. 
 
 Frances turned, and a glad light flashed in her
 
 FRANCES ROGERS 25 
 
 eyes. She placed the book on the table and sprang 
 up. " Aunt Mira why, Aunt Mira ! " she ex 
 claimed, clasping Miss Graves in her arms. 
 
 " Dear me, Frances," said the latter anxiously, 
 scarcely returning the embrace before she held her 
 niece off to scan the sweet face so rosy with plea 
 sure, " are you well ? " 
 
 " Perfectly. Did any one say I was n t ? " 
 " No ; but then, what has happened, child ? " 
 "Nothing, Aunt Mira. What do you mean? 
 What has worried you?" 
 
 " Why, you were reading your Bible, Frances." 
 The girl smiled at her aunt s tone. " Don t you 
 do that yourself ? " she asked. 
 
 "You know very well I do," returned Miss 
 Miranda, " at the proper times. Sit down, Frances. 
 I hope you ll tell me," with a sudden gentle 
 change of tone, " what s the matter. Don t keep 
 anything from me, child." 
 
 " Indeed, there is nothing," answered the girl, 
 with a light laugh which might have reassured her 
 aunt; but Miss Miranda was still not satisfied. 
 Grandmothers of eighty years should have the 
 good book at hand night and day. That is a nat 
 ural arrangement; but for a girl sixty years 
 younger to spend the bright afternoon hours por 
 ing over its pages could only indicate some crisis 
 in life, and this acting, this forced cheerfulness, 
 must be broken down. It might take time. Miss 
 Miranda felt reproached for her long absence from 
 the guardianship of this lamb. 
 
 " When did you come ? " asked Frances, as they
 
 26 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 seated themselves close together. " How did you 
 dare to surprise me ? I might have been away." 
 Her eyes examined her aunt s face fondly, and 
 Miranda scrutinized the limpid depths which 
 seemed to contain no secret. 
 
 " Only a couple of hours ago. You re looking 
 well, Frances, I must say. How are your head 
 aches ? " 
 
 " Gone. I ve almost forgotten I ever had them." 
 
 " Good. I thought likely you d outgrow those." 
 
 " On the contrary, I began to think they would 
 outlast me ; but they were driven off last winter in 
 Boston." 
 
 " All right, just so s they re gone. They inter 
 fered with you so, poor child." Miss Miranda s 
 brain was still groping for the answer to her men 
 tal questioning. 
 
 " What s been going on in the church lately ? " 
 she asked at last. 
 
 " I scarcely know. I ve spent my Sundays in 
 Boston mostly, you know." 
 
 " Yes. Been any revival meetings going on ? 
 I ain t one that thinks there s no good in revivals, 
 Frances. Sudden conversions don t always stick, 
 of course, but sometimes they do, and I for one 
 say let them go on. It s holy work trying to save 
 souls, anyway." 
 
 Miss Miranda s keen eyes questioned her niece. 
 Would she rise to this opportunity to explain her 
 extraordinary behavior ? 
 
 The girl shook her fair head slightly. " I have n t 
 heard of any revival."
 
 FRANCES ROGERS 27 
 
 Miss Graves, after a waiting pause, changed the 
 subject. 
 
 " What are you calculating to do this summer, 
 Frances ? " 
 
 " I ve just been waiting for you." 
 
 Miranda luxuriated a moment in the pleasant 
 ness of the youth and affection beaming upon her. 
 There was some subtle change in her niece which 
 impressed itself upon her more and more every 
 moment. No wonder Mrs. Smith said she had 
 blossomed out. 
 
 " Then if she has n t been converted, she s got 
 a lover. It would be just like Frances to take it 
 hard. She always was dreadful thorough from a 
 child," she thought. 
 
 " We ve both been too busy to write much," 
 she said aloud. " Old folks plod on about the 
 same, but young folks change fast. Perhaps 
 you ve got a beau by this time, Frances ? " 
 
 The girl s slender eyebrows raised humorously. 
 " No," she said, with a slight movement of denial. 
 " Do you think I m very long about it ? " 
 
 Miss Miranda, foiled again, shrugged her shoul 
 ders. " I d kind of hate to have you as long as 
 I ve been. Just suppose I was settled down some 
 where now with a nice daughter like you." 
 
 " You are," said Frances, taking her aunt s hard 
 hand between her own. "I ve one fine bit of news 
 for you. I have a good position promised me for 
 the fall. We 11 live together, and with what we 
 have already and what I earn we shall do very 
 well. I ve built the loveliest castle in the air."
 
 28 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Bless your heart, Frances. I like the sound 
 of that," replied Miss Miranda. Her ruminations 
 were still contrasting the careful and serious char 
 acteristics familiar to her in the girl she had 
 always known with the new something in her 
 niece s face and manner. Satisfaction and light- 
 heartedness were manifested in every word and 
 gesture. 
 
 " It s a great relief to you, I can see, child, to 
 have your mind set at rest. I m afraid in past 
 years you ve taken too much care of the future. 
 I m afraid you thought Aunt Mira was kind of a 
 broken reed. I ain t sure but I ve neglected you, 
 Frances ; but you know how it was. I could n t 
 afford to sit up here in Melrose and do nothing." 
 
 " I do understand, indeed. I never felt neg 
 lected. I ve been homesick for you sometimes. 
 I wanted to be with my very own, but I was busy." 
 
 " Where is it you are going to teach ? " 
 
 " Here in Melrose. You shall bring your trunks 
 away from Mrs. Smith s, and I 11 give dear Mrs. 
 Peabody one hug, and then we 11 go off together 
 and be a family ! " 
 
 Her niece s face induced Miss Miranda to give 
 the hand in her lap a love pat. " That s just 
 what we 11 do," she agreed heartily. " It s five 
 years that I ve given you up to these people. I 
 suppose your winter in Boston was a great advan 
 tage to you." 
 
 " The greatest advantage of all my life." 
 
 " Anybody can see with half an eye that it s 
 improved you."
 
 FRANCES ROGERS 29 
 
 " Now about yourself," said the girl. " When 
 can we begin house-hunting?" 
 
 " I wish we could this very day ; but, Frances, 
 I ve got another family on my hands first." 
 
 " Aunt Mira ! " The girl s face clouded lightly. 
 
 " It s a housekeeping position, for the summer 
 only. I would n t promise, sure, thinking of you, 
 till the lady it s a Miss Hereford, down on 
 Long Island told me I might have you come, 
 too. I ve just been thinking we ought to be glad 
 of the engagement, for, don t you see, I can save 
 almost every cent I make, and it 11 be a nice little 
 nest-egg for us to start in with in the fall." 
 
 Miss Miranda s face beamed unwontedly. 
 
 Frances nodded. " I see that ; but it means 
 good-by again. I m sure I d better not go there. 
 I can make some pleasant plan. Don t you think 
 about me." 
 
 " Yes, you can come, just as well as not. It s 
 one of these big summer houses where things go 
 on as if it was a hotel. You and I shall have our 
 own little corner, and it s all understood, and I 
 don t want you should refuse, Frances, unless 
 there s something else you want very much to do, 
 for I m just hungry for you, child." 
 
 "But it will be so strange living on this wo 
 man I don t understand." 
 
 "You ll understand better when you see the 
 place. You can trust me. It will be all right 
 for you to stay a few weeks, anyway ; then you 
 could come back here and wait for me. They re 
 English folks, and I shan t have anybody to speak
 
 80 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 to scarcely unless yon do come. The swells won t 
 care to talk to me, and I won t care to talk to 
 those New York servants ; but I d like to make 
 the money, and if I just have you to cheer me up 
 part of the time, I shall weather it first-rate." 
 
 " Then if you are sure the lady won t think it 
 strange " 
 
 " No, indeed. Her only fear is that I 11 give 
 her the slip. They ve got an invalid boy there 
 that seems to have made trouble with the house 
 keepers she s tried already. There must be a 
 nigger in the fence somewhere, for surely no sick 
 boy with a man to wait on him would be just 
 cause and impediment enough to drive off a house 
 keeper who knows how to mind her own business. 
 I 11 go down first and learn the lay of the land, 
 and then if I send for you, Frances, don t you 
 hesitate to come. It s an awful pretty place, and 
 would be a real nice outing for you unless some 
 thing turns up that I don t know about now." 
 
 " Very well. How long before you go ? " 
 
 " Oh, only a couple of days. Miss Hereford s 
 as nervous as a cat. Poor thing! You can see 
 America s a strange garret to her, and she wants 
 me quick." 
 
 " Then we must celebrate. Let s go to the thea 
 tre this evening." 
 
 " Theatre ! " Miss Miranda s thoughts reverted 
 to the scene she had come in upon. " You go to 
 the theatre, do you?" 
 
 " Whenever there is a good excuse for extrava 
 gance, yes. This is a good excuse ; don t you think 
 so?"
 
 FRANCES ROGERS 31 
 
 itfiss Miranda nodded slightly, as her keen eyes 
 interrogated the bright face. One possibility re 
 mained of explaining her niece s unnatural action. 
 
 " Is Bible history a part of the normal course 
 you ve been taking, Frances ? " 
 
 " No, Aunt Mira ; but I ve been becoming ac 
 quainted with the Bible the past winter. I love 
 to read it." 
 
 "Why, of course," said Miss Miranda, hesitat 
 ing a little uncomfortably. " You ve been brought 
 up a good Christian girl, of course. You ve al 
 ways," her voice rising slightly, " been acquainted 
 with the Bible, I hope. You ve had example and 
 precept both." 
 
 Frances s clear eyes rested on her wistfully. 
 Memory furnished her the picture of Miss Mi 
 randa erect under the gaslight in her nightdress, 
 her black hair braided and hanging down her 
 back in a neat plait, while she read aloud a psalm 
 or a dozen verses from the gospels, and a selec 
 tion half as long from Thomas a Kempis, before 
 extinguishing the gas and getting into bed. 
 
 " So I have, Aunt Mira," she answered. 
 
 They had some further talk on other subjects, 
 and it was settled that they should go into Boston 
 for a festive evening before Miss Miranda took 
 her departure. 
 
 Her nose and mouth assumed their most Revo 
 lutionary aspect as she finally walked alone up 
 the street. 
 
 " There s something in Frances Rogers s mind 
 that I have n t got at yet," she said to herself.
 
 32 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " She s more changed than Lucy Smith said, and 
 she acts as if she did n t have a care in the world. 
 I wonder how long she d have read that Bible if 
 I had n t gone in ! Read the Bible all the after 
 noon and go to the theatre in the evening ! Well ! 
 I wonder what her grandmother d have said to 
 that!"
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE AUTOMOBILE 
 
 Miss GRAVES had been a couple of days in her 
 new position when she wrote the following letter to 
 her niece : 
 
 DEAR FRANCES, Here I am all settled, and I 
 think I m going to like it, though there are draw 
 backs, as I suppose there are to everything earthly. 
 One thing sure: Miss Hereford is glad to have 
 me. She looked as if she could almost fall into 
 my arms when she saw me coming, though her 
 maid, a woman she calls Dudley, had her nose in 
 the air at the same angle it was when I came down 
 before. I d like to pull that snippy nose some 
 time. She s the worst drawback. The invalid 
 Miss Hereford talked about turns out to be a fool. 
 I suppose his aunt did n t like to say right out he 
 was one. Then there s only one other member of 
 the family, a Mr. Burling, another nephew, I 
 suppose, for he calls Miss Hereford Aunt Elea 
 nor. Well, there s only those three folks in 
 this great house, and a lot of servants to take care 
 of them, and me to see that they do it right. I 
 guess that high-headed Dudley had more to do with 
 the other housekeepers going away than that poor
 
 84 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 moon-calf did, though I must say it gives me a 
 turn to meet him when I ain t expecting it. He s 
 so solemn, his great eyes would give anybody the 
 creeps. 
 
 Miss Hereford spoke of her own accord about 
 your coming, and I can promise you it s a fine 
 place. There ain t a window that don t look like 
 an oil painting. 
 
 One thing I want to prepare you for. They 11 
 meet you at the depot with a horse that s a young 
 hurricane ; but don t be scared. He won t do 
 more than threaten to run on his hind legs and 
 make mince-meat of the carriage. I know I ve 
 lost a pound each time I ve ridden behind him, 
 but the driver says he s never done any harm. 
 You never saw so much style in all your life as 
 you 11 see on that coachman and groom and the 
 harness. Then, when you get here, you ll only 
 find a dowdy little woman in a lace cap, and her 
 pug dog, one idle man in a bicycle suit, and an 
 idiot. I told you they were English, did n t I ? 
 It all seems very queer ; but as long as they re 
 willing to give us a chance to be together, I won t 
 complain, and I m going to do all I can to earn 
 my money. The cook and maids sized me up, as 
 the boys say, when I first came around, and I 
 guess they re going to behave themselves. If they 
 don t, I know where I can get others. 
 
 The letter closed with directions to Frances as 
 to dates and trains, and then Miss Miranda set 
 herself to counting the hours before the girl could 
 arrive.
 
 THE. AUTOMOBILE 35 
 
 A few mornings afterward, Maurice Burling 
 entered the breakfast room. Miss Hereford was 
 there before him, and turned a cheerful face to 
 greet his entrance. 
 
 " What a change, Aunt Eleanor," he remarked. 
 " This smile-wreathed countenance should be pho 
 tographed and given Miss Graves as a testimonial 
 for future use ; for it is a paradox that any one 
 with such a lugubrious name can have such an 
 enlivening effect." 
 
 " She is a jewel, a treasure," returned Miss 
 Hereford devoutly ; " and really very sensible with 
 Dudley; that is," seeing an ominous look gather 
 on her companion s brow, " Dudley is always a 
 little homesick. You can t wonder, can you, Mau 
 rice ? And she is n t so pleasant, always, but she 
 tries," eagerly, "indeed she tries, and the house 
 keeper is so sensible, as I say. All goes very well, 
 and it makes life a different thing, does n t it ? " 
 
 " One need only look at you to say yes," re 
 turned the other, chipping an egg-shell. 
 
 " I don t know that I told you that Miss Graves 
 has a niece coming to visit her. Yes, I found I 
 could not secure her unless I let her see this young 
 woman, a schoolteacher, I believe." 
 
 " Ah ! A Yankee schoolma am to be added to 
 our collection. Well ! " 
 
 " She is arriving to-day. Will you see that 
 Harvey meets the noon train ? " 
 
 " I have to be up that way myself at that hour. 
 I 11 bring her back if I don t forget it." 
 
 " Don t chaff, Maurice," anxiously. " I would n t
 
 36 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 have anything occur to annoy Miss Graves, you 
 know." 
 
 The man laughed. " Which are you the more 
 afraid of, Aunt Eleanor, Dudley or the house 
 keeper ? " 
 
 " Maurice, I have one motto until we get back 
 to dear England," said Miss Hereford impres 
 sively. " It is this : Peace at any price ! 
 
 Thus it was that when Frances Rogers left the 
 train she looked about in vain for the liveried 
 coachman and groom, with whom in a little tempo 
 rary splendor she had expected to drive to her 
 aunt s abode. 
 
 While she hesitated, a station agent approached 
 her. 
 
 " This way, please." He led the way to a high 
 vehicle whose horse was stepping restlessly in its 
 place with arching neck. The driver, a smooth 
 faced man in knickerbockers, jumped out as she 
 approached and lifted his hat. 
 
 " The engine still gets on his nerves a bit," he 
 explained. " I did n t like to leave him. This is 
 Miss Graves?" 
 
 " Miss Rogers," said the girl composedly ; " but 
 Miss Graves is my aunt." The musical accent of 
 a refined English voice and speech had fallen on 
 her ear for the first time, and she gave the stranger 
 a comprehensive look before he handed her into 
 the high cart. 
 
 As they started he spoke again. " This horse 
 is something of an experiment ; but, pardon me, I 
 don t wish to make you nervous. There s no occa-
 
 THE AUTOMOBILE 37 
 
 sion, indeed. He seems not to have a fault beyond 
 youth and high spirits." 
 
 " He s a beauty," said Frances in her even 
 voice. 
 
 " And you re not far off one yourself," thought 
 her companion. " Hooray for the Yankee school- 
 ma am ! " 
 
 "This is Mr. Burling, I suppose," thought 
 Frances. 
 
 " I was just thinking," she added aloud, " that it 
 was nice for me that you are driving yourself. I 
 should be tempted to be afraid with a coachman." 
 
 Burling glanced at the speaker again. He felt 
 some surprise that Miss Graves s niece should be 
 so well dressed, so generally effective. 
 
 " Thank you ; all the same that would hurt the 
 coachman s feelings very much." 
 
 " I think the trouble with drivers is that they 
 don t love the horses enough," said the girl. 
 
 " That must be an American vice, then," said 
 Burling, smiling. 
 
 " Oh, yes. I remember I have heard that Eng 
 lishmen care more for horses than for people." 
 
 " Do our cousins talk that way about us ? " 
 
 " Well, it is n t so here. I m watching the pro 
 gress of automobile inventions. I want all the 
 traffic wagons run by machinery. Then the horses 
 can all be high-spirited." 
 
 " An attractive thought, that." 
 
 They both watched the strong muscles under 
 their steed s shining coat for a few minutes in 
 silence. Burling s thoughts had strayed across the
 
 38 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 water to problems in the home land when he heard 
 his companion s even voice again. 
 
 " I beg your pardon ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " I was only saying what a pretty country this 
 is," said the girl, " for a flat one." 
 
 " Very," returned the other, pulling himself to 
 gether. " Your aunt has improved its appearance 
 for our family. She makes our household run 
 smoothly." 
 
 " Aunt Mira knows how to make people com 
 fortable. I think " added the girl, in whom 
 had already risen an uneasy sense of giving 
 trouble "I think it is more than kind of Miss 
 Hereford to ask me to come. Aunt Mira is the 
 only mother I have." 
 
 " This is a nice little Yankee schoolma am," 
 thought Burling judicially. 
 
 " I hope you 11 enjoy yourself," he returned. 
 
 " And I hope it did n t disturb your plans to 
 come to the depot," she said, giving expression 
 to the thought that had been uppermost ever since 
 they started. 
 
 " Not the least in the world," he answered 
 promptly. " It lay on my way from the golf club, 
 where I had a little business this morning." 
 
 " Not pleasure ? " asked Frances, regarding him 
 for the first time with a smile. 
 
 " Not this morning. Do you play ? " The ques 
 tion came involuntarily, and it would have sur 
 prised him to receive an affirmative answer. 
 
 She shook her fair head. " Oh, no. I ve been 
 too busy."
 
 THE AUTOMOBILE 39 
 
 * But there are vacations." 
 
 " I tutored all last summer." 
 
 " You are a teacher ? " 
 
 " I hope to be one in the autumn." 
 
 " Ah. It is new work, then ? " 
 
 "Yes." The girl s face beamed. "The cir 
 cumstances seemed very difficult, but I demon 
 strated such a good position." 
 
 " You I beg pardon ? " 
 
 She crimsoned finely. "I beg yours," she said, 
 embarrassed. " My thoughts ran away with me." 
 
 Her companion s curious eyes did not leave her 
 flushed face. 
 
 "You demonstrated," he repeated reflectively. 
 " I know the expression. You are a Christian 
 Scientist." 
 
 Her face changed, and she looked up at him 
 eagerly. " Are you one, too? " she asked gladly. 
 
 His eyes returned to the horses ears. " Hardly," 
 he returned. His tone was not lost upon her. 
 " I have some friends, though, at home, who have 
 tried to pluck me from the burning. Once I at 
 tended one of their meetings testimony, do yoiv 
 call it?" 
 
 " A testimonial meeting, yes. You heard won 
 derful things, then." 
 
 " Wonderful if true. I can read the same any 
 day in the advertisements of a quack medicine." 
 There was a pause, and he looked back at her. 
 " I suppose I ought to ask your pardon for that 
 speech." 
 
 " Yes, but you don t, know it," she answered
 
 40 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 simply ; and her undisturbed face and voice caused 
 a light scorn to supplant her companion s admiring 
 sentiments. 
 
 " You re a very superior set, you Scientists," 
 he said, with a smile at the emphasized word. 
 
 She flushed, but kept silence. 
 
 " Now you re treating me, no doubt," he added 
 after a minute. " You see I know a lot about it." 
 
 " I see that you are densely ignorant if you sup 
 pose that would be possible," she answered equably. 
 
 He laughed. " For people who fifteen minutes 
 ago had never seen one another, we are getting on," 
 he remarked. 
 
 " I am sorry to seem impertinent, but I had to 
 answer truly," said the girl. 
 
 " Oh, yes. I am aware that truthfulness is your 
 long suit," he responded, and moved by his irrita 
 tion he flicked the horse with the whip. 
 
 At the same moment an automobile came hiss 
 ing around a bend in the walled road ahead of 
 them. The excited young horse reared and sprang. 
 Burling spoke to him soothingly and held him 
 firmly, but to no purpose. There was a rush, a 
 crash, and the sun seemed blotted out for the 
 occupants of the dogcart. 
 
 The man in the automobile stopped his machine 
 as speedily as possible and ran forward to where 
 the horse, trembling in every limb, stood snorting 
 by the pile of stones in the roadside which had 
 caught the cart and stopped his career. 
 
 Burling, covered with dust, was on his feet in 
 the road by the side of the half-overset cart, still
 
 THE AUTOMOBILE 41 
 
 clinging to the reins. His face was pale as he 
 looked wildly about him. 
 
 " The lady where is she ? " he ejaculated to 
 the hurrying stranger. 
 
 "Must have been thrown over the wall. I ll 
 hold the horse." 
 
 Maurice, hatless and dusty, strode to the low 
 wall that divided stretches of green field from the 
 road. The forebodings of his hard-beating heart 
 were realized. 
 
 There, motionless on the ground, lay the form 
 of the housekeeper s niece. One hand was thrown 
 over her face ; the other lay relaxed beside her. 
 There were rocks in the field, and even as Burling 
 climbed over the wall, his lamed arms refusing 
 to assist him to vault, he noted that it was the 
 meadow grass that couched the inanimate girl, and 
 that the rocks had been avoided. White and 
 breathless, he approached and stooped over the 
 body. 
 
 The revulsion of relief almost made him faint 
 as the hand moved from the girl s face and she 
 gave him a wan smile. " That knocked all the 
 breath out of me," she said. 
 
 "Do you feel pain ? Your back your arms ? " 
 asked Burling in poignant anxiety. 
 
 " I m sure I m all right. I in a little dazed. 
 Just give me your hand." 
 
 Burling bit his lip. " Both my wrists are 
 strained. I cannot lift you. There is a man in 
 the road." 
 
 " Do not call him ! "
 
 42 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 "Then support yourself on my arm. See if 
 you can rise." 
 
 " Of course I can rise." She did so slowly, 
 leaning on his arm. His anxious face scanned 
 hers. " I m as good as new," she said, after a 
 pause. " Indeed I am. Did n t I pick out a soft 
 spot to fall ! " 
 
 They moved to the wall, Burling scarcely credit 
 ing his good fortune in having failed to kill Miss 
 Graves s guest. He could hear Aunt Eleanor de 
 ploring the effect of annoying the housekeeper. 
 
 Frances stepped over the wall, resting her hand 
 on Burling s shoulder, to the amazement of the 
 stranger at the horse s head, and as she approached 
 she acknowledged him. 
 
 " I can t be sorry enough," he said, looking from 
 her to her escort. 
 
 " Was n t the horse dreadfully frightened, poor 
 thing ! " said the girl, coming close to the rest 
 less animal and smoothing his panting side. The 
 creature turned his brilliant eye upon her. " There 
 was nothing to be afraid of, was there, dear old 
 fellow ? " she went on soothingly. 
 
 " It s a wonder he did n t break away from the 
 cart," said the stranger. " I don t understand it. 
 I can t say how much I regret " he added again 
 earnestly, and paused. 
 
 " I thought he was entirely used to automobiles," 
 said Burling, who had succeeded in finding his hat 
 and was snapping the dust from it as well as his 
 strained hands would allow. " It was my fault. I 
 touched him with the whip at the wrong moment."
 
 THE AUTOMOBILE 43 
 
 He moved to the horse s head, where the stranger 
 still stood, then recollected his helplessness. 
 
 " Will you kindly back him into the road for 
 me? " he said. " I have lamed my wrists." 
 
 When this was accomplished the stranger spoke. 
 
 " I should be glad to be of any service. Shall 
 I drive the young lady home and return for 
 you?" 
 
 Frances saw in Burling s face the repugnance 
 he felt to giving publicity to the accident. 
 
 "The horse is quite gentle now," she said. 
 " See? " Indeed, the animal had ceased trembling 
 and stood quietly. " Don t you think we could 
 manage ? Is it far ? " 
 
 "A very short distance," returned Burling. 
 " Supposing we get in and see how he behaves. 
 We can turn down this lane and avoid passing 
 the machine." 
 
 Frances smoothed and patted the horse s bright 
 coat, and talked to him again in a low tone before 
 she accepted the chauffeur s assistance to mount to 
 the high seat. 
 
 The man glanced over the vehicle once more as 
 Burling climbed up. 
 
 " The wheel getting wedged between those two 
 stones saved your cart," he said. " The whole 
 thing was a wonderful escape. I can t tell you 
 how sorry " 
 
 " Don t mention it," said Burling, and the two 
 men lifted their hats, while Frances bowed kindly 
 to the discomfited stranger. 
 
 The horse still stood, strangely subdued.
 
 44 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 "You can go, Dick," said Burling, addressing 
 him, " but no transports, please." 
 
 The horse started, and Frances saw her com 
 panion s wince of pain. " Let me take the reins," 
 she said, suiting the action to the word. Burling 
 did not resist. His pale face regarded his com 
 panion for an instant. 
 
 " She s game," he thought, " if she is a crank." 
 
 " Dick is not precisely a lady s horse," he re 
 marked. 
 
 " He is going to be for a few minutes," she an 
 swered. 
 
 " We ve only one turn to make. It is the first 
 we come to on the right. Dick did pretty well for 
 himself not to break his knees on those stones." 
 
 " Dick did his best," said the girl, and the horse 
 shook his spirited head as if recalling that dread 
 ful moment when the clattering monster rushed 
 upon his vision and simultaneously the unaccus 
 tomed sting smote his flank. 
 
 " You must still be so glad that I was driving 
 you instead of the coachman ! " added Burling. 
 
 " Certainly. Would n t it annoy you more to 
 have his wrists strained than your own ? " Frances 
 smiled. 
 
 " He does n t play golf." 
 
 " Ah, there s the rub ! " she laughed. 
 
 " I feel even more apologetic than our friend 
 the chauffeur," went on Maurice a little stiffly. 
 " This is a very unworthy way to treat a guest, 
 but I hope a bad beginning to your visit may make 
 a good ending."
 
 THE AUTOMOBILE 45 
 
 They had passed the turn in the road, and Dick 
 now entered the driveway leading to the house. 
 
 " We have no need to think of anything but 
 giving thanks," she answered gravely. 
 
 " It s a fact," said her companion with equal 
 seriousness. " If it were n t for my wrists I should 
 believe the whole thing to be a dream. I think 
 you must bear a charmed life, Miss Rogers." 
 
 " Yes," she nodded, " and so did Dick in avoid 
 ing a scratch, and so did the cart in having one of 
 its wheels wedge and thereby save the rest." 
 
 Her tone and manner confirmed an irritating 
 suspicion which had already begun to rankle in 
 Burling s breast. " By Jove, I believe she is pre 
 paring a testimonial," he thought. " She 11 speak 
 in meeting about this some time ! " 
 
 " Do you mean to say," he began with scarcely 
 veiled contempt. 
 
 "I don t mean to say anything," she put in 
 mildly. " Perhaps you would like to be holding 
 these as we reach the house," and she slid the 
 reins into her companion s hands, so that when 
 they swept up to the entrance and the groom met 
 them, there was no sign of trouble beyond the 
 suggestions of a dusty drive. 
 
 " She s a pretty good imitation of a thorough 
 bred," thought Burling reluctantly, in spite of the 
 soreness of his mind and body.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 A CONTROVERSY 
 
 "Now, this is cosy," declared Miss Miranda, 
 her usually stoical features expressing the satisfac 
 tion she felt at seeing her niece opposite her at the 
 little tea-table where they were taking their evening 
 meal. 
 
 " This is the way you live, then ? " remarked 
 Frances, looking about her curiously. 
 
 " Yes, it s take partners and swing to corners 
 when it comes to meal-time in this house. The 
 poor boy, Mr. William, prefers to eat alone, and of 
 course his attendant waits on him, so Miss Here 
 ford and Mr. Burling have to do their best to fill 
 the big dining-room. How did you like having the 
 monarch of all he surveys to drive you home ? " 
 
 " Is he the monarch of all he surveys ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed. He s got all his wits about him, 
 and that s enough to set a man up in this house." 
 
 " Miss Hereford is kind to you ? " 
 
 " Indeed she is ; but I see very little of her. 
 Between them and me is a gulf fixed," said Miss 
 Miranda, smiling comfortably. 
 
 Frances looked at her. as if digesting this. 
 
 " I m only a hupper servant, Miss, you know," 
 added the housekeeper, with an extraordinary flight
 
 A CONTROVERSY 47 
 
 of imitation but utter amiability. " But a bloomin 
 lot we care " 
 
 " Why, Aunt Miranda ! " laughed the girl, 
 amazed at this reckless language. 
 
 " I ve caught it from Sanders ; he s the attend 
 ant of the poor moon-calf. Wait till you ear him 
 talk. It s only e and Dudley the maid that are 
 snobs. Miss Hereford and Mr. Burling mind 
 their own business, and respect me for minding 
 mine. I don t ask a thing of them except my 
 money. I m thinking all the time of that apart 
 ment and the good care I m going to give my 
 little girl after all the neglect I ve shown her." 
 
 The speaker looked thoughtfully at her niece. 
 
 " It may be all for the best, too, Frances," she 
 added impressively. " Other folks perhaps have 
 done more for you than I could, and more than 
 they would if I d been around. You ve come out 
 first-rate." 
 
 " I have always found good friends, and espe 
 cially this last winter." 
 
 Something in the speech and a sudden eloquence 
 in the girl s eyes recalled to Miss Graves her prob 
 lem. " That s when she experienced religion," 
 she reflected. " Some time she s going to tell me 
 all about that. I must n t expect to stay away 
 from the young one and scarce ever write to her, 
 and then have her ready to tell me her inmost 
 thoughts first pop when we meet." 
 
 When aunt and niece were preparing for bed 
 that evening Miss Graves caught sight of a strange 
 discoloration on the girl s back and shoulder.
 
 48 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Frances Rogers, what have you been doing to 
 yourself ? " she ejaculated, hastening to adjust her 
 eyeglasses and draw near. "And your back! 
 Why, what have you done, you child ? I thought 
 at supper you looked pale." 
 
 " I had a fall." 
 
 " I should think you had had a fall ! Why, 
 you re black and blue all over ! Wait till I get 
 the Pond s Extract and then tell me all about it. 
 What a mercy you did n t break any bones ! " 
 
 Frances seized Miss Graves s arm as she was 
 bustling off. 
 
 "No, Aunt Mira. Wait. I don t want any 
 thing. It is nearly well." 
 
 " Nearly well ? Why, look in the glass at your 
 self ! I ve got some splendid liniment ; perhaps 
 you d rather have that. I m going to bind that 
 shoulder right up. T is n t any trouble, you fool 
 ish young one," misunderstanding her niece s pro 
 testing movements. 
 
 " But I assure you it is practically well, Aunt 
 Mira. The trouble is only skin deep, like beauty." 
 Frances smiled, hoping to reassure Miss Graves, 
 who, being not a little proud of her discrimination 
 in remedies and long experience in their applica 
 tion, objected to this non-appreciation of her abili 
 ties. 
 
 "Fie! You don t know what you re talking 
 about ! " she replied impatiently. " Let me go ! 
 Liniment won t do it any harm, and I m going 
 to rub it right on. We re a long way from a 
 doctor."
 
 A CONTROVERSY 49 
 
 "No, no, it is being treated now the same 
 doctor who cured my headaches." 
 
 Miss Graves turned back from a rush toward 
 the closet. 
 
 " Why did n t you tell me you had some stuff 
 of your own ? Bring it out and I 11 fix it for 
 you." 
 
 Frances s cheeks were flushed. " If you will 
 read me the Ninety-first Psalm, Aunt Mira," she 
 said slowly, " it will do me more good than any 
 thing." 
 
 Miss Graves stared, and sat down on the edge 
 of the bed. " What has come to the girl ? " she 
 thought. Frances stood leaning against the dresser 
 and returning her aunt s amazed look. 
 
 "The Rogers always did take religion hard," 
 said Miss Graves, when she could speak. " I sup 
 pose you ve joined the church lately ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " What one ? " 
 
 " The Mother Church," replied the girl. 
 
 Miss Miranda uttered an inarticulate cry. 
 " What do you mean ? " she ejaculated. " Are 
 you a Roman Catholic, Frances Rogers but I 
 thought they never read their Bibles ! " she added 
 in distress. 
 
 " I thought Mrs. Smith might have told you," 
 said Frances. " I am a Christian Scientist." 
 
 Miss Graves s expression changed and became 
 stony. "She she didn t dare to, I guess," she 
 said at last. 
 
 " Do you know anything about Science ? " asked
 
 50 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 the girl timidly, after waiting in vain for further 
 remark. She loved her aunt, and her heart was 
 sinking as she looked at her. 
 
 " I know all I want to," was the curt rejoinder. 
 " I know my own niece has turned from the re 
 ligion of her fathers and set out to worship an 
 idol ; an old woman up in New Hampshire." 
 
 The girl caught her lip between her teeth, and 
 her breast heaved. After a pause she crossed the 
 room and sat down on the bed beside her aunt. 
 She put an arm around the rigid, unresponsive 
 figure. 
 
 "Why should you turn from me, Aunt Mira? 
 You spoke of our forefathers. Why did they leave 
 every comfort to come here to a desolate land ? " 
 
 Miss Graves was dumb. 
 
 " For freedom to worship God, was n t it ? " per 
 sisted the girl. 
 
 "Yes, it was," returned Miss Miranda sono 
 rously. " Freedom to worship God not Mrs. 
 Eddy." 
 
 " Would you be glad to be mistaken, and find 
 out that I do worship God as truly as you do ? " 
 
 " I 11 be glad to take you back your church 
 will your friends will, the minute you ve had 
 enough of that blasphemous nonsense. A woman 
 setting herself up " 
 
 " Aunt Mira, there are two sides to every story. 
 May I tell mine ? " 
 
 The nearness of the fresh young cheek and the 
 pressure of the embracing arm raised a strange 
 combination of emotions in Miss Graves s breast.
 
 A CONTROVERSY 51 
 
 " I suppose if you re bound to, I can t help 
 myself," she answered. 
 
 Frances began talking in a low voice that was 
 steady and gentle. 
 
 "That woman in New Hampshire whom you 
 speak of, loved God so deeply and truly that he 
 taught her how to draw near to him consciously. 
 By close and persistent study of the Bible and the 
 consecration of all her thoughts, she learned of 
 her Father the rules by which all humanity may 
 approach him consciously now, without waiting for 
 life in another world. She learned that the same 
 truth which healed in the presence of Jesus is as 
 actively present now as in those days in Galilee. 
 When proof of this came to her repeatedly, her 
 heart was flooded with joy, and she supposed she 
 had only to voice the glad tidings to have every 
 body accept the truth with thanksgiving. What 
 she had to offer was so good that she did not un 
 derstand how it could be met with anything but 
 glad response certainly not otherwise by Chris 
 tians. She had discovered that the apathy shown 
 by the church toward the promises and specific 
 commands of Jesus in the last chapter of Mark 
 was wrong; but to her amazement she found no 
 one ready to believe this. As soon as she ven 
 tured to voice the glorious redeeming truth, cries 
 of blasphemy were heard. Instead of the love 
 and mutual rejoicing which she had pictured as 
 results of the introduction of Christian Science, 
 she met aversion and hatred. Not content with 
 ridiculing and despising her teaching, her enemies
 
 52 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 slandered her character. In almost utter loneliness 
 she set forth then with ideas readjusted to the cold 
 facts, but without for an instant losing courage and 
 purpose. She lifted her heart to her Father and 
 renewed her vow of faithfulness. Did she not 
 know that what lie had given her to offer hu 
 manity was the pearl of great price? It must not 
 be cast before defamers, and therefore she began 
 to hedge it about with worldly wisdom. Those who 
 would learn of it must give something for its pos 
 session, as guaranty of earnestness. Thereupon 
 arose the cry of mercenary motives, the un- 
 Christlikeness of accepting money for healing and 
 teaching. Still this woman pressed on, loving and 
 working in a constant hailstorm of derision, her 
 self-effacement complete in the Light which always 
 beamed upon her inner consciousness. She was 
 sure of the result, and bore all stinging contempt 
 uncomplainingly while she bided her Father s time. 
 At last the addition to her few followers began to 
 be rapid, and soon instead of coming by tens into 
 the faith that Jesus Christ yesterday, to-day, and 
 forever fulfills his promises to them that believe, 
 they began to be counted by thousands. The 
 lonely and despised woman who had not faltered, 
 now found herself at the head of an organization 
 which required wisdom for its orderly manage 
 ment. A new cry arose : Mrs. Eddy is a Pope ! 
 Those poor people don t dare call their souls their 
 own! She rules them with a rod of iron. She 
 exacts tribute to such an extent that she is rolling 
 in money I Meanwhile the people who, sitting in
 
 A CONTROVERSY 53 
 
 darkness, had seen a great light, yielded loving 
 obedience to the wise mother who had led them 
 out of the wilderness, and by their unity of action 
 preserved in harmony the hundreds of churches 
 which sprang into being. Is it any wonder that 
 some of these people who had had their mourning 
 changed into gladness felt such a passion of love 
 and gratitude toward the woman who had shown 
 them the light, that they subjected her to another 
 temptation? Had Mrs. Eddy cared for ostenta 
 tion, for adoration, she might now have had un 
 numbered ovations ; but just as in the days of her 
 fiery trials she ignored the darts of hatred, looking 
 always up, not down, so now she uncompromisingly 
 turned aside personal adulation, pointing always 
 away from herself, on and up. She is traveling 
 now with her army of Christian soldiers, not wait 
 ing on some far-off height to receive them. Oh, 
 Aunt Mira, can t you see how you hurt me when 
 you talk as you did a few minutes ago ? " 
 Frances s arm tightened and her head fell on her 
 aunt s shoulder. Had she wept, Miss Graves might 
 have embraced her ; but her manner was as con 
 trolled as her gentle voice. 
 
 Miss Miranda was silent, and still rigid. 
 
 " You re in earnest, Frances," she said at last ; 
 " but you ve got to let me be honest. It s a blas 
 phemous thing for a woman to set herself up to 
 do the same things Christ did." 
 
 " Why, Aunt Mira, our Lord said, The works 
 that I do shall ye do also. Mrs. Eddy does not 
 make herself equal with him simply because she
 
 54 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 accepts the gospel as all truth. Why have the 
 churches paid no attention to Christ s assurance 
 as to the signs that should follow them that be 
 lieve? Let me show you something." The girl 
 rose suddenly, and going to her satchel returned 
 with a small black morocco book. " This is a copy 
 of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy s book." 
 
 Miss Graves looked at the little volume out of 
 the corner of her eye as Frances resumed her seat 
 and turned over the pages. 
 
 " I suppose you read that instead of the Bible," 
 was on Miss Miranda s lips to say, when a memory 
 arose to contradict this established belief of hers 
 concerning the body of people calling themselves 
 Scientists, a name which had always aroused 
 her scornful amusement. 
 
 "Here it is in the preface," said Frances. " This 
 is what the idol, the pope, the woman who sets 
 herself up to be the equal of Jesus, says of her 
 self : l To-day, though rejoicing in some progress, 
 she finds herself still a willing disciple at the 
 heavenly gate, waiting for the Mind of Christ. " 
 
 Frances looked up at her aunt, and silence fell 
 for a few seconds ; then Miss Miranda spoke. 
 
 " Frances, you can t ever make a Christian Sci 
 entist out of me," she said slowly and impressively. 
 
 " Very well. Christian Science does n t need 
 you, Aunt Mira." 
 
 The kindness of the voice was unmistakable, but 
 Miss Graves shifted her position. A pretty idea 
 khat an upstart new religion like this should n t 
 1 Science and Health, p. ix.
 
 A CONTROVERSY 55 
 
 wear the laurel if it could summon beneath its 
 banner a Congregationalist in good and regular 
 standing like herself ! She had a firmly rooted 
 belief that its congregations were all composed of 
 ill-balanced faddists or young enthusiasts like this 
 girl. 
 
 " Christian Science does n t need any of us," 
 continued Frances. " The only question is whether 
 we need it. I feel that I have been wonderfully 
 taken care of to-day. The whole of Christian Sci 
 ence is in the Ninety-first Psalm. I want to read 
 it to-night. Do you mind if I read it aloud? " 
 
 " I knew the Ninety-first Psalm before you were 
 thought of," returned Miss Graves. " I guess 
 there s a good deal in it besides Christian Science. 
 Of course you can read it if you want to." 
 
 The girl rose to get the Bible, and at once found 
 her place and began to read. 
 
 Tortures could not have wrung from Miss 
 Graves the confession that the famil ar lines 
 seemed invested with a new majesty and tender 
 ness to-night as they fell clearly from those young 
 lips. A devout faith and gladness sounded 
 through every word. 
 
 Miss Miranda maintained herself stiff and mo 
 tionless until the voice had finished ; then she rose 
 and went on silently making ready for bed. 
 
 Frances still sat in her place. She felt the tur 
 moil and the hurt in her aunt s breast, and after a 
 minute s thought she decided to speak. 
 
 " I m going to tell you a secret, Aunt Mira. 
 Dick, the horse, ran away with us to-day."
 
 56 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Miss Graves turned about, all other considera 
 tions forgotten. 
 
 "He was frightened by an automobile. He ran 
 into a pile of stones, and I was thrown over the 
 wall into a field." 
 
 4 * My lamb ! " exclaimed Miss Miranda, adjust 
 ing her glasses and returning to examine the 
 bruises. " But I saw Mr. Burling drive up as 
 brisk as ever. I don t understand " 
 
 " The field had plenty of sharp rooks. I struck 
 nothing except the long grass, and only had the 
 shock of the fall." 
 
 " It s a miracle ! And the horse and Mr. 
 Burling ? 
 
 " Mr. Burling suffered a severe strain. Other 
 wise there was no trouble." 
 
 " Frances Rogers, do you think ? " Miss 
 Miranda paused, held by a sudden suspicion. 
 
 The girl smiled up into the excited eyes. " I 
 know," si e answered. 
 
 Do you mean to say that if I *d been in your 
 place my Heavenly Father would n t have done as 
 much for me as he did for you ? " 
 
 Frances flushed at the resentful tone. "You 
 know that I don t believe he loves one of His chil 
 dren better than another. I can t explain now. He 
 asks us all to trust him, and I did that s all." 
 
 Mis* Graves still stood, her hands folded before 
 her. " Then there is n t any doctor taking care of 
 those bruises," she said at last. 
 
 " Certainly. I said the same one who banished 
 my headaches."
 
 A CONTROVERSY 57 
 
 " But I suppose you had what is it they call 
 it absent treatment for those." 
 
 " Mental treatment, do you mean ? Yes, I did ; 
 but I don t need any human help for this. I know 
 more than I did then. I went through a class 
 took the lessons, you know this spring." 
 
 " What did you learn ? " 
 
 At the brusque question Frances looked off a 
 moment. " We learned how to be more helpful." 
 
 " Do you mean you learned how to think those 
 treatments whatever they are ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 Miss Graves shrugged her way back to the 
 dresser, and nothing n>ore was said until they 
 were both ready for bed. 
 
 " You ve had a big shock," said Miss Miranda 
 then. " If you were my child, you d take a dose 
 of coffea." 
 
 " I am your child, Aunt Mira," replied Frances, 
 smiling ; " but tell me this. If you believe Jesus 
 Christ was the same yesterday, is the same to-day, 
 and will be the same forever, if you believe he 
 is with us as he said he would be to the end of the 
 world, tell me why you suppose he needs Hahne- 
 aiann to-night any more than he did by the Sea of 
 Galilee?" 
 
 Miss Miranda turned over in bed with a jerk. 
 
 " You ve got the real Rogers obstinacy," she 
 said. " Good-night. You 11 be as stiff as a mack 
 erel in the morning. All your own fault. Good 
 night."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE BEGINNING 
 
 MAURICE BURLING had no objection to liniment 
 beyond the fact that bandages would rouse Miss 
 Hereford s anxiety and necessitate telling his mor 
 tifying adventure ; so he rubbed his injured mem 
 bers after satisfying himself that no break had 
 occurred, and then started in to possess his soul 
 in patience. 
 
 " I have talked with Miss Graves this morn 
 ing," was Miss Hereford s greeting when he en 
 tered the breakfast room, " and I don t see that 
 she is at all different." 
 
 " Did you expect her to be elated ? " 
 
 " I did indeed ; but she is as calm and unmoved 
 as ever. She says, Maurice," lowering her voice, 
 " that there is n t any Indian blood in her, but," 
 shaking her head, " I don t know. Just see how 
 stoical she is ! " 
 
 Burling smiled at his plate, meantime wonder 
 ing what he should do when the question of food 
 concerned something which offered greater resist 
 ance in preparation than an egg. 
 
 " Miss Graves has what her countrymen call fac 
 ulty, " he replied. " That is all that matters to 
 you. She has faculty. How is her niece this 
 morning ? "
 
 THE BEGINNING 59 
 
 Miss Hereford looked surprised. "I I be 
 lieve I asked for her. I scarcely remember." 
 
 " Oh, have n t you seen Miss Rogers ? " 
 
 " Is that the niece s name ? No, I ve not seen 
 her. I dare say I shall before she goes." 
 
 The stranger s advent not having caused any 
 special jubilation on Miss Graves s part, Miss Here 
 ford had lost the little interest she once felt in her 
 arrival. 
 
 " You must see her at once," said Burling, in 
 his pleasant, masterful voice. 
 
 " Must ? " 
 
 " Why, certainly. You would n t ignore the 
 niece of the President of these United States, 
 would you especially under your own roof ? " 
 
 " Maurice Burling ! " Miss Hereford poised 
 her egg spoon in air and gazed wide-eyed. " Is it 
 possible that this Miss Rogers is the niece of Mr. 
 McKinley ? " 
 
 " Not that I know of," returned Maurice, gen 
 ially ; " but if not, then her uncle is liable to be 
 come the next president. It s best to be on the 
 safe side." 
 
 " Where did you meet her uncle, pray ? " 
 
 " I ve never had that pleasure." 
 
 " Oh ! " slowly. " I see what you mean : that 
 over here one can never tell." 
 
 " Precisely. Over here one can never tell." 
 
 Miss Hereford sighed, and chipped another egg. 
 " Well, then, all I can say is that I shall be very 
 glad to get home to a place where one can tell. It 
 is very unsettling and very puzzling all this."
 
 60 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " You 11 find no trace of Indian ancestry in 
 Miss Rogers, at any rate," pursued Burling. 
 
 " Yes. I caught a glimpse of her as you drove 
 up yesterday. I thought she was fair." 
 
 " Divinely tall and most divinely fair," remarked 
 Maurice mildly. 
 
 " Do you mean that she s pretty Miss Graves s 
 niece pretty ? " 
 
 " Why not ? Miss Graves is fine looking her 
 self. There s a regular Plymouth Rock firmness 
 in her profile. She d make a fine cameo, would 
 Miss Graves. As a matter of fact, however, Miss 
 Rogers does not resemble her." 
 
 " Is she along in years or young ? " asked Miss 
 Hereford somewhat fretfully. " I m sure it s 
 very tiresome in you, Maurice, to say I need think 
 about her one way or the other." 
 
 " Oh, you need only say a few words of greet- 
 ing." 
 
 "Shall I " doubtfully, "should one shake 
 hands with her?" 
 
 " By all means," returned Burling suavely. 
 " When you are attending her reception at the 
 White House you will be glad to remember it." 
 
 " Ah, you silly boy ! " said Miss Hereford im 
 patiently, pushing back her chair. 
 
 It was little wonder that Miss Hereford had not 
 distinguished signs of rejoicing in Miss Miranda s 
 countenance this morning. The housekeeper had 
 wakened under a vague cloud, which she soon 
 recognized as the effect of the conversation of the 
 evening before. She determined not to refer again
 
 THE BEGINNING 61 
 
 to the accident, for as she and her niece performed 
 their toilets, it seemed to her that she was the sorer 
 of the two. She was the girl s hostess now, as 
 well as her nearest of kin. She would do her duty 
 by her, despite the fact that the other s confession 
 had robbed the situation of its spontaneous ease 
 and pleasure. 
 
 Frances read perfectly what was passing in her 
 aunt s thoughts, and on her side determined to be 
 silent henceforth concerning the faith which hon 
 esty had compelled her to declare, and after a few 
 days she would suggest a return to Boston, to test 
 whether such a result would be a relief to Miss 
 Graves. The situation was one which necessitated 
 considerable work in her own thought. It was not 
 easy to rise above the sense of loss which she ex 
 perienced in the subtle change of her aunt s man 
 ner, but she tried to accept the problem in the 
 right spirit. 
 
 Mr. Burling readily comprehended why the 
 housekeeper had disappointed her mistress with 
 a long countenance this morning. Such a shock 
 as Miss Rogers had undergone was bound to pro 
 duce after-effects. Since Miss Hereford knew no 
 particulars, he must discover himself for how much 
 damage he was responsible. 
 
 As he and Aunt Eleanor left the table, she 
 sighed heavily. 
 
 " What does that mean ? " he inquired. 
 
 "What, Maurice?" 
 
 " You sighed like a furnace." 
 
 " Did I ? It was unconscious ; but I suppose 1
 
 62 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 was thinking of Billy. He had such a bad day 
 yesterday." 
 
 " Ah ! I am sorry I was away so much." 
 
 " Sanders was quite put to it, poor creature. 
 Oh, Sanders," for the man here entered the room 
 with a breakfast tray, " how is Mr. William this 
 morning ? " 
 
 " E as n t said a word yet, mum. It s a good 
 sign in a way, mum." 
 
 Sanders spoke primly. His dignity and impor 
 tance were such as befit a martyr whose suffer 
 ings command large compensation in coin of the 
 realm. 
 
 " E does n t notice me to-day, but yesterday 
 morning e threw the teapot at me. It was most 
 hunpleasantly ot, mum." 
 
 " Ah ! and it went on like that all day," sighed 
 Miss Hereford. " I can t think what upsets the 
 poor child so sometimes." 
 
 " E was uncommon testy the ole day, as you 
 say, mum. In a fit of habsence of mind I beat 
 im a game of draughts, and e kicked me." 
 
 " Kicked you ? Oh, Sanders ! " 
 
 " Yes, mum ; in the shin, if you 11 pardon my 
 naming it." 
 
 " Very well, Sanders," said Burling. " I shall 
 be at home to-day." 
 
 "Yes, sir," and the man withdrew, his stiffly 
 carried head uplifted and tilted a little to the side 
 in his usual attitude of long-suffering deference. 
 
 Miss Hereford s sad eyes sought Burling s. 
 
 Maurice was entertaining a humorous cousidera-
 
 THE BEGINNING 63 
 
 tion of the variety of bumps and bruises gathered 
 under one roof this morning. 
 
 "Tips and downs, Aunt Eleanor; ups and 
 downs," he said, smiling into her wistful eyes. 
 
 " If only Billy does n t outlive us ! " she sighed. 
 " If only he does n t ! But he is so strong, Mau 
 rice, so frightfully strong. Sometimes when I 
 look at him in his beautiful young manhood and 
 think what he might be, and what this world 
 would be to us if it were n t for this blight, I feel 
 as if I should go crazy crazy, Maurice, with 
 grief and yes, I m ashamed to confess such 
 wickedness, but rebellion, too. Oh, I feel so re 
 bellious, you can t think ! " She buried her face 
 in her little hands. 
 
 " Now, now, Aunt Eleanor ! This is n t like 
 you ! Remember those good sermons you have 
 preached to me on resignation." 
 
 " I do, I do," she returned brokenly. " Always 
 after a time I come to my right mind and remem 
 ber that it is my Father s chastening ; but I m 
 getting to be little better than a heathen at times, 
 and it s all with being so long away from our 
 dear rector." 
 
 " I 11 venture he 11 find you as sound as ever, 
 don t you fret. When Billy is dressed, I 11 go to 
 see him." 
 
 Miss Hereford shook her head. " I judge from 
 what Sanders said, he 11 not speak to-day. Sanders 
 finds that a relief, poor creature. I dare say it 
 gives him an easy time ; but it s dreadfully sad to 
 me when I can t make my child open his lips, and
 
 64 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 to have him stare at me so coldly. At such times 
 even you can t liven him, Maurice." 
 
 " Cheer up, little woman ! " repeated Burling. 
 "Unless you keep up your courage I shall have 
 to pack you off home." 
 
 "To England?" wistfully. "But you can t 
 make me go not without you and the child." 
 
 " With me and the child, then." 
 
 Miss Hereford shook her head. " There would 
 n t be any blessing on it if we went too soon ; and, 
 Maurice, " she added, lowering her voice, " there is 
 one thing that helps me to be content here. I 
 dread to see my poor brother." 
 
 " Oh, you need n t pity him, nor dread him, 
 either, so far as that goes. You worry your head 
 about a number of things, don t you, Aunt Elea 
 nor? Take a brace, as they say in America, and 
 make up your mind to be jolly. I m a regular 
 Mark Tapley myself this morning," added Bur 
 ling, knowing how he could most effectively divert 
 her thoughts. "I strained my wrist yesterday." 
 
 Miss Hereford s expression changed from dejec 
 tion to interest. "There, Maurice, what have I 
 always told you? I knew you would overdo at 
 golf. You always laughed at me ; but I told you 
 you did n t know when you d had enough. Now 
 you see you ve overdone your arm ! " 
 
 Burling accepted this reflection on his wiry 
 muscle in silence, and submitted his right wrist to 
 the bandage for which Miss Hereford instantly 
 dispatched Dudley. The maid stood by and held 
 the paraphernalia for her mistress, thinking her
 
 THE BEGINNING 65 
 
 own sharp thoughts while Miss Hereford enlarged 
 on the desirability of moderation in sports. Had 
 not Mr. Burling s man confided to the maid the 
 dent in his master s hat and the dust ingrained 
 into his clothes? He had even given it as his 
 opinion that the golf club was a pretty gay propo 
 sition, and that, considering the early hour of the 
 day, Mr. Burling was going it ; Harvey s testimony 
 regarding the scraped and scratched condition of 
 the cart wheel corroborated his own deductions. 
 
 Maurice decided not to confess the sensations of 
 his other wrist, lest it interfere with Miss Here 
 ford s complete satisfaction in her diagnosis ; and 
 as soon as he could escape from her kindly minis 
 trations he took his way out of doors, postponing 
 even the consolation of his pipe until he should 
 have found Miss Graves and made his inquiries. 
 
 In his morning stroll about the house he often 
 met Miss Miranda, whose brusque directness 
 amused him, and whose manner always implied 
 that, like Brer Rabbit, she did n t have " time to 
 tarry." 
 
 There was a small vine-clad porch opening from 
 the housekeeper s room where he sometimes found 
 her, absorbed in calculations, her eyeglasses set 
 well down on her nose as she pored over her books. 
 
 As he walked along the smooth turf he thought 
 uncomfortably of yesterday s misadventure. That 
 moment in which he had stooped over the young 
 stranger who was in his care was about as unplea 
 sant as any he had ever experienced. The sensa 
 tion had not yet had time to fade. The smile that
 
 66 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 came gradually to those wan parted lips had given 
 him the most genuine joy that a smile had ever 
 bestowed. The Yankee schoolma am, the niece of 
 his housekeeper, had been for that moment the 
 most important being on earth. The fact would 
 have been the same had she not had one charm to 
 arouse his interest, but his present pilgrimage of 
 inquiry would have been taken in a different and 
 more perfunctory spirit. In his character of bach 
 elor at thirty-five he was naturally hypercritical, 
 with an extremely good opinion of his own powers 
 of discrimination, and he looked upon young girls 
 of scarce twenty as kittens whose gambols, if they 
 happened to be pretty kittens, it was amusing to 
 watch. 
 
 One girl of twenty he had loved. It was ten 
 years ago now. She had died, and the ten years 
 had been mostly spent, as he often declared wearily 
 to himself, in sick-nursing. 
 
 His older sister had been his other love. She, 
 too, had gone, and the duty he had taken up in 
 her lifetime appealed to him with tenfold force at 
 her death. Could he ever forget the concentrated 
 appeal in her dear eyes as they fixed on his for the 
 last time, and her lips framed the one word, 
 "Billy"? 
 
 Well, the sun shone gloriously this morning, the 
 water sparkled, and he had not killed Miss 
 Rogers ; therefore, though his lame wrists annoyed 
 him at every turn, and life was a very humdrum 
 affair when it did not present repulsive problems, 
 be was not complaining. Miss Graves might be
 
 THE BEGINNING 67 
 
 about to frown upon him, and her frown would be 
 no light matter ; but he must face the music. 
 
 He had reached her porch, and now walked 
 around its vine curtain. The books were on the 
 table and a woman was bending over them ; but 
 those sunny tresses were unlike the raven locks of 
 the housekeeper, and the delicate shadows of the 
 fine-leaved vine played in waving tracery over a 
 blue cotton gown. 
 
 " Miss Rogers ! " 
 
 She looked up at the exclamation and greeted 
 him. 
 
 " What possible right have you to be sitting 
 there ? " he asked, standing, hat in hand, under the 
 vine tassels that were pendent above the entrance. 
 
 She smiled. She was a very pretty kitten in 
 deed, he decided. He wondered if she ever gam 
 boled. 
 
 "Where should I be ? " she asked. 
 
 " In bed, of course. Any self-respecting young 
 woman who had been lofted over a bunker on to 
 the green as you were yesterday ought to be laid 
 up to-day." 
 
 " I m sorry to disappoint you." 
 
 " No, I m in earnest. I feel about one hundred 
 myself. You should feel at least eighty. I m 
 afraid you are making too much effort in order not 
 to alarm your aunt." 
 
 " No, indeed. I m entirely able to be up, I 
 assure you." 
 
 " You don t look as if you had ridden night 
 mares all night, either," he said, regarding her 
 with interest.
 
 68 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " I dreamed of Dick once I admit it. I was 
 very glad to wake up," she answered, with a sunny 
 smile. 
 
 " So you can forgive and forget ? " 
 
 " Certainly if you 11 let me." 
 
 " Oh, I understand," he nodded ; " but I think 
 it would be only civil for you to ask me a few 
 questions first." 
 
 " I don t need to. I see your bandage. I m 
 very sorry." 
 
 "Are you? "Well, you look as if your grief 
 was tempered. It s scarcely fair for you to sit 
 up there looking as fresh as the morning and do 
 nothing for me." 
 
 " What could I do for you ? " 
 
 " Oh make some passes over me, perhaps," 
 he suited the action to the word with his aching 
 hands. 
 
 She shook her head at him brightly. 
 
 " I don t know how much you know about Sci 
 ence, so I can t decide just how much license to 
 give your speech ! " 
 
 He civilly veiled the sentiments that always 
 uprose in him when he heard the sturdy name of 
 science applied to anything so hopelessly tran 
 scendental. 
 
 " I know this about it," he said " by the way, 
 you should n t keep the aged and infirm standing." 
 He sank upon the porch steps. " I have a friend 
 at home, an army officer. I knew he had been 
 a sick man. I saw him stand up in one of those 
 meetings testimony meetings and heard him
 
 THE BEGINNING 69 
 
 draw the long bow, and after him other people rose 
 and let themselves go. I tell you if Munchausen 
 had happened into that room that night he would 
 have hidden his diminished head." 
 
 Frances listened attentively until the delightful 
 voice ceased. " You knew your friend had beeu 
 ill?" 
 
 " Yes, poor chap." 
 
 " Did you know he had recovered ? " 
 
 " He seemed to have recovered." 
 
 " You did n t wish him to recover, then ? " 
 
 Burling smiled. " Certainly I wished him to. 
 I did n t even grudge him his fool s paradise ; but 
 of course I knew that what he claimed was impos 
 sible." 
 
 " With God all things are possible," returned 
 the girl decidedly. " How long ago did you hear 
 this testimony ? " 
 
 " A year ago." 
 
 " Write home and ask about this friend ; and if 
 he is a strong, healthy man, don t try to explain 
 it away. Accept the healing with gratitude. Re 
 member that line in the Bible, Be still and know 
 that I am God. " 
 
 Burling was mute for a minute. He suddenly 
 recognized the books on the table. One of them 
 was a Bible. Another was " Science and Health," 
 and the third was a little brown pamphlet. 
 
 " How long have you believed in this ? " he 
 asked at last. 
 
 "Last summer the family in which I tutored 
 were Scientists. They pitied me on account of my
 
 70 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 headaches, and they advised me to read their 
 books. I was not so unfortunate as you. From 
 the very first I saw that this was the truth." The 
 girl laid her hand on her treasures. 
 
 "Ah, you were caught young," said Maurice. 
 " That is the reason." 
 
 She shook her head and her eyes looked off. 
 "Not young enough," she replied. "The years I 
 wasted ! " 
 
 Burling felt a twinge as he watched her pure 
 face. The years she had wasted ! 
 
 " At any rate I congratulate you," he said after 
 a minute, during which they were both absorbed. 
 
 A sunbeam nestled in her hair as she turned 
 back and smiled at him. 
 
 " You may, and I thank you," she answered. 
 
 " Miss Hereford would like to meet you," said 
 Burling after a pause. " Would it interrupt any 
 thing " a glance at the open books " for you 
 to come now ? " 
 
 " Not at all," said Frances with alacrity. " I 
 had just finished the lesson. I will tell Aunt Mira 
 where I am going." 
 
 But Aunt Mira was in conclave with her work 
 ers and could not be found ; so Frances moved 
 with Burling through one after another cool, plea 
 sant room, until he stopped before the door of a 
 small apartment with an unobstructed view of the 
 Sound, where Miss Hereford always sat at this 
 hour to read her fortnight-old " Times."
 
 CHAPTER VH 
 
 TIMMY 
 
 THE confusion of sounds proceeding from the 
 room made Burling hesitate to introduce a stranger. 
 He listened in surprise. 
 
 Dudley was talking fast. Her mistress s broken 
 voice was throwing in exclamations, and above 
 their tones a wail was rising and falling. Mau 
 rice s knock was unnoticed, and a sharp yelp 
 caused him to throw wide the door and step in. 
 
 " What has happened to Timmy ? " he asked, 
 while Frances paused uncertainly. 
 
 " Oh, Maurice, Maurice, Timmy has been killed ! " 
 cried Miss Hereford in frenzied tones. Her cap 
 was awry, and tears were streaming down her 
 cheeks as she lifted her eyes piteously from where 
 the little dog lay convulsed. 
 
 " What is it, Dudley ? " asked Burling. 
 
 " Rat poison, Mr. Burling, and I ve told Har 
 vey a hundred times not to drop the nasty stuff 
 about, and now he s killed Timmy, and whatever 
 will Miss Hereford do ! " exclaimed the maid ex 
 citedly. 
 
 " And we ve poked soap down his dear little 
 throat," wailed Miss Hereford. " And oh, my 
 poor Timmy, forgive me for not doing you any 
 good"
 
 72 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Maurice suddenly remembered the girl he had 
 left, and turned quickly as Miss Hereford broke 
 into sobs, to see whether the guest had withdrawn. 
 She was standing just inside the door, and her 
 eyes were closed. 
 
 Burling, moved by the genuine misery of the 
 clog s mistress, felt his heart give a leap as he saw 
 her. " Could you," he asked, eagerly striding 
 toward her, " would such a thing be possible ? " 
 
 Frances advanced quickly and placed her hand 
 on Miss Hereford s shoulder. 
 
 " Your little dog need n t die," she said. 
 
 The weeping woman looked up at the strange 
 voice and words. The blonde head and blue gown 
 formed for the moment to her an angelic vision at 
 which she stared speechless. 
 
 " Take them both away, please," said the girl, 
 turning to Maurice ; and quickly she was left 
 alone, Miss Hereford staring through her wet eyes 
 until the door closed behind her. She had seen 
 the froth on her pet s lips, she had seen the rigid 
 ity that strained his little body, and outside the 
 door she flung herself upon Burling s shoulder. 
 
 The maid, a minute ago pale with grief and ter 
 ror, was now red with astonishment. Who could 
 this young woman be if it were not the house 
 keeper s niece who came yesterday ? To think she 
 should be a doctor ! 
 
 " The doctor 11 want help, I should think, Mr. 
 Burling," she suggested. 
 
 " She does n t want help, Dudley. You can go." 
 
 "I think my mistress needs me," resentfully. 
 " Miss Hereford, shall I "
 
 TIMMY 78 
 
 " I will take care of Miss Hereford. I will call 
 you a little later. You may go." 
 
 At this the woman was obliged to withdraw, 
 though with reluctant feet. 
 
 A moan from the closed room acted upon Misf 
 Hereford galvanically. She started away from the 
 supporting shoulder. 
 
 " I must go in ! " she said distractedly. " Who 
 was that lovely blue creature, Maurice ? Why did 
 she send us out ? Did she really say how can 
 she say " 
 
 " Yes, she wanted to try to help Timmy. It s 
 the only chance, Aunt Eleanor ; don t disturb her." 
 
 Burling led the half-resisting form down the 
 corridor. 
 
 " I knew there were lots of lady doctors in 
 America, and they re often very good at home, 
 are n t they, Maurice ? But in this lonely place, 
 and without her hat, and so young, and just at 
 the moment we wanted her ! Oh, how sweet her 
 face looked ! How could she have happened in ? 
 What a strange place America is! Oh, it s all 
 like a dream ! I can t lose Timmy, I can t ! Mau 
 rice, whom have I left him with in his dying hour ? " 
 
 " Miss Graves s niece." 
 
 Miss Hereford stiffened and recoiled. " Then 
 she is as much a doctor as she is the President s 
 niece. This is too much ! Let me go this minute, 
 Maurice Burling ! " 
 
 Burling ground his teeth together, she hurt his 
 wrists so severely. He dropped his hands. 
 
 " Very well. Go in there, then, if you wish to 
 lose your dog."
 
 74 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 It was the first time he had ever spoken roughly 
 to the companion of his life-work, and her astonish 
 ment was so great that even at this crucial moment 
 she stopped to look at him. 
 
 " Why, what can that girl do ? " 
 
 " I don t know," brusquely. " She is a Chris 
 tian Scientist. They claim to do all sorts of tricks. 
 I saw it was all up with Timmy. She was willing 
 to try. That s all. I m not equal to a wrestling 
 match with even a mite like you this morning, so 
 have it your own way." 
 
 " Maurice Burling, there is a Christian Scien 
 tist in my house ! " returned Miss Hereford, with 
 the repose born of horror. For one moment her 
 eyes turned wildly toward the closed door of the 
 little room, as if she were minded to break into 
 it instantly ; but all had grown still within. She 
 had not the courage to stir in its direction. 
 
 " I don t hear Timmy any longer," she said with 
 broken softness, turning back to Burling. 
 
 " No more do I," he answered briefly. 
 
 Ten long minutes they stood there. Still no 
 movement, no sound from the little room. 
 
 " Would n t she come out if Timmy were were 
 gone ? " asked Miss Hereford at last tremulously. 
 
 " I don t know. I never employed a Christian 
 Scientist. Perhaps when they fail they sail out 
 the window on a broomstick instead of meeting 
 the outraged family." 
 
 Burling was still waiting for his pipe. His mal 
 treated wrists ached, and he was irritated by the 
 recent scene of tears and pain; yet the interest of
 
 TIMMY 75 
 
 that little room held him. He did not care to 
 leave until the door opened. 
 
 There was a window at the end of the corridor, 
 and beside it was a wicker seat large enough for 
 two. Silently he led the way to it, and they both 
 sat down. 
 
 Miss Hereford s bewildered thoughts were com 
 ing into system and order, and like a star among 
 them shone out the fair face that had bent above 
 her to calm her grief. She had always said, and 
 her beloved rector had lauded her for it, that 
 rather than harbor a Christian Scientist under her 
 roof, she would forego the companionship of her 
 best friend ; and now here she was sitting, meekly 
 tolerating, even eagerly hoping for the success of 
 what she had always maintained to be blasphemous 
 presumption. She wrung her hands together. 
 
 But this was America ; and Timmy had been 
 perhaps even now was dying ! She shuddered. 
 
 " How did you know this girl was a Christian 
 Scientist? " she asked in what she tried to make a 
 severe tone. It would be so much easier to make 
 it severe if she were sure that the little spark of 
 life in the next room had flickered out. 
 
 " She told me so yesterday, coming home from 
 the station." 
 
 " What do you suppose she is doing in there so 
 long?" 
 
 I believe they pray, don t they ? " asked Bur 
 ling doubtfully. 
 
 An excited catch came into Miss Hereford s 
 throat. " Some people would n t pray for a little
 
 76 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 dog, would they, Maurice ? She had a very sweet 
 face. She she does n t seem real to me yet," 
 she added piteously. " It would be rude to inter 
 rupt her, would n t it ? " swallowing a sob. " I m 
 sure she meant very kindly, or she would n t have 
 spoken in the tone she did. Did you notice her 
 tone, Maurice ? " 
 
 " Yes. It struck me that her motive was pure." 
 
 " You know there are good people in every sect, 
 and and, she would n t stay in there if he were 
 dead, would she now, Maurice ? " The nervous 
 catch sounded again in Miss Hereford s voice. 
 
 Suddenly Miss Graves entered the hall from an 
 opposite door. " Oh, I ve been looking for you, 
 Miss Hereford," she said in her sonorous tones. 
 
 Instantly the fingers of the two on the wicker 
 divan flew to their lips. The housekeeper hesi 
 tated a minute, then advanced on tiptoe. 
 
 " What is it ? " she asked softly. 
 
 Miss Hereford glanced at Burling, but he only 
 smiled rather quizzically at the little woman whose 
 hope even against hope was making her fingers 
 and lips unsteady. 
 
 " I hope Mr. William has n t had an attack," 
 said Miss Graves, as they both continued silent. 
 The traces of tears and the tension in Miss Here 
 ford s face indicated some serious calamity. " Not 
 that it would n t be a mercy a mercy a mercy ! " 
 added Miss Miranda s swift thought. 
 
 " No," returned Miss Hereford, looking again 
 at Burling, wistful that he should speak ; but he 
 remained mute.
 
 TIMMY 77 
 
 " I did n t know until a few minutes ago," said 
 Miss Hereford tremulously, " that your niece was 
 a Christian Scientist, Miss Graves." 
 
 A pang of mortification swept through the 
 housekeeper. This, then, was the cause of her 
 employer s agitation. Could she blame her? It 
 was disgrace and pain that she herself had suffered 
 last evening when Frances had confessed her faith, 
 and her face suffused ; yet now, with strange in 
 consistency, she resented Miss Hereford s attitude, 
 while a bitter impatience arose within her that her 
 niece conld so injure the family pride. 
 
 " I did n t know it myself until she arrived here, 
 Miss Hereford," she returned stiffly. " Of course 
 my niece won t stay under your roof one minute 
 longer than you wish her to. At the same time," 
 Miss Miranda s cheeks were flushing deeper under 
 her sallow skin and her head was erect, " you being 
 an Englishwoman and she an American, I must 
 ask you to remember the Mayflower. She has a 
 right to believe anything she wants to." 
 
 " Then you do you " asked Miss Hereford 
 tremulously, "do you sympathize in her views?" 
 
 Miranda, in her excitement, took no note of the 
 timidity of the question. Her black eyes snapped. 
 
 " Are you through with me if I do ? " she asked, 
 her pride and independence in arms. 
 
 " Oh, no, indeed ! " exclaimed the poor little 
 lady, overwhelmed at the thought of America 
 minus Timmy and Miss Graves. " I merely asked 
 for information," she added, still nervously listen 
 ing.
 
 78 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 "Then I can satisfy you in two words," said 
 Miranda emphatically. " I don t. Frances is a 
 good girl, and she seems as happy over this folde- 
 rol as if she d found the pot of gold at the end of 
 the rainbow. My only comfort is that it can t last 
 long with her. She comes of good New England 
 stock, and " 
 
 Miss Hereford shook her finger warningly at 
 the speaker and put her head forward. " Not quite 
 so loud, if you please, Miss Graves. I thought 
 just then I heard something." 
 
 " Where ? " asked Miranda, looking around 
 vaguely. 
 
 Maurice Burling smiled at the empty pipe he 
 was fondling. He had risen when Miss Graves 
 approached. The housekeeper began to feel that 
 there was still a mystery here. Why must she be 
 quiet, even though her niece s fad had moved Miss 
 Hereford to tears ? That lady s following words 
 did not explain. 
 
 "I thought I heard your niece s voice," she 
 said. 
 
 Miss Graves stared. Why should Frances s 
 voice be a cause for enjoining silence ? 
 
 " Oh, no," she answered. " My niece must have 
 gone to walk. She disappeared while I was talk 
 ing to the cook." 
 
 " Oh, Maurice ! " ejaculated Miss Hereford, 
 turning and stretching out her little hand toward 
 him, " indeed I thought again I heard her ! " 
 
 Miss Graves looked from one to the other. What 
 was all this ? Were they crazy, or was she ?
 
 TIMMY 79 
 
 Miss Hereford could contain herself no longer. 
 " Oh, Miss Graves, my little dog has been poisoned 
 my little Timmy ! We left him in that room 
 dying ! " The tears again dropped down the 
 speaker s face. 
 
 " You did ! " ejaculated Miranda. She had not 
 been a week in this house without discovering that 
 her employer s little countryman was the sunshine 
 of her life. She even liked the amiable pet her 
 self, with a sort of contemptuous good nature. 
 
 " What did you leave him for ? " she asked very 
 naturally. 
 
 " Oh, you don t suppose we would if there had 
 been anything that anybody could do for him ! " 
 exclaimed Miss Hereford poignantly, unconscious 
 that she was voicing the sentiment of most people 
 when they finally seek " to the Lord " instead of 
 "to the physicians." 
 
 " Why did n t you make him swallow something ? 
 You could have got some soap, anyway ! " said the 
 housekeeper, with repressed impatience at this 
 supine behavior. 
 
 " We tried. Dudley and I tried. It only in 
 creased his sufferings. Ah ! " The speaker pressed 
 her hand to her hot eyes. 
 
 " But what do you mean sitting out here if he s 
 alive ! " urged Miranda, all her practical ideas 
 surging. " I never d have thought you d let him 
 die alone, Miss Hereford." 
 
 " Miss Graves ! " cried the little woman acutely. 
 ** How can you ! Your niece is with him." 
 
 " Frances ! " ejaculated the housekeeper, in a
 
 80 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 very extremity of surprise. " You ve left Frances 
 with him ! " 
 
 " Yes," piteously. " She s giving him an absent 
 treatment. Oh, Miss Graves, I keep imagining I 
 hear something in there ! " 
 
 The housekeeper looked around instinctively 
 for somewhere to sit down. She had a sensation 
 which was entirely unprecedented, and therefore 
 she did not recognize it ; but it was nothing more 
 nor less than hysteria. Indeed, she fell inconti 
 nently into the place on the divan which Mr. Bur 
 ling had vacated, and sat there grappling with the 
 idea of Frances and her patient. 
 
 " You know there was nothing else he was 
 dying " pursued Miss Hereford breathlessly, 
 " and she looked so sweet and so sure. I shan t 
 forget her face " - little sobs punctuated this 
 speech "I shan t indeed Oh ! " 
 
 It was not so much an exclamation as a cry, for 
 the door of the little room opened, and both women 
 leaped to their feet. Burling s lips fell apart 
 eagerly as the smiling girl in the blue cotton gown 
 came out into the hall, and in her arms lay the 
 pug, who was licking his chops and yawning por 
 tentously. 
 
 For a minute nothing was heard but the glad 
 cries of the dog s mistress and the endearing terms 
 with which she overwhelmed him and Frances alike. 
 
 " It was a very bad dream he had, a very bad 
 dream," said the girl, half laughing gently into the 
 pug s flat face, as she yielded him into the arms of 
 his mistress.
 
 TIMMY 81 
 
 " Dear child, what does it mean ? " asked Miss 
 Hereford at last brokenly. 
 
 " It means that God healed him." 
 
 " My dear my dear ! " The English lady s 
 shocked suspicion of irreverence mingled amus 
 ingly with her joy. 
 
 " Why not ? " asked the girl kindly. " Have 
 you an idea that any one but God made your little 
 dog?" 
 
 "Certainly not, of course." Miss Hereford 
 dropped an agitated kiss on the wrinkled velvety 
 forehead. " But it seems almost too much to ask 
 of the Almighty, my dear, the Almighty, does n t 
 it? Only a little dog." 
 
 "It doesn t seem so to me. Not a sparrow 
 falleth don t you remember ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes ! Oh, Timmy ! " 
 
 Dudley, whose sharp ears had been listening at 
 a safe distance, now hastened to join the group. 
 She seemed struck dumb at sight of the pug blink 
 ing in his mistress s arms ; but recovering herself, 
 she spoke. 
 
 " And I ve been giving Harvey such a dressing 
 down ! " she exclaimed. 
 
 " I m sure he richly deserved it," said Miss 
 Hereford. 
 
 " Why, no, Miss Hereford. He said he knew 
 he put those pieces of meat where Timmy could 
 not possibly get them, and you see he did n t. It 
 was just some passing sickness." 
 
 Miss Graves s hysterical temptation had passed. 
 Her face had resumed its Revolutionary lines.
 
 82 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Distemper, probably," she remarked. 
 
 She had no unkind intention toward her niece. 
 It was only the honest expression of her thought. 
 
 " Well, we certainly had a great scare, at any 
 rate," said Miss Hereford, " and I m just as much 
 obliged to you, my dear," a grateful look at 
 Frances, "as if Timmy had been poisoned. He 
 seemed very sick to me." 
 
 Frances was a young Scientist, and had not yet 
 become inured to the reluctance of thought to 
 admit an immaterial power. Burling saw the 
 color rise in her cheeks, though her eyes kept their 
 steady radiance. 
 
 " Miss Hereford," she said, " do not be turned 
 from gratitude to our Father for this proof that 
 no life is too trifling to be preserved by His tender 
 love. If you will ask your maid to go into the 
 next room, there is something there which needs 
 her attention." 
 
 She turned with her pleasant smile to Dudley, 
 who was watching her with ready suspicion. " You 
 will be able to show Harvey a bit of the meat he 
 did not hide carefully enough." 
 
 Maurice Burling, walking in the grounds half 
 an hour afterward, emptied his pipe by rapping it 
 against the trunk of an elm-tree. His eyes were 
 speculative. 
 
 A robin running through the grass near by 
 lifted its head and stared at him. He nodded 
 toward its bright eye. 
 
 " That was a very neat little miracle, if you ask 
 me," he said confidentially.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE PAGODA 
 
 Miss GRAVES did not lack food for thought the 
 rest of that day. At luncheon Frances was aware 
 that her aunt was eyeing her furtively from time 
 to time. The episode of the morning was highly 
 repugnant to Miss Miranda. 
 
 " In Salem days she d have been burned for a 
 witch," she thought. 
 
 In spite of her generous heart, she would have 
 much preferred that Miss Hereford should be 
 left to mourn her pet than that Frances should 
 assume a role so far removed from the family 
 traditions. She dreaded the notoriety to which 
 the affair might give rise among the servants ; and 
 that afternoon when Dudley came to the house 
 keeper on some errand, Miss Miranda gave her 
 more than the usual passing glance. 
 
 The lady s maid was evidently still under ex 
 citement. To tell the truth, she was unreason- 
 ingly jealous of the sudden importance in the eyes 
 of her mistress of the American girl, the niece of 
 this housekeeper whose rights she was so often 
 forced to respect. 
 
 Spite sparkled in Dudley s eyes as she lingered 
 When her errand was over.
 
 84 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Frances was not in sight, but she would take 
 the aunt down a peg. 
 
 " It was lucky Timmy got over his attack," she 
 remarked. " I dare say there s not a dog in 
 America as well bred as Timmy." 
 
 " Should n t wonder," returned Miss Graves, 
 with a show of nonchalance she was far from feel 
 ing. 
 
 "I told Harvey if he wanted to kill the rats 
 he d have to use something a good bit stronger 
 than the stuff he put on that meat." 
 
 " M h m," responded Miss Graves, feeling as 
 hot all over as Dudley could have desired, but 
 maintaining an impassive demeanor. 
 
 Her reticence incited the maid to clinch the 
 matter. 
 
 " Miss Hereford and I were quite put about for 
 a few minutes, Timmy seemed so upset, but di 
 rectly we left the room he went quite sick, and of 
 course he came right after that. Your young 
 woman was very kind to stay with him. I had to 
 bring Miss Hereford away. It was too much for 
 her nerves, don t you know." 
 
 " My niece s name is Rogers Miss Rogers," 
 said the housekeeper slowly, with a level look out 
 of her eyes into Dudley s. 
 
 " Is it, indeed ? Well, Miss Hereford took it 
 very kind of her being willing to stay with Timmy 
 while the poor dog was suffering, but of course we 
 know now he was n t so bad as we thought." 
 
 " Law, no," said Miss Graves carelessly, secretly 
 delighted to find that Dudley s malice took this
 
 THE PAGODA 85 
 
 turn. " All s well that ends well, " she added, 
 " and I hope Timmy 11 have more sense next 
 time." 
 
 " That s where it is," returned the maid, molli 
 fied. " Him that s always fed so dainty, too 
 After all, Mrs. Graves, pamper them as you will s 
 a dog s a dog, and you can t make anything else 
 out of them." 
 
 " That s a fact, Dudley," said Miss Miranda j 
 and then they parted, each somewhat relieved in 
 mind. 
 
 " And the magicians did likewise with their 
 enchantments, " thought Miss Graves as she went 
 about her work. It was a bit of Scripture she had 
 quoted often to herself that day. It seemed to her 
 that every hour since the afternoon in Melrose 
 when she had come upon her niece reading the 
 Bible, the girl had been changing into a new and 
 quite different personality from the one Miss Mi 
 randa had known. 
 
 Frances took a walk this first afternoon of her 
 stay at Waterview. Her thoughts as she strolled 
 had been radiant, or so it seemed to Miss Graves 
 from the look in the girl s face when at last she 
 returned and entered the room where her aunt was 
 sewing. 
 
 " It is a beautiful afternoon," she announced. 
 
 " Think so ? " returned Miss Miranda, biting off 
 her thread. " All overcast, seems to me." 
 
 " Yes, but the air is so sweet. I love these gray 
 days." 
 
 " Well, I should think you d be too lame to care
 
 86 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 very much about walking," remarked Miranda 
 bluntly. " Come, now, Frances Rogers, ain t you 
 lame?" 
 
 " I am, a little not much." 
 
 " Well, I m glad you 11 own it." 
 
 The girl seated herself in a rocking-chair and 
 smiled. 
 
 " You re glad I m lame, then." 
 
 "Yes, I am. When folks get thrown out of 
 carriages it s natural they should be lame, and I d 
 rather they were. And when dogs get poisoned I 
 want they should die. It s natural. So there ! " 
 
 The girl s laugh rang out heartily. " That s 
 funny," she said, " but it is n t true. If you could 
 have rubbed the lameness out of me with liniment 
 you d have been delighted, would n t you ? " 
 
 " Humph ! " grunted Miss Graves, setting a 
 vigorous stitch. 
 
 " If you could have cured Timmy you would not 
 have grudged days and nights of care. You would 
 have fought for his life for Miss Hereford s sake 
 as hard as if he had been a baby. You can t deny 
 it." 
 
 Miss Graves looked up from her sewing and 
 straight at her niece over her glasses. " Frances 
 Rogers, tell me, now we re alone, what you gave 
 that dog ! " 
 
 The girl returned her aunt s gaze for a hesitat 
 ing minute. 
 
 " But, Aunt Mira," she said at last, " you must 
 know I don t carry around antidotes for poison in 
 the pocket of my morning gown."
 
 THE PAGODA 87 
 
 "I ask, Frances," sonorously, "what did you 
 give that dog ? " 
 
 " And I tell you," replied the girl gently, " no 
 thing but a large dose of truth." 
 
 " Pshaw ! " ejaculated Miss Graves fiercely, and 
 resumed her sewing. 
 
 For a minute there was silence ; then Frances 
 spoke. " We hope to live together, Aunt Mira. 
 Supposing we agree not to talk on this subject." 
 
 " I shall agree to nothing of the kind," was Miss 
 Miranda s prompt response. " Anything on earth 
 but a forbidden subject. Frances Kogers, have 
 you an idea of the families Christian Science has 
 broken up?" 
 
 " No. I have n t heard of any. I know of some 
 it has brought together." 
 
 " Have you an idea of the wise and good men 
 who have preached against it ? I have a sermon 
 now that I cut out of the paper before I ever 
 thought a Graves could run so wild. It is by the 
 
 Rev. Dr. D . I 11 let you read it. In fact, I 
 
 wish you to read it." 
 
 " Can he heal the sick ? " asked Frances. 
 
 Miss Miranda looked up. " I don t suppose hu 
 can. I don t suppose he would try to do such a 
 thing." 
 
 " Then no matter what he says, he does n t 
 know enough about his subject to discuss it. We 
 only study the Science that Christ taught, and 
 obey him as far and fast as we can. Christian 
 Science is n t a matter of words. It is a matter 
 of deeds. Discussing it or preaching against it
 
 88 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 amounts to nothing unless the preacher can come 
 down out of the pulpit and heal the sick as Jesus 
 Christ told him to do. Then his words will have 
 weight ; but then they will cease to be in oppo 
 sition to his Master." 
 
 Miss Graves dropped her sewing, and seemed 
 searching in vain for something to say. 
 
 " I do hate to have you queer > Frances," she said 
 at last. 
 
 " But when you come to find I m not queer 
 won t that be a blessing ? Aunt Mira, let us read 
 the New Testament over again together while I m 
 here. I believe you ve forgotten some of the things 
 Jesus said and commanded." 
 
 " Read my Bible, eh ? " Miss Graves gave a 
 short laugh. " My niece tells me I ve forgotten 
 the Gospels ! Well, well ! Frances, you re my 
 guest, and I don t want to make you uncomfort 
 able, so I won t tell you what I think of that 
 speech." 
 
 " Aunt Mira," the girl left her chair and came 
 and sat on the stool at Miss Graves s feet, "you 
 must know it is a pain to me to displease you. I 
 have anticipated so much being with you, looked 
 forward to our living together, and now all I can 
 do to prove my love is to go away the minute you 
 want me to. I did n t mean to say it so frankly, 
 but on second thoughts I agree with you ; there 
 must be no concealment between us, not even a 
 loving one. I will go to-morrow and not feel the 
 least resentment if you would be relieved by my 
 doing so. Just say the word."
 
 THE PAGODA 89 
 
 Miss Miranda s face was grave and rigid as she 
 met the entreating blue eyes. 
 
 " Frances," she said, " I did n t sleep much last 
 night. I was thinking thinking and thinking 
 around in a circle, about supposing you kept oir 
 with this unreasonable superstition how should 
 we get on together ? I got to wondering just how 
 much you did care for me : whether you would for 
 my sake give up this new fad. I m glad you re 
 quit of your headaches, real glad you re so well 
 and happy ; but why can t you be just as good and 
 well off in the church your father and mother 
 loved ? I know I have n t done so much for you 
 the last few years as to have any great rights to 
 be considered ; but, oh, Frances, the weight it would 
 take off my heart if you d just agree to come back 
 to the safe path that s been good enough for thou 
 sands of Christians a good deal better than you or 
 I can ever hope to be ! " 
 
 The girl s hand was on her aunt s knee. " Aunt 
 Mira, you have done all for me that you could. I 
 could n t feel more grateful to you if you had had 
 quantities of money and lavished it upon me. Don t 
 think for a minute that it is lack of love for you 
 that makes me persist in going on instead of back. 
 You have no idea what you are asking of me." 
 
 " Then supposing it came to a question of a 
 break between us?" asked Miss Graves, the lines 
 of her face hardening still more. 
 
 " I should never cease to regret it." 
 
 " You have n t anybody in the world as near to 
 you as I am," persisted Miss Miranda. " Think
 
 90 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 well what you re saying, Frances. There s no 
 difference like a religious difference. It may sun 
 der us in spite of ourselves. Would you cut your 
 self off from all kith and kin ? " 
 
 " My dear Aunt Mira," replied the girl, " in a 
 way I am not independent of you, for I love you 
 dearly ; but if I had a father and mother, brothers 
 and sisters, besides you, and all felt that they must 
 leave me if I held to Christian Science, it would 
 make no difference." 
 
 Miss Graves frowned slightly, and they regarded 
 each other during a pause. 
 
 "Now after that, I am willing to accept your 
 verdict," said Frances. 
 
 It was a satisfaction to her aunt to observe that 
 the sweet lips quivered. 
 
 " You re a fanatic, then," said Miss Miranda 
 brusquely. " There s nothing particularly novel 
 about being a fanatic. There have been armies 
 of them." 
 
 Her heart was beating hard. For the moment 
 it seemed to her good to remand the obstinate one 
 to her life in one room and extinguish at once all 
 hope of the cooperative life in an apartment, to 
 which they had both looked forward. Frances s 
 very gentleness was exasperating. Miss Graves 
 elected to view it as a pose. 
 
 " Well, we 11 see," she said at last, vaguely. 
 
 " I can go back to-morrow," said the girl. 
 Shall I ? " 
 
 " No, you shall not ! " brusquely. " Wait a few 
 days for the speech of people if nothing more."
 
 THE PAGODA 91 
 
 So it was unsatisfactorily settled, and Miss 
 Miranda, in spite of herself, could but admire the 
 equable and cheerful manner in which her niece 
 for the rest of that day made conversation about 
 their mutual friends and acquaintances at home. 
 
 " Certainly for a young person," thought Miss 
 Miranda, " her self-control is remarkable." 
 
 " But I ve always heard," she added mentally, 
 " that Christian Science makes them all hard and 
 cold, little by little." 
 
 So passed Frances s first day at Waterview. 
 The second morning was cloudless. Miss Graves 
 accepted her assistance in a few household duties, 
 and then she did her reading, as before, on the 
 porch. The sparkling water seemed to beckon 
 through the trees, and at last she went hatless 
 across the lawn toward a pagoda built on a little 
 rise of ground in sight of the crested blue of the 
 Sound. She found it inclosed on three sides, and 
 within were a wicker table, several chairs, and a 
 hammock. No sign of life showing in any direc 
 tion, she seated herself in the netting and gazed 
 out upon the water, speedily becoming lost in 
 thought. 
 
 She had become so completely unconscious of 
 the passage of time that she started at the sudden 
 apparition of two men, who appeared to have 
 dropped from the clouds upon the grass before her 
 retreat. One was a servant in black clothes, who 
 carried over his arm a heavy Scotch rug. In his 
 hands were a couple of boxes, and his face bore 
 an expression of supercilious endurance, his upper
 
 92 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 lip being elevated at one side in a general disap 
 proval of the universe. The second was taller and 
 broader, a man in knickerbockers. A thick crop 
 of brown wavy hair caught the sun in its lighter 
 threads. Bold brown eyes opened wide beneath 
 the broad brow, and the lips of the handsome 
 mouth were loose and sullen. His brow lowered 
 as he caught sight of Frances sitting in the ham 
 mock, her slippered feet showing below her blue 
 gown. 
 
 Sanders well knew who she was. He had a 
 contempt for her in advance, as the housekeeper s 
 niece, and the opportunity to show it, while keep 
 ing rigidly within the line of his duty, was sweet. 
 
 " Mr. William s arnmock, if you please, miss," 
 he said insolently. 
 
 Frances s thoughts had been so far afield that 
 for a moment all that impressed her was the amus 
 ing absurdity of a lady s being requested to relin 
 quish her resting-place to the strapping young man 
 before her ; but as the latter s bold, cold stare 
 awakened her consciousness, she realized the new 
 comer s identity, and her heart gave a little leap 
 of apprehension as she hastily rose. 
 
 The young man still scowled. " You need n t 
 go if you don t like," he said. " I don t want the 
 hammock yet." 
 
 This gracious permission might amuse the vis 
 itor later on. At present she was far too uncom 
 fortable and anxious for flight. 
 
 " Thank you, but I must go. My aunt " 
 
 " Who are you, anyway ? " demanded the youth,
 
 THE PAGODA 93 
 
 planting himself in her path and scanning her 
 blonde head and face curiously. " You are n t 
 that giggling one who was here once." 
 
 " No, I have n t met you before," returned 
 Frances, controlling the desire for incontinent 
 flight. She recalled afterward that the servant 
 regarded the scene open mouthed. 
 
 Anything approaching mental alienation had al 
 ways had for her a particular horror, and all she 
 had heard concerning this unfortunate young man 
 seemed to receive a terrifying touch from the big 
 ness and strength with which he towered above 
 her. 
 
 Instinctively she attempted to pass him, and in 
 stantly he grasped her arm. 
 
 " Oh, please let me go," she said breathlessly. 
 
 " Mr. William, sir ! " ejaculated the astonished 
 Sanders. 
 
 " Hold your tongue ! " exclaimed the boy, turn 
 ing roughly upon him. 
 
 To the intense relief of the trio, Maurice Bur 
 ling and Miss Hereford here came strolling around 
 the side of the pagoda. Burling stared at the 
 sight which met his eyes. Frances, very pale, was 
 held in Billy s grasp, and the latter s scowl deepened 
 as Maurice in his turn grasped his shoulder. 
 
 " Take your hand off her, Billy." 
 
 Billy s answer to this peremptory demand, being 
 Unconventional in the extreme, need not be re 
 corded. 
 
 Burling knew the hopelessness of forcing him, 
 and he saw by Frances s face that the tightening 
 grasp was painful.
 
 94 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Miss Hereford comprehended the situation at 
 once. " Here is Timmy come to see you, Billy," 
 she said, holding up the pug. 
 
 At this the boy did drop Frances s arm to seize 
 Timmy by his loose little hide and carelessly fling 
 him, yelping, some distance away. 
 
 " Timmy s a bore," he remarked coolly. 
 
 Miss Hereford gave a little shriek, and running 
 after her pet, clasped him close to her bosom. 
 
 Meanwhile Frances, breathing freer, started to 
 step down from the pagoda. 
 
 " Here, you ! " called the young man, pointing 
 after her as one whose slightest gesture is obeyed, 
 " Don t go away ! Sit down ! I want to look at 
 you ! " 
 
 " Miss Rogers," said Burling, crimson with sur 
 prise as well as annoyance, " this is entirely un 
 precedented, and not only in the way you think. 
 Will you kindly oblige us by being seated for a 
 few moments ? " 
 
 Sanders listened to the profound respect of this 
 address, and decided that he must revise his pro 
 gramme somewhat. 
 
 " I m sure, Billy, you re sorry you were so un 
 kind to Timmy," said Miss Hereford in a grieved 
 tone, as she took a seat near that into which the 
 young autocrat had thrown himself. 
 
 " Don t bother," he replied. " What s her 
 name ? " with a jerk of his head toward Frances, 
 who had reluctantly sunk into a chair, behind 
 which Burling remained standing. 
 
 " That is Miss Rogers," replied Miss Hereford,
 
 THE PAGODA . 95 
 
 " and Miss Kogers, this is Mr. William Hereford, 
 my nephew and my own dear boy. You don t 
 know, Billy, how kind Miss Rogers was to Timmy 
 yesterday." 
 
 " Oh, cut Timmy ! " He stared long and coolly 
 at the stranger. " She s different to that gig 
 gling one," he added at last. 
 
 Frances was still trembling, but by this time she 
 had begun to regain her self-control. 
 
 Miss Hereford and Burling exchanged a look. 
 
 "You can come over here, girl." The young 
 fellow beckoned. " I 11 show you my beads." 
 
 At his nonchalant words and gesture Burling 
 stooped toward Frances s ear. " If you will be so 
 very kind? " he said. 
 
 Reluctantly she rose and crossed to the empty 
 chair, which the youth indicated. 
 
 " Don t be a duffer, Billy," said Burling. " Can t 
 you stand up when a lady is coming to you? " 
 
 Upon this the tall boy swung himself lazily to 
 his feet and placed the chair nearer his own than 
 the girl fancied. She attempted to move it. 
 
 " Drop that," he said roughly. " It does very 
 well as it is." 
 
 Sanders placed a couple of boxes on the table 
 near his master s elbow. Uncovering one, a quan 
 tity of small bright beads were discovered, while 
 the other held needles and spools of waxed thread. 
 
 " I 11 let you make yourself a ring," said Billy. 
 " Girls are always keen for jewelry. You can 
 keep it, too, if you like. I always break mine 
 up by evening because it might not suit me next
 
 96 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 morning. To-day it must be sapphires, to match 
 the water. There s enough for both. You can 
 have sapphires too, if you like." 
 
 The girl s glance swept the faces of her enter 
 tainers, and what she saw there made her try to 
 smile into the bold eyes fixed upon her. " I think 
 I 11 take diamonds, if you don t mind. I ve 
 never had a diamond ring." 
 
 The boy shrugged his big shoulders. "Of 
 course you can if you like, but your gown is blue. 
 I don t think much of your taste. Now, then, 
 stupid," to Sanders, " hurry up with those needles ! 
 Fingers all thumbs, as usual." 
 
 " The thread seems to knot this morning, Mr. 
 William," returned the man. 
 
 "Don t blab!" 
 
 " Keep a civil tongue in your head, youngster, 
 can t you ? " suggested Burling. 
 
 " Who wants you around here, old Maurice ? " 
 was the rough rejoinder. "You re color-blind, 
 anyway." 
 
 " I want him ! " ejaculated Frances, in a panic 
 of which the next instant she felt deeply ashamed. 
 
 " Humph. Well, I said you did n t have much 
 taste," remarked Billy, proceeding to pull over the 
 beads.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 
 
 FOR some time the little group remained in the 
 pagoda, all humoring the poor half-developed brain. 
 The youth was delighted when Frances had diffi 
 culty in matching the size of her diamonds, and 
 the rare sound of his laughter ringing out once or 
 twice moistened Miss Hereford s eyes with tears. 
 
 To Frances the situation was extremely painful 
 and embarrassing. She flushed in sympathy with 
 her hostess at the frequent recurrence of the 
 youth s rudeness. To be confronted with the fam 
 ily skeleton in the family s presence filled her with 
 mortification, and she welcomed the completion of 
 the rings as an excuse for retreat. 
 
 " I m sure I thank you very much, Mr. Here 
 ford," she said at last, holding up her hand to 
 admire the glass circlet. 
 
 " Oh, cut the Mister. You can call me Billy. 
 Here, I 11 wish on your ring. Then you 11 have to 
 keep it there, you know." 
 
 He took her hand in his, and she shrank from 
 his grasp. Pulling off the bead circlet, he held it 
 poised a moment, then a mischievous flash played 
 over his handsome face. 
 
 " With this ring I thee wed," he said, and again 
 his boyish laugh rang out gleefully.
 
 98 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " You re a good sort," he added. " Perhaps 
 when I m a man we shall hit it off." 
 
 "You were going to wish," said Frances, her 
 very ears burning. 
 
 " All right. I wish that you should make rings 
 with me every day." On went the circlet to the 
 smooth finger. " I say, how little your hand 
 looks," said the boy, regarding it with sudden 
 wonder. 
 
 Burling bit his lip. " But yours is such a size, 
 you see, Billy," he said. " Now then, let Miss 
 Rogers go." 
 
 " Go ? Not much ! " retorted the boy promptly. 
 * I 11 let you go, and Aunt Eleanor, and Sanders ; 
 Miss Rogers is going to stop here." 
 
 The determination of the tone set Frances s 
 heart a-flutter ; but she regarded her captor, and 
 allowed her eyes to suffuse with the tears she had 
 been long repressing. 
 
 " Do you know you hurt me holding my hand so 
 tight ? " she asked slowly. 
 
 The effect of the gentle words was magical. He 
 gazed at her tears fascinated, and instantly re 
 leased her. 
 
 "If anybody hurts you," he exclaimed in a 
 choked voice, " I 11 kill him ! " 
 
 Frances pursued her advantage. " I have come 
 to Waterview to visit my aunt," she said in the 
 same slow, soft voice. " She is waiting for me 
 now at the house. I should like to go and show 
 her my ring. May I ? " 
 
 "I I suppose so. You can tell her I gave it
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 99 
 
 to you. And I 11 give you another one some time, 
 too." 
 
 "Thank you," returned Frances, and without 
 other leave-taking she stepped swiftly from the 
 pagoda, and the minute the corner was turned, fled 
 like a fawn toward the house. 
 
 Billy returned, humming a tune and smiling, to 
 his beads. 
 
 Miss Hereford and Burling exchanged a long 
 look again. Sanders sniffed unostentatiously and 
 threaded another needle. 
 
 To Frances s relief, when she reached the house 
 she did not at once find her aunt. Hastening into 
 the little vine-clad porch, she sat down, and lean 
 ing her elbows on the table whereon still lay her 
 books, she opened her text-book, and resting her 
 forehead on her hands, read and read as one who 
 takes deep draughts. 
 
 She was humiliated, ashamed of her own recent 
 fears and present tremors. 
 
 Before long Miss Miranda caught sight of her 
 through a window, and coming out, observed her 
 absorption. 
 
 Frances, feeling her gaze, looked up. 
 
 " I ve been reading that book some since you ve 
 been gone," said Miss Graves dryly. " You ve 
 got a hard row to hoe if you believe one quarter of 
 what that says. It seems matter not only is n t 
 respectable, but it is n t even real." 
 
 Frances sighed. She was in no mood for argu 
 ment. 
 
 " It seems a hard saying at first ; but after all,
 
 100 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 you know, none of the wise men can decide what 
 matter is, and you believe, don t you, that God is 
 omnipresent?" 
 
 " Of course," returned Miss Miranda. 
 
 " What is he spirit or matter ? " 
 
 " Spirit, of course." 
 
 " What does omnipresent mean ? " 
 
 " Everywhere." 
 
 " Then where is matter to come from ? " 
 
 "Those are words," said Miss Graves impa 
 tiently, "and actions speak louder than words 
 every time. I guess you 11 be willing enough to 
 come in and eat your lunch. It 11 be ready in a 
 few minutes." 
 
 Frances sighed again unconsciously at the famil 
 iar gibe. 
 
 " Yes, we do not awaken at once from a false 
 sense to the expression of absolute truth. First 
 we have the sweet assurance of this truth in the 
 destruction of any suffering from the food we eat. 
 We re less dependent upon it, too, and more con 
 scious that man lives not by bread alone, but by 
 every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of 
 God ; and when we awaken in the likeness of that 
 mind which was in Christ we shall know that 
 this mind sustains us with its own eternal ideas. 
 Let me assure you, Aunt Mira, that we shall never 
 get anywhere by argument about this. Have you 
 time to sit down a minute ? " 
 
 Miss Graves seated herself with an expression 
 of face which confirmed her niece in a suddenly 
 taken resolution.
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 101 
 
 " I can see," went on the girl, " that I made a 
 mistake in not talking frankly to you on this sub 
 ject while you were in Melrose. It would hava 
 saved us a great deal. The next best thing is for 
 me to go back immediately. I received an invita 
 tion in this morning s mail to make a visit to the 
 family where I tutored last summer. They have 
 a cottage at Intervale, and they urge me very 
 strongly." 
 
 " Oh, of course, if you d rather," said Miss 
 Miranda with hasty pride. " No doubt it will be 
 dull for you here as the guest of an employee." 
 
 The girl shook her head gravely. " You know 
 it is n t that ; but it has already begun to be pain 
 ful for us both to have an important point of 
 difference in thought rising between us, and it is 
 liable to become more so as time goes on." 
 
 " It takes considerable money to go kiting 
 around from pillar to post like that," remarked 
 Miss Miranda. 
 
 " Yes, that is so, too. I m sure you know that 
 if I felt I could be a comfort to you the place I 
 should choose would be as close to you as possible ; 
 but for the present I m not a comfort. It looks to 
 me quite certain that it would be better for me to 
 go back to Boston to-morrow. You can tell Miss 
 Hereford that I was recalled if the question conies 
 up." 
 
 Miss Graves bit her lip undecidedly. At every 
 turn ^she was being surprised by the newly devel 
 oped strength exhibited by her niece. As she re 
 garded the fair face a curious mixture of impotent 
 anger and affection agitated her.
 
 102 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Another reason for this determination has 
 come up this morning. I should consider it cow 
 ardly to give way to it if it were the only objection 
 to my remaining, but the main reason being what 
 it is, this annoyance has weight too ; " and Frances 
 recounted her experience in the pagoda. 
 
 Miss Graves forgot her own wrongs and rights 
 as she listened. 
 
 " Rough young cub ! " she commented when the 
 girl had come to an end. " He ought n t to be let 
 loose that way. It s a shame for you to be put 
 through such a scene." 
 
 " Those poor people, Miss Hereford and Mr. 
 Burling ! I know they were deeply mortified, but 
 evidently helpless." 
 
 " It is outrageous ! " A protective tenderness 
 had banished all other emotions in Miss Graves s 
 breast. Like many another maternal instinct, hers 
 permitted her to discipline the child of her affec 
 tions, but to protest vigorously against any liberty 
 taken by an outsider. 
 
 For a moment the young girl, who had mani 
 fested for her a regard quite undeserved in Miss 
 Miranda s own estimation, showed in so brave a 
 light that her aunt s heart yearned over her re 
 morsefully. That her plan for making Frances 
 her first consideration this summer should have 
 had such an outcome could not reasonably be con- 
 sidered entirely the girl s fault, although there 
 was still lurking in Miss Miranda s mind the sense 
 of hurt and outrage that the young creature had 
 dared not only to think for herself, but to hold
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 103 
 
 herself uninfluenced and untouched by the disap 
 proval of one who in the nature of things should 
 be her guide and leader. 
 
 " Look here, Frances," she said, after a thought 
 ful pause. "I don t want you should be driveu 
 away, either by me or by that young moon-calf. 
 For my own part, I 11 agree to hold my tongue ; 
 and as for him, I 11 see if he s going to lay hands 
 on my niece." Miss Graves s black eyes snapped. 
 
 Frances shook her head slightly. " You could 
 hold your tongue, no doubt, Aunt Mira, if you made 
 up your mind to do so, but it would be harder 
 than you think ; and as you say, a forbidden sub 
 ject is an embarrassment to two people who love 
 each other. I am certain you would be happier 
 and freer without me and my books." She laid 
 her hand on her treasures as they lay on the table. 
 
 " I m not sure, Frances. You re my dear girl, 
 and I ain t prepared to say what I could n t swal 
 low rather than part with you. Come in to lunch 
 now, anyway." 
 
 Just as they were finishing the meal Dudley 
 entered the room. The housekeeper usually read 
 this young woman s moods by the tilt of her nose 
 and chin. She perceived now that Dudley had 
 come on an unsatisfactory errand. 
 
 " Miss Hereford asks if Miss Graves and her 
 niece will come to see her in her morning-room 
 at three o clock." 
 
 When the housekeeper had assented and the 
 maid had left, Miss Miranda nodded at her niece. 
 
 " An apology. You see if t is n t. Of course
 
 104 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 it s only decent of her ; but you 11 see, Frances, 
 you only got into trouble this morning because 
 you happened to drop into one of that boy s haunts. 
 I scarce ever set eyes on him, and I would n t be 
 surprised if you never saw him again all the time 
 you re here." 
 
 A slight shudder passed over the girl. " I did n t 
 know I could be so cowardly. The combination 
 of tyranny and strength and imbecility seemed so 
 real that they mesmerized me." 
 
 " But Sanders is always with him." 
 
 " Sanders ! I could see that even Mr. Burling 
 would be powerless with him from a physical stand 
 point. He could sweep Sanders away as easily as 
 he did Timmy. Don t contradict me, Aunt Mira, 
 if I tell Miss Hereford this afternoon that I am 
 going away." 
 
 " Then you don t want to stay with me, Frances." 
 Miss Graves did not attempt to suppress the hurt 
 that appeared in her voice. " You 11 let that rough 
 boy scare you away." 
 
 The girl flushed. "No, I wouldn t. I would 
 not yield to that ; but," she met her aunt s eyes, 
 " I must not try to live with you until you are 
 ready for it. I came upon you with a great sur 
 prise this time. It would be fairer for me to go 
 away and start fresh." 
 
 "You have given me a pretty stiff dose," ad 
 mitted Miss Miranda, " but if I swallow it and no 
 questions asked " 
 
 " Ah, but you don t," said the girl, smiling sadly. 
 
 The more her niece seemed determined upon
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 105 
 
 leaving, the more unwilling Miss Graves felt to 
 let her go. 
 
 At three o clock they took their way to the little 
 room which had been the scene of Timmy s suffer 
 ings. He was there now, nestled at his mistress s 
 feet ; and Mr. Burling laid down a book and rosp 
 upon their entrance. 
 
 Miss Hereford, whose lap was bright with wools^ 
 held out her hand. 
 
 " Timmy and I should both come to meet you, 
 my dear," she said kindly, " but, as you see, he is 
 asleep he is very languid to-day and I am 
 quite weighted down with this work. Be seated, 
 please." Mr. Burling was placing two chairs. 
 
 Miss Hereford s hands were trembling vaguely 
 amid her skeins as she made pretense of working. 
 It required heroism for her to speak to these 
 American strangers, especially to her housekeeper, 
 of the family affliction ; but Maurice had convinced 
 her that Miss Graves could not be ignored in the 
 present interview. 
 
 Miss Hereford had not yet escaped from the 
 glamour surrounding Frances yesterday when she 
 suddenly appeared to her like a soothing angel of 
 deliverance in the hour of her need. 
 
 " There s something quite extraordinary about 
 that girl, Maurice," she had confided to him even 
 before this morning s experience. " She has quite 
 an English look, don t you think, and her voice 
 isn t screamy. Quite superior to her station, 
 should n t you think, Maurice ? " 
 
 Burling had smiled. " What are you thinking
 
 106 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 of, Aunt Eleanor ? Engaging her as a companion 
 for Timmy ? What would the rector say ? " 
 
 " I m sure she s a good girl," was Miss Here 
 ford s earnest reply. 
 
 " Even though she is a Christian ? " added Bur 
 ling. 
 
 " Maurice," reproachfully, " be careful. Chaf 
 fing is all very well in its place." 
 
 They had had another interview, with Frances 
 for the subject, since the episode in the pagoda, 
 and the result of it had been this summons to the 
 morning-room. 
 
 " Miss Graves," began the hostess, " I dare say 
 your niece has told you that she that she met 
 my poor nephew this morning." 
 
 " Yes, she has. It was unfortunate she did n t 
 know that he spends his mornings out there." 
 
 " Ah, it was fortunate ! " uttered Miss Here 
 ford devoutly. " A kind Providence directed her 
 footsteps." 
 
 Miss Graves bridled. Where was the apology 
 she had awaited ? "I was very sorry to have her 
 so frightened and distressed," she said bluntly. 
 
 " No more so than we were," responded Bur 
 ling. " We both tender a sincere apology to Miss 
 Rogers for the boy s rough manners, even though 
 we cannot regret what occurred. It has given us 
 too much occasion for thanksgiving." 
 
 " I fail to see how," said Miss Miranda. " You 
 at least ought to have somebody with him strong 
 enough to control him when he won t mind." 
 
 Miss Hereford winced.
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 107 
 
 "I can do so, usually," said Burling mildly. 
 "Not to-day, I admit." He made a slight ges 
 ture with his bandaged wrist toward Frances and 
 Smiled. 
 
 " Can you ever, Mr. Burling ? " she asked seri 
 ously. 
 
 " Yes, indeed. Wrestling with me is one of 
 Billy s chief joys, and he does n t always win. 
 You have probably heard of such a thing as the 
 superiority of mind over matter ? Billy is n t a 
 scientific wrestler. But it is true that of late his 
 strength is growing formidable," added Burling 
 in a changed tone. 
 
 "You can see, Miss Rogers," Miss Hereford s 
 lips quivered, but she went on bravely, " what a 
 chastening we have to bear in the terrible afflic 
 tion of our darling boy. He is an only child, and 
 his mother is dead. It still seems like a bad dream 
 from which we cannot waken, for up to the time 
 he was twelve years of age he was as bright and 
 normal as child could be. Then he had scarlet 
 fever very severely. His life was barely saved, 
 and during his convalescence he had a terrible 
 fall, after which he was unconscious for hours. 
 That is all we know all the doctors know." A 
 sob rose in the speaker s throat. " All the brain 
 specialists we have employed are powerless to ex 
 plain. They say it is a case of arrested develop 
 ment, and that is all they can say. The child is 
 still twelve years of age." 
 
 " I was alone with him at the time he had the 
 fall," said Burling.
 
 108 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Why do you tell that ? " asked Miss Hereford, 
 turning upon him with astonishing fire. 
 
 " It is part of the story," returned Maurice. 
 
 " You were as little to blame as if you had been 
 on the other side of the globe. It should never 
 be referred to." 
 
 " But I cannot forget it," said Burling simply. 
 
 All maintained a painful silence. Even the 
 housekeeper regretted her blunt comments. 
 
 Miss Hereford, nervously fingering her wools, 
 looked back at Frances. 
 
 " A year ago," she went on, " our doctor advised 
 us to bring my nephew away to an utter change of 
 air and scene. He has been always since his illness 
 shy and sullen and unwilling to meet strangers, 
 and the doctor said that the sea voyage might 
 have a good effect, and urged upon us the desira 
 bility of contact with young companions for our 
 boy whenever we could overcome his objections. 
 We spent last winter at the Majestic, and there 
 were several young people who very kindly at 
 tempted to interest my nephew and to entertain 
 him, but he repulsed every attention. You have 
 seen that he is unmannerly my poor darling ! " 
 
 She paused, unable to go on. 
 
 " Billy s ill temper seems a part of it all," said 
 Burling quietly. " He is very irritable, and his 
 boorish manners have been not the least of our 
 trials. Also they are hard to account for. To be 
 sure, at home he spent much of his time in the 
 stables ; but another paradox is that he does not 
 like to ride. He says it makes him dizzy. The
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 109 
 
 fall we referred to was from a horse. It is only 
 within the last two years that my nephew s phy 
 sique has been what you see it now. Up to that 
 time his delicacy had continued such that we be 
 lieved our problem might be solved any day." 
 
 Unconsciously Frances shook her head. 
 
 " Miss Graves," Burling turned courteously to 
 ward the housekeeper, " I assure you that we have 
 a strong reason for asking you and Miss Rogers 
 to listen to this detailed account. Shall I yield 
 the floor now to you, Aunt Eleanor ? " 
 
 " Go on, if you please, Maurice." 
 
 " It has been a paralyzing disappointment to us 
 that with the return of our nephew s health there 
 came no further health to the brain. As Miss 
 Hereford said, he has always been impatient of 
 the presence of strangers. We have tried chil 
 dren, young people of all ages, hoping to find in 
 some one an attraction for him that might be a 
 starting point for the development of greater in 
 telligence. All in vain. A fortnight ago Miss 
 Hereford received a visit from a Mrs. Jewett and 
 her daughter, our next neighbors. They were so 
 amiable and sympathetic that she was led on to 
 tell them of our reason for being here. As my 
 nephew was at the time out in the pagoda with his 
 man, the young lady, Miss Jewett, kindly con 
 sented to go with me to speak with him. She 
 is a fresh, attractive, vivacious creature, and I 
 thought in these new surroundings Billy might be 
 pleased to see her. The experiment was a failure. 
 When I afterward described the mortification of
 
 110 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 the scene to Miss Hereford, we both agreed that 
 it should be the last ; we would never subject an 
 other acquaintance to a similar annoyance." 
 
 " But you walked into it, my dear," burst forth 
 Miss Hereford, unable longer to contain herself, 
 and placing her hand on Frances s arm with an 
 unutterable appeal. " Do you wonder that I say 
 Providence directed your steps ? " 
 
 Burling caught a glowing look in the girl s eyes. 
 " Do you see," he asked, smiling, " where we are 
 arriving ? " 
 
 " I see, Mr. Burling," returned the girl, " that 
 mysteries will never cease. Will you tell me, as 
 much as you have heard of Christian Science, how 
 you could refrain from trying it in this baffling 
 case ? " 
 
 Maurice Burling shrugged his shoulders and 
 waved his hand toward Miss Hereford. 
 
 " I confess that I never even thought of it," he 
 answered ; " and if I had, there were the medical 
 man and the rector, who think for Miss Hereford. 
 One would have said that I needed treatment 
 worse than Billy, and the other would have wanted 
 to sprinkle me with holy water." 
 
 " Miss Hereford," the girl s blue eyes met those 
 of her hostess, " what a pity that you wasted last 
 winter, when you were in the neighborhood of such 
 help among the Scientists ! " 
 
 " My dear Miss Rogers," the English lady 
 was visibly embarrassed, "I assure you that any 
 action of that kind was entirely out of the question. 
 I may as well tell you that I was extremely op-
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 111 
 
 posed to the ideas of that sect, so far as I knew 
 them." 
 
 " But now," said Frances she nodded her 
 head toward the sleeping dog " now that Timmy 
 is at your feet instead of being buried in the gar 
 den, have you received any light any change of 
 feeling?" 
 
 " Your kindness I never can forget," responded 
 Miss Hereford. " I shall always feel that I owe 
 my little dog s life to you ; but oh, Miss Rogers, I 
 want to owe you a still greater debt ! " Miss Here 
 ford s hand closed tighter on the girl s arm. 
 
 "It must be quickly, then," replied Frances, 
 discouraged by this obtuseness. " I return to 
 Boston to-morrow." 
 
 " You go ! " ejaculated the hostess and Maurice 
 in a breath. 
 
 " Yes, I have been recalled. In the mean time 
 anything that I can do " She paused. 
 
 Miss Hereford seemed incapable of speech. She 
 turned with quivering lips toward Burling. 
 
 " I very much hope, Miss Rogers, that we can 
 dissuade you from that," he said. "You have 
 become a person of the greatest importance to us." 
 
 Miss Miranda looked and listened, more and 
 more amazed. She was forced to the recognition 
 that it was some vitally transforming power which 
 had changed her niece in one short year into the 
 independent and courageous character which the 
 past twenty-four hours had shown her to be. Her 
 coolness and self-possession in the present situation 
 revealed her in yet a new light.
 
 112 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Miss Miranda had been in her inmost soul much 
 impressed with the carelessly displayed marks of 
 wealth and power which were occasionally mani 
 fested in this household ; and the present attitude 
 of her employers toward Frances, looking so girl 
 ish as she sat there in her blue gown, aroused in 
 Miss Graves a new respect for the niece who could 
 maintain such an unperturbed demeanor under the 
 circumstances. 
 
 " Then perhaps you are thinking of trying Sci 
 ence for Mr. Hereford," said Frances. " Let me 
 advise you to send for an older practitioner." 
 
 " Yes," said Burling, " and have my nephew toss 
 her into the Sound ! " 
 
 " No," said Frances gravely, shaking her head. 
 " She would take care of that." 
 
 " Oh, you don t know, my dear," said Miss 
 Hereford eagerly. " Billy could n t abide her, 
 whoever she was, you may be sure, and we should 
 have such a time ! Besides, we had n t thought of 
 such a thing as trying Christian Science," declared 
 the poor lady, for whom honesty was always the 
 only course, whether it were really better than 
 policy or not. " We only wanted to explain things 
 to you so you would see what it means to us to 
 have our poor child take a fancy to you. Why, 
 Miss Rogers," the speaker s voice broke, "he 
 laughed! I could hardly make you understand 
 what it was to us to hear Billy laugh." 
 
 " Then what is it you wish ? " asked Frances, 
 her heart beginning to beat faster. 
 
 "We ask your help. You see now that it
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 113 
 
 might be the commencement of a new era for 
 Billy to have the companionship of a young stran 
 ger whom he liked, and who might bring him new 
 ideas. I have been so excited I could think of 
 nothing else all day. Oh, my dear, you must not 
 think of leaving us ! " 
 
 "Miss Hereford is of course thinking only of 
 our side," put in Burling, who naturally suspected 
 that the girl s sudden determination to leave was 
 occasioned by an unwillingness to risk a possibility 
 of another meeting with their problem. 
 
 " By Jove, she must admire us ! " he thought. 
 " Her welcome is to be pitched from the cart. Next 
 she takes charge of a poisoned dog and brings him 
 out somehow right side up, upon which the house 
 hold unites in saying there was nothing the matter 
 with him. In another twelve hours she is sub 
 jected to fright and pain by the son of the house, 
 and then joyously urged to remain indefinitely for 
 a continuation of similar entertainment ! 
 
 " We seem very selfish to you, no doubt, Miss 
 Rogers," he finished aloud. 
 
 Miss Graves cleared her throat. " I m sure my 
 niece and I both sympathize with you in this great 
 trouble, but I don t see how you can ask her to 
 subject herself to meeting Mr. William again. I 
 think I ought to forbid it. I m afraid you 11 
 both see the day you 11 regret giving him so much 
 liberty." 
 
 " Miss Eogers," Burling spoke again, " do jot 
 remember the obedient response the boy made to 
 your last words in the pagoda ? Of all the occur*
 
 114 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 rences of the morning, that was the one above all 
 impressive to me. She will tell you, Miss Graves, 
 of that proof of control. I do not pretend to 
 promise that there would be no inconvenience or 
 annoyance. I know that what we ask of Miss 
 Rogers is a very great thing, no end of a bore 
 for her ; but this morning was like a gleam of light 
 after nine years of darkness. If we cling to you, 
 Miss Rogers, as drowning men to a straw, you 
 can t blame us, though you may refuse the bur 
 den." 
 
 Miss Hereford looked from her housekeeper s 
 stony countenance to that of the young girl, pale 
 and thoughtful. Again she laid her appealing 
 hand on Frances s arm. 
 
 "I know I ought to be resigned," she said 
 brokenly, " but God has afflicted us sorely." 
 
 Frances took the hand and held it, looking into 
 the swimming eyes. " Miss Hereford," she re 
 turned, " do you believe that your Heavenly Father 
 has sent you this cross ? " 
 
 " If I did n t, how could I bear it ! " cried the 
 other. 
 
 " Would n t you recover your nephew s mental 
 health if you could ? " 
 
 " Why, child, child," said the little woman sadly, 
 " why do you ask such a question ? " 
 
 " Because if you believe God sent the affliction, 
 how dare you try to escape it ? " 
 
 "It is a chastening for a time, perhaps for a 
 lifetime, and it is my duty to be resigned to the 
 will of my Father."
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 115 
 
 Frances s expression as she regarded her re 
 minded Miss Hereford of the moment when the 
 girl had appeared to her with the declaration that 
 her pet need not die. 
 
 " Yes," said the girl reverently, " it is right to 
 be resigned to the will of God ; and God s will is 
 for health, bliss, perfection. It is error to be re 
 signed to anything less. If God sent sickness, 
 either mental or physical, it would be wrong to 
 try to get well. How can anybody help seeing 
 that?" 
 
 The addition was more of a soliloquy than an 
 address to her listener. 
 
 Miss Hereford suddenly broke down and wept. 
 * 4 Ah, my dear, I don t know what to say further 
 to persuade you," she said, her handkerchief to 
 her face. "If we were in England, I could give 
 you money. I could make a most generous offer 
 to pay for your time ; but in America it is so easy 
 to insult people, and one never knows what to do. 
 We can only throw ourselves on your mercy." 
 
 The tears started to the girl s eyes also. She 
 could see Maurice Burling s expression as he 
 watched her, could see the gray hairs on his tem 
 ples, and seemed to realize the weary years these 
 two had worn out in the watching and care of 
 their dear incubus, who so effectually prevented all 
 the material prosperity of their lives from bring 
 ing them comfort. 
 
 Miss Miranda saw the softening of her child s 
 face. 
 
 " If they ve found one person he fancies, they
 
 116 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 mil find another," she said firmly. " Don t you 
 do it, Frances, if it s going to scare you." 
 
 " I was frightened this morning, but it was 
 wrong to be so. I would not allow myself to re 
 fuse on that account." 
 
 A verse of one of Mrs. Eddy s hymns floated 
 into her mind, bringing a certain peace with it : 
 
 " My prayer, some daily good to do 
 
 To Thine, for Thee; 
 An off ring pure of Love, whereto 
 God leadeth me." 
 
 Still she was silent. Did these people respect 
 and turn toward her faith, the problem would be 
 solved ; for though she felt that another and older 
 Scientist could do the work better, she would waive 
 that in view of the afflicted one s fancy for her 
 self ; but they did not want Science, and her teach 
 ing forbade her to apply that truth to another s 
 thought unsolicited. 
 
 Then there was Aunt Mira. 
 
 "There are many considerations," she said at 
 last, looking at Miss Graves. 
 
 The housekeeper read her thoughts ; knew that 
 unless she herself could refrain from being irrita 
 ble and irritating, her niece s double burden would 
 be heavy to be borne. 
 
 The scene they had just passed through had 
 brought her to a new sense of things. 
 
 " I guess," said Miss Miranda to herself swiftly, 
 " if they can stand a nephew that s non compos, 
 I d better not make a fuss about such a niece as
 
 CATCHING AT A STRAW 117 
 
 1 ve got, even if she does know such a lot of 
 things that ain t so." 
 
 " Don t be afraid as far as I m concerned, 
 Frances," she remarked dryly. " I guess if we 
 both set out to do a thing, we can do it." 
 
 Frances smiled, and with her hand still clasping 
 Miss Hereford s, she met Burling s fixed gaze. 
 
 She reflected for a minute more before she spoke. 
 
 ** I will stay," she said quietly.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 A RENCONTRE 
 
 FRANCES took a walk after breakfast the follow 
 ing morning. Her mind had grown calm since 
 her duty had been made plain. Moreover, Aunt 
 Mira had dropped her attitude of defense, and in 
 spite of the girl s shrinking from what was before 
 her, she felt happier than at any time since she 
 had reached Waterview. 
 
 She walked now along a road which she had 
 learned would bring her to the water ; and at one 
 point where it was intersected by a green lane 
 another pedestrian came into view. 
 
 This was a young woman whose red and white 
 gown made a bright spot of color in the landscape. 
 The bright eyes under her sailor hat glanced at 
 Frances, then gained a gleam of recognition. 
 
 " Why, why, Miss Rogers ! How odd to meet 
 you here ! " she said in surprise. 
 
 " Miss Jewett ! " exclaimed Frances gladly. " I 
 did n t dare to hope it might be you when Mr. 
 Burling mentioned you as a neighbor here ! " 
 
 " Oh, you know Mr. Burling ! " The slender 
 dark eyebrows rose. Laura Jewett had not sup 
 posed Frances likely to be acquainted with such 
 people as those at Waterview.
 
 A RENCONTRE 119 
 
 " This, then, is where Mrs. Jewett s summer 
 home is ! " went on Frances, beaming. " I had 
 the impression that I had heard it was on Long 
 Island, but that seemed so unlikely for a Bos- 
 tonian." 
 
 " Oh, but mother is a Bostonian only by mar 
 riage, you know. She is a New Yorker of the 
 New Yorkers. She will be so glad to see you." 
 
 " And I shall be overjoyed to see her," returned 
 Frances, as the two pursued their road together. 
 " I have been here but a few days and it seems 
 weeks. It will be such a joy to be again in the 
 presence of some one who is a Christian Scientist." 
 
 " Oh, dear, are n t you enthusiastic ! " said the 
 other, with a sigh. " Mother would give anything 
 if I could become as interested as that. Just be 
 cause you and mother went through that class 
 together I suppose you will be a sort of kin the 
 rest of your lives ! " 
 
 " But how can you help being interested ? " 
 asked Frances. 
 
 " Why, what do I need it for ? I m perfectly 
 well and always have been ; but of course mother 
 being healed of that dreadful dyspepsia, she just 
 clings to Christian Science with all her might." 
 
 " And is the disappearance of dyspepsia all the 
 difference you notice in her?" 
 
 The other shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 "No," she admitted. "I must say I have a 
 much pleasanter home than the one I grew up 
 in. Oh, yes, I know it s a beautiful belief, and 
 mother can always help me when I do have an
 
 120 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 ache or pain. I believe in Christian Science so 
 far as that goes, but well, I m so busy, and it 
 does take so much time to be a faithful Scientist." 
 
 The pleasure Frances felt in the proximity of 
 Mrs. Jewett shone in her face. This wealthy mem 
 ber of the class with which she had studied had 
 .entertained its members several times after the class 
 dispersed ; but except for these meetings Frances 
 had no acquaintance with Mrs. Jewett and her 
 daughter, and all they knew of her was that she 
 was an orphan preparing herself to be a public- 
 school teacher. 
 
 Curiosity was still agitating Miss Jewett s breast 
 as to how Frances came to be in this exclusive 
 domain. 
 
 " Of course she is tutoring somebody," she de 
 cided swiftly. "Where are you staying?" she 
 asked aloud. 
 
 " At Waterview." 
 
 " At Miss Hereford s ! " 
 
 There was no one to tutor at Waterview. Some 
 of Laura s astonishment escaped into her voice, 
 and Frances recognized it. She hesitated an in 
 stant, displeased with herself to find that it was a 
 little hard to explain. 
 
 " Dear Aunt Mira ! Could I ever be ashamed 
 of her?" she thought. 
 
 " Yes," she answered, after the scarcely percep 
 tible pause. " My aunt, Miss Graves, is house 
 keeper at Waterview. I am visiting her." 
 
 " Ah ! " returned the other, with a warm sen- 
 sation of embarrassment. " Mother and I have
 
 A RENCONTRE 121 
 
 called, and oh ! what a comical time we did have ! 
 Have you discovered that there is a grown nephew 
 who is well, foolish, I suppose, is the word ? " 
 
 " Yes, I know." 
 
 " It seems," pursued the young lady, " that the 
 situation is something like that in an old fairy 
 story. A princess is expected to break the spell 
 that holds this unfortunate youth, and his guar 
 dians are traveling about the world in search of 
 her. A prince could do the work quite as well, 
 perhaps, but it is more romantic to hold to the 
 princess theory, more appealing to the imagina 
 tion, for he is really stunning to look upon. Have 
 you seen him ? " 
 
 " Yes, I have seen him." 
 
 " It is a pity good looks should be wasted upon 
 such a young bear. When Mr. Burling asked me 
 if I would see his nephew, of course I consented, 
 for I don t believe the girl lives who could refuse 
 anything asked of her in that voice. Did you ever 
 hear such a voice as Mr. Burling s ? " 
 
 " It is delightful." 
 
 " Well, we went to the pagoda that has such a 
 fine view, and there was that young Hercules ; not 
 spinning was n t it Hercules that somebody made 
 spin for her? Well, anyway, Mr. Hereford was 
 doing something much worse he was stringing 
 beads. I never saw such an absurd sight in my 
 life ; but of course I kept my countenance. He 
 looked up as we entered and said, Hello, Mau 
 rice. I ve brought you a visitor, said Mr. Bur 
 ling in a genial sort of a way. The young man
 
 122 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 looked me over, and I smiled upon him in my 
 most fetching manner. He simply went back to 
 his needle and remarked, You can take her away, 
 then. Wait a bit, said Mr. Burling, red in the 
 face, she is a wonder at sorting beads. Let her 
 sit down and help you. It was all so absurd that 
 I began to laugh, and young Ursa Major scowled 
 straight into my eyes. I felt so sorry for Mr. 
 Burling that I put on a coaxing air. * I wish you 
 would let me stay, Mr. Herefoi-d, I said in dove- 
 like tones. I love to string beads. Go and get 
 some of your own, then ! he growled ; you won t 
 touch mine ! It won t do you any good to stop 
 here ! I m sorry you can t be more civil, said 
 Mr. Burling shortly, and we came away. He s a 
 perfect dear Mr. Burling," went on the viva 
 cious girl. 
 
 Delicacy bade her refrain from asking Frances s 
 opinion of the Englishman. The housekeeper s 
 niece had probably only seen him at a distance. 
 
 " He apologized in such a sad way, it touched 
 my heart. He said that it was only recently that 
 his nephew had begun to be so surly, and that 
 never before had he been so openly rude to a 
 strange lady. I laughed it off and told him that 
 it was nothing, that I did n t mind the episode at 
 all ; that the fact simply was that I was n t the 
 right princess. * Heaven send that she comes 
 soon, then ! he replied, so devoutly that I have 
 thought of it a dozen times since. It is dreadfully 
 hard for them, poor people." 
 
 " It is indeed," responded Frances.
 
 A RENCONTRE 123 
 
 A little silence fell between the two girls. Laura 
 Jewett felt that the subject of the Heref ords would 
 be an awkward one to press, under the circum 
 stances. Indeed, she was beginning to realize that 
 such acquaintance as she did have with this girl 
 might prove embarrassing in future. She won 
 dered how long Frances was intending to remain 
 at Waterview. Maurice Burling being an object 
 of lively interest to her, she hoped the other s stay 
 would be brief. The more she thought of it, the 
 more vexatious it became that so strange a coinci 
 dence should occur. There was so much caste 
 feeling among the English ! She wished fervently 
 that luck had not betrayed her into taking this 
 walk this morning : then the necessity for recog 
 nizing the housekeeper s niece need not have oc 
 curred at all. 
 
 Laura half despised herself for the snobbish con 
 sideration ; but it was dull at her home, Winder- 
 mere, before the house parties began, and Maurice 
 Burling was a rich find. She could never make 
 an Englishman understand this social situation. 
 
 " Your dress suggests golf," said Frances, smil 
 ing at the pretty stripes. 
 
 "Yes, the links are fine here. I have played 
 with Mr. Burling a few times." Laura decided 
 to show Frances what her own status was with the 
 people at Waterview. " He comes for me with 
 the most fiery steed," she went on. " It is breath 
 less fun to drive with Dick. I ve been wondering 
 why Mr. Burling missed yesterday at the links. It 
 was so particularly fine, no glare of sun."
 
 124 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Frances s thoughts had flown to the duty that 
 awaited her at home. " I must turn back," she 
 said, pausing suddenly. " I am forgetting myself. 
 Your face does remind me of so many happy times, 
 Miss Jewett." Blue eyes met black with a wist 
 ful gaze. " Will you tell your mother the class 
 baby can scarcely wait to see her ? That is what 
 she always called me, because I was the youngest 
 on the list. Tell her the whole of Long Island 
 seems pleasanter because I know she is near. 
 Good-by." 
 
 Miss Jewett yielded her hand to Frances s pres 
 sure, and then the latter hastened away, leaving 
 the other maiden to unpleasant reflections. 
 
 She remembered now that Miss Hereford had 
 told her and her mother that she had secured a 
 housekeeper who was a treasure, and who relieved 
 her of much responsibility. She recalled the Eng 
 lish lady s manner in speaking of her, and in fancy 
 affixed the same tone to the mention of this house 
 keeper s niece, who had generously been allowed 
 to share in her aunt s comfortable quarters. 
 
 " Mother is so much more democratic since she 
 went into Science," reflected Laura impatiently. 
 " She would take every Tom, Dick, and Harry in 
 that class to her heart, in spite of me ; but I never 
 thought any trouble would come from Miss Rogers. 
 She was so modest and attractive. How fate does 
 love a practical joke sometimes I " 
 
 Had Miss Jewett followed her embarrassing ac 
 quaintance, she would have observed something 
 astonishing. This was the fact that Maurice Bur-
 
 A RENCONTRE 125 
 
 ling, strolling down the road at a good pace, met 
 Miss Rogers and turned to walk home with her. 
 
 " I happened to see you take this road," he ex 
 plained, after they had exchanged greetings. 
 
 "And did you come to bring me back?" she 
 asked, smiling. 
 
 " Not at all," he answered hastily. " I hope you 
 don t really think that ! I beg you to believe that 
 you are still free, white, and twenty-one." 
 
 Frances had a pretty dimple in one cheek, and 
 it showed now. " What a good guess ! " she re 
 marked. 
 
 " You re not twenty-one, though," he returned 
 tentatively. 
 
 " Just as you say," she answered. " I don t in 
 tend to keep count of birthdays. In Science there 
 is no age." 
 
 " It is early for you to be afraid of birthdays." 
 
 She smiled as they walked on with swift, even 
 steps. 
 
 "Well," he said, after the little silence, "I 
 have n t heard you ask about my wrists this morn- 
 ing." 
 
 " I see you still wear the bandage." 
 
 " There is another sense besides sight that recog 
 nizes it, I m afraid," he remarked. " Aunt Elea 
 nor insists upon dousing me with the most evil- 
 smelling mixture. Just see what you might have 
 saved me if you had only said one word for me 
 while you were saying two for yourself that first 
 night." 
 
 "You did n t ask me to," she answered.
 
 126 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Do you need to be asked to do such a simple 
 act of charity ? " 
 
 " Decidedly." 
 
 " That is one thing I don t like about Christian 
 Science. Its followers won t do a thing for a man 
 unsolicited." 
 
 "Why should they?" 
 
 " Why, if they really want to do good, their 
 ministrations ought to fall like the gentle dew of 
 Heaven on the just and the unjust alike ; but they 
 don t merely want to do good. They want to get 
 the credit of every cure they make." 
 
 " Dear me ! " said Frances, meeting his smile 
 with one more mirthful ; " your wrists must ache 
 this morning ! " 
 
 " Have you any answer to make to the charge ? " 
 persisted the other. 
 
 " Certainly. Even our great Master did not 
 many mighty works in some places because of 
 their unbelief. You remember that, don t you ? " 
 
 " N-no. It s it s some time since I ve read 
 the Bible I suppose you mean the Bible, don t 
 you?" 
 
 " Yes, I mean the Bible. I think you would have 
 to read the Gospels before we could thoroughly 
 understand each other on this subject." 
 
 " Oh, I know in a general way," said Burling 
 protestingly. " Of course I do ; but all that won t 
 explain why if you believed you could help my 
 strained wrists, you should n t do it." 
 
 " What was your reason for not asking me ? " 
 
 "Oh, look here, Miss Rogers," deprecatiugly.
 
 A RENCONTRE 127 
 
 " Did I know you well enough to demand any suck 
 service of you ? " 
 
 " Do you now ? " asked the girl. 
 
 Burling looked disconcerted. " Well, events 
 have hastened our acquaintance, certainly," he 
 answered, at last. 
 
 " Why don t you ask me, then ? " 
 
 " Oh well " He laughed in a lenient fash 
 ion. 
 
 " I will tell you. You don t believe that I could 
 help you." 
 
 " I m not sure," said Burling, recovering the 
 pleasant courtesy of his ordinary manner. " I was 
 immensely impressed by that experience with the 
 dog." 
 
 " Do you believe that he had been poisoned ? " 
 
 " Well," said Burling, evading this directness, 
 " whether he had really swallowed poison or not, 
 he was a very much done-up little pug. I never 
 expected to see his tail curl again. To be honest, 
 I don t know what to think about that." 
 
 Frances gave a little laugh. " I understand 
 your position perfectly. You would like your 
 wrists to become suddenly well and leave you free 
 to drive and play golf, while you retain the privi 
 lege of saying that they might have recovered 
 quickly anyway. Then, too, you would avoid 
 humbling your pride to ask assistance of some 
 thing your intellect pooh-poohs. People are usu 
 ally glad to get any help or relief they can from 
 Science if they can at the same time retain the 
 privilege of patronizing and laughing at it."
 
 128 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Whew ! " Burling gave a soft whistle. " She 
 knows how to strike from the shoulder," he re 
 marked to the landscape. 
 
 " That s the place to strike from, is n t it ? " 
 
 They walked on again in silence. 
 
 " Miss Rogers," said her companion at last, with 
 some formality, " it is only fair to say that the 
 clearer view I get of where you stand, the greater 
 becomes my appreciation of the kindness you do 
 two unbelievers like Aunt Eleanor and myself by 
 subjecting yourself to the humors of our charge. 
 I wish sincerely that we could ask you in a pro 
 perly confident spirit to treat Billy after your 
 mental methods. I suppose unless we do so, you 
 will refrain." 
 
 " Certainly. We are taught that we have no 
 more right to enter into a person s mentality and 
 rearrange it without his permission than we should 
 have to go into his house and do the same thing ; 
 but the mere fact of the presence of a Scientist s 
 thought will be of some assistance to your nephew. 
 The knowledge of that decided me to yield to your 
 wish that I should remain here." 
 
 " And I know how hard it is for you," responded 
 Burling. " Miss Graves told me this morning that 
 you had renounced a visit to the White Moun 
 tains." 
 
 "Aunt Mira need not have told that." 
 
 Burling smiled. " She wished to make us ap 
 preciate our privileges to the full, and I don t 
 blame her ; but as a matter of fact, nothing could 
 increase our gratitude."
 
 A RENCONTRE 129 
 
 Frances shook her head. " It was not for the 
 sake of the mountains that I wished to leave. It 
 was chiefly because the faith I hold dear was so 
 repugnant to Aunt Mira that I felt it best to go ; 
 but she is very kind to me now." 
 
 Something in these words made her companion 
 flash at her a look of curiosity and compassion. 
 
 She surprised him with a bright smile. " And 
 I have made a discovery. My dear Mrs. Jewett, 
 next whom I sat in our Science class, is your 
 neighbor here." 
 
 " Is it possible ? And the fair Miss Jewett is 
 she also of the faith ? " 
 
 " No, not entirely ; not yet." 
 
 " H m. I could n t quite fit the idea to Miss 
 Jewett." 
 
 "Why not?" 
 
 " We-ell she s a gay girl," said Burling. 
 
 " Oh, you re making a mistake. A girl is a 
 brighter, better friend, a better all-around individ 
 ual for understanding what life really is." 
 
 Maurice regarded the expressive face in a silence 
 so protracted that Frances s cheeks flushed deeper. 
 
 " She can be a star golfer just the same, then ? " 
 he asked at last. 
 
 Frances laughed. " Starrier," she answered. 
 
 " Then I think you d better learn golf," he 
 said.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 STRINGING BEADS 
 
 WHEN Frances and her escort had reached the 
 house, the girl went to her aunt s room, promising 
 to meet Burling later for a visit to his nephew. 
 
 Maurice immediately sought the suite of apart, 
 ments where Billy was at home. The young man, 
 to the satisfaction of his servant, objected to early 
 rising, and it was sometimes nearly noon before 
 his toilet was made and he was ready to begin the 
 monotonous occupations of his day. 
 
 This morning Burling found Sanders just re 
 moving the shaving materials. Billy regarded his 
 uncle with sombre eyes as he entered. Maurice 
 had always been a favorite with the boy, and the 
 visitor now noticed with uneasiness the coldness 
 of manner which for weeks had been increasing 
 upon his nephew. 
 
 " Good-morning, Billy," he said pleasantly. 
 
 " Get out ! I don t have any good mornings," 
 was the weary response. 
 
 " The first word e s spoke, sir," remarked San 
 ders. " There s no cheering im hup this morning, 
 sir." 
 
 Sanders s habit was to speak of his master in 
 his presence as unconcernedly as nurses do of the 
 young children in their charge.
 
 STRINGING BEADS 131 
 
 * Shut up, Sanders, or I 11 throw you out ! " said 
 the boy in the same languid tone. 
 
 "It is a good morning," said Maurice, going to 
 the window. " What you need is a little sparring 
 with me in the fresh air, Billy. If I only had my 
 wrists, I d give you a chance to throw me." 
 
 He waited to see if his nephew would question 
 him, but the apathetic eyes did not lighten, and 
 the boy was dumb. 
 
 " Hello, where are your goldfish ? " asked Bur 
 ling, stopping to look at a large aquarium, in which 
 there was no sign of life. 
 
 Sanders turned, started to speak, but thought 
 better of it. He enjoyed retailing his master s 
 peccadillos, and it was a novel experience to hesi 
 tate ; but the boy had of late developed an ill 
 temper which was teaching the man discretion. 
 
 The dull eyes followed Maurice s gaze, and a 
 light came into them. 
 
 " That s so," remarked the boy. " I want you 
 to send for some more goldfish to-day." 
 
 " But where are the others ? " 
 
 " I fished for them. It was n t bad." 
 
 " E d only a bent pin, sir ; but e would ave 
 it," explained Sanders. 
 
 " Get out of here ! " exclaimed the boy, glaring 
 at his servant and pointing to the door. 
 
 " As soon as I ve put the room right, sir," re 
 turned Sanders respectfully, proceeding with his 
 work. 
 
 With one stride forward the young giant 
 grasped the astonished Sanders by the coat-collar,
 
 132 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 and flinging him into the corridor, locked the door 
 after him. 
 
 "Yes, I want you to send for more goldfish 
 to-day," he repeated, coming back to where his 
 uncle stood by the aquarium. 
 
 Burling s lips were set with a new anxiety. This 
 was the first time the boy had offered this species 
 of violence to his servant. Of that Burling was 
 certain, because Sanders was sure to recount every 
 annoyance of his position. A new era in the prob 
 lem was dawning. In anticipation Maurice saw 
 the painful necessity of curtailing his nephew s 
 liberty ; and if uncontrolled passions did not make 
 his physical strength a menace, the doctors had 
 hinted at melancholia as a possible outcome of his 
 condition. With a new eagerness Burling s thought 
 lay hold on the hope he was placing in Miss Rog 
 ers. Experience had taught him the utter futility 
 of appeal to Billy s sense of right or propriety. 
 
 "I can give you something better than goldfish- 
 ing," he said. " We will go off on a fishing expe 
 dition one of these days." 
 
 " Too much trouble," yawned the young man. 
 " I like well enough to sit in an easy-chair and 
 yank em out." 
 
 Here came a soft knock at the door, and Mau 
 rice, stepping forward, unlocked it. 
 
 Miss Hereford walked in. Her brow was corru 
 gated, and she addressed her nephew in a gentle, 
 coaxing voice. 
 
 " What is this, Billy dear ? I found Sanders 
 outside almost in tears."
 
 STRINGING BEADS 133 
 
 " Confound Sanders ! He s always whining. I 
 threw him out, and he d better stay there if he 
 does n t want me to do it again." 
 
 " Why, my darling boy, you used to be so good 
 tempered. What has come over you of late ? " 
 Miss Hereford s hand lay on his sleeve. " Won t 
 you kiss auntie this morning ? " 
 
 The tall boy carelessly threw his arm around 
 the little woman s shoulders and looked down at 
 her, a line between his brows. " I shall never 
 kiss you any more," he answered, gloom in his 
 eyes. 
 
 " But why not, precious child ? That would 
 make me very unhappy." 
 
 " It s such a bore. That s why." 
 
 " But you love me, don t you, Billy ? You 11 
 always love poor Aunt Eleanor?" 
 
 He dropped his arm and gave the little woman 
 a gentle push. " I used to love candy," he remarked 
 reflectively. " I don t even care for that now. It s 
 bad enough to have to be polite to ladies. Don t 
 ask me to love them." 
 
 "You forget sometimes to be polite to them, 
 Billy," said Maurice quietly, placing his finger on 
 his lips as he caught Miss Hereford s troubled 
 eyes. "Last week when I brought Miss Jewett 
 out to the pagoda to see you, do you remember 
 how uncivil you were to her ? " 
 
 " Oh " The boy frowned as if trying to re 
 call something, and looked from one to the other 
 of his companions. " There was somebody else. 
 I let her make a ring. Yes," his brow lighting, " I
 
 134 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 said she might come again. She had on a blue 
 frock." He crossed to the door in two strides and 
 threw it open. " Sanders," he called imperiously, 
 " don t be all day ! We re going out to the pa 
 goda." 
 
 The same thought leaped into the minds of both 
 the boy s guardians. Supposing the girl had re 
 fused to remain at Waterview, and the hope this 
 new-born interest awakened was denied them ? 
 
 Sanders reappeared, his nostrils dilating with a 
 grievous sense of wrong. " I thought of staying 
 away hall day, Mr. William, when you mistreated 
 me like that." 
 
 " Oh, mind your business, Sanders, and your 
 business is to mind me. That s pretty good, eh, 
 Maurice ? " The boy showed his strong teeth in a 
 fleeting smile. 
 
 His uncle seized the opportunity. " Only a cad 
 flings people about as you did Sanders, you know," 
 he remarked quietly ; and the injured one gave a 
 comforted sniff. 
 
 The boy shrugged his shoulders carelessly. 
 " Preachy old Maurice," he retorted. " You 
 want to look out what you say, or I 11 do the same 
 by you some time when you don t expect it. I m 
 getting big enough." 
 
 When at last the small procession formed by 
 Billy and his aunt, followed by Sanders and the 
 impedimenta, was moving across the grass, Bur 
 ling went to the appointed spot to meet Frances, 
 who had some sewing in her hands. 
 
 " I fear you won t make much progress on that,*
 
 STRINGING BEADS 135 
 
 said Maurice, inspecting the white stuff she car 
 ried. 
 
 " Are you coming with me ? " she asked. 
 
 " Certainly. My engaging nephew may take it 
 into his head to swear at you, or if you happen to 
 cross him, to run you out of the pagoda. You see 
 I don t attempt to belittle all we are accepting 
 from you." 
 
 " If you wish to do something else, please don t 
 feel obliged to come. I was cowardly enough the 
 last time, I know ; but now I am forewarned and 
 forearmed." 
 
 " Oh, I shall come. I have some influence with 
 the young man. To be sure, it must be all moral, 
 since you allow one of my wrists still to be stiff. 
 The other is almost itself again." He moved it 
 about to prove its pliability. 
 
 She met his quizzical look with a smile. " Well, 
 I m ready," she said, and they started for the 
 pagoda. 
 
 Miss Hereford was sitting there with her feet in 
 the sunshine and her lap full of wools. As Bur 
 ling and his companion entered the pavilion she 
 greeted the girl with eager warmth, and involun 
 tarily her eyes sought Billy for the effect upon 
 him of the visitor, who looked fit for the spring 
 time in her gown of green and white. 
 
 The young man rose at sight of her, and the 
 look of interest which at first dawned on his coun 
 tenance subsided. 
 
 " Where s your blue gown ? " he asked. 
 
 " In the house," replied the girl.
 
 136 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Go put it on ! " 
 
 " Come, Billy, come ! " ejaculated Maurice. 
 " Aunt Eleanor and I have spoiled you com 
 pletely." 
 
 " Hurry ! " said the boy imperiously, without 
 removing his eyes from his visitor s face. 
 
 " Don t you like any color except blue ? " asked 
 Frances, standing still. 
 
 " I want you to make a sapphire ring to-day." 
 
 " Oh, certainly if you have n t any emeralds." 
 
 " I have emeralds, of course ; but I don t choose 
 you to use them." 
 
 " The emerald is my birth stone. May I see 
 them?" She approached him. "I ve always 
 wanted an emerald ring." 
 
 " But you could n t wear it with a blue gown." 
 
 " That is true. So would n t it be a good plan 
 for me to make it to-day, while I have a green 
 gown on ? " 
 
 Billy frowned slightly. " You re trying to get 
 your own way," he said suspiciously. 
 
 k< But I am your guest. Should n t you naturally 
 try to make me have a good time ? " 
 
 " People always do what I want them to," he 
 said, after a pause in which he had apparently 
 tried to grasp her meaning. 
 
 " Then would n t you like a change ? " she asked, 
 smiling into his sombre eyes. " Would n t you 
 like to do what somebody else wants ? " 
 
 " I could knock you down with one finger," he 
 remarked reflectively. It takes t^o hands to do 
 up Maurice."
 
 STRINGING BEADS 137 
 
 Burling was watching him closely. The boy was 
 never thwarted in trifles, as he had said ; and he 
 feared his irritability. 
 
 Billy clasped his hand around the girl s arm, as 
 if undecided what to do with her. 
 
 " Do you know," she said, " I don t like people 
 to put their hands on me." 
 
 " No more do I," he responded promptly. " Aunt 
 Eleanor is always at it. She is always hugging 
 me. You are n t that sort, are you? " 
 
 " No." Frances shook her head. 
 
 " And if I let you come out here and make rings 
 with me, you won t ask me to kiss you, either ? " 
 
 " Not if you will take your hand away and not 
 touch me." 
 
 He dropped her arm. 
 
 " Do you remember," she went on, " that you 
 said I might make a bracelet if I came out to- 
 day?" 
 
 " It takes a good many beads. Let s see." 
 
 He moved to take her hand to examine. 
 
 " You know it is a bargain," she said, shrink 
 ing. " You are not to touch me." She held up 
 her wrist for inspection, and he regarded it. 
 
 " We can look, I suppose," he said, grudgingly. 
 
 She sat down near him. " Fix two needles for 
 me, please, Sanders," she said. 
 
 " You need n t say please to him ; he s got to 
 do it anyway," explained her host. 
 
 " Long ones, please, Sanders. I am going to 
 show Mr. William a new way to make a very 
 pretty double band."
 
 138 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 The boy s eyes still roved occasionally to her 
 springlike frock with a dissatisfied look. 
 
 " When you have on the blue dress you may 
 call me Billy," he remarked. 
 
 " Very well ; I shall wear it to-morrow." 
 
 She exhibited the glass ring on her finger. 
 " Won t a band of emeralds above that be pretty? " 
 she asked. 
 
 Small as the triumph was, Maurice and Miss 
 Hereford exchanged a congratulatory glance. Once 
 having given his orders, their nephew s obstinacy 
 would not have yielded to either of them without 
 a tempest. Was it the thin end of the wedge ? 
 
 Burling lit a pipe and smoked it, and for some 
 time peace reigned beside the table where the bead 
 jewelry was in process of manufacture. Miss Here 
 ford sat near him, and her eyes constantly sought 
 the fair head and the dark, bowed together above 
 their work. 
 
 " A good deal to ask of her, eh ? " he asked in 
 a low voice, at last. 
 
 " She shall not lose anything by it, Maurice, 
 I m determined on that," was the equally low re 
 sponse. " We must n t hope too much, but oh, 
 my dear, the doctors have said, have n t they " 
 she paused in wistful interrogation. 
 
 " They have said pretty frankly that they don t 
 know anything in this particular instance ; though 
 they have kindly given us a choice of several pos 
 sible outcomes." 
 
 Miss Hereford shuddered. " I dare say they 
 thought it their duty to prepare us."
 
 STRINGING BEADS 139 
 
 Burling shrugged his shoulders and emptied his 
 pipe. 
 
 " Unless, remember," added Miss Hereford 
 eagerly, " he could be roused to some mental in 
 terest. This is no time to forget that, Maurice." 
 
 He patted her knee, for there was painful ex 
 citement in her low voice. " No, this is no time 
 to forget that; but don t build too much on it. 
 We will be glad of one hour s relief. The boy is 
 certainly having the best time he has known since 
 >e left home. I don t think I need remain ? " 
 
 Miss Hereford shook her head. " I should say, 
 certainly not. I will stay." 
 
 " I want to exercise Dick." 
 
 " But you can t drive, Maurice." 
 
 " No, I shall have to take Harvey. I am afraid 
 to speak to Miss Rogers, lest I break the spell, 
 I 11 just slip off for an hour." 
 
 Suiting the action to the word, Burling rose 
 and left the pagoda, and in a short time was bowl 
 ing along the country roads at an exciting pace 
 after the young horse, whose muscles stretched 
 themselves joyously. 
 
 Maurice had an objective point in view. He 
 had not seen the people at Windermere since the 
 day of Miss Jewett s mortifying visit to his nephew, 
 so he bade Harvey drive him there. 
 
 Seeing Miss Jewett herself on the piazza, he 
 told the man to return in half an hour, and sprang 
 out of the cart and up the broad steps. 
 
 " Well, have you come to explain yourself ? " 
 asked the girl, welcoming him brightly. " We have 
 missed you in your accustomed haunts."
 
 140 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " See this ignominious badge. Does n t it tell 
 the story ? " returned Burling, displaying his ban 
 daged wrist as he took the seat she indicated. 
 
 " What have you done ? " she cried accusingly. 
 
 " Sprained my wrist, both of them, in fact ; 
 one of them is nearly well. I assure you I m 
 finding out that a man in the country is no better 
 than his wrists. If they are out of shape, he is 
 nowhere." 
 
 " But it takes so long for a strain to recover. I 
 could never wait. Why don t you try Christian 
 Science ? " The girl smiled. " I suppose you 
 never heard of such a thing." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I have. I know a number of Scientists 
 at home. Are you one ? " 
 
 " Dear me, no ! I tell mother I am too polite 
 naturally ever to be one. You know they have to 
 say, It s a lie, it s a lie under their breath all 
 the time you re telling them that anything is the 
 matter with you. You are acquainted with sev 
 eral, are you ? Then you won t be shocked to hear 
 that my mother is of that faith. If you ask her 
 properly, she will set that wrist of yours right in 
 a day." 
 
 " Very kind of her, I m sure," remarked Bur 
 ling. 
 
 " Yes, indeed ; if there is anything that upsets 
 my sweet disposition, it is to try to tell any of my 
 woes to Scientists. You see I know what that 
 particular expression means that comes over their 
 faces. I know that mentally they "re contradicting 
 every one of my statements just as fast as I make
 
 STRINGING BEADS 141 
 
 them. It would irritate anybody, don t you think 
 so ? But it is really rich to listen to the ordinary 
 Aunty Doleful rehearsing all the aches and pains 
 of herself and family to somebody who is a Scien 
 tist, and not suspecting what a bore she is making 
 of herself." 
 
 Maurice nodded. " I suppose as a rule Aunty 
 Doleful finds all that talk pass current as an inter 
 esting confidence." 
 
 " Precisely. I will say for the Scientists, though, 
 that after you have lived among them a while it 
 grows very distasteful to hear people talk sick, as 
 one Science child expresses it." 
 
 " Are there children in this thing ? " 
 
 " I should say there are ; and when they are 
 born and bred in it the things they will say and 
 do are very interesting. You will scarcely believe 
 this, but it is true. A little five-year-old whom I 
 know had been playing long and hard in a neigh 
 bor s yard one day, and the lady finally called to 
 her : Edith, you had better stop and rest. You 
 must be tired. I must be what? asked the 
 child, running up to her. Tired, repeated the 
 lady. I don t know what that means, said the 
 child ; and upon inquiry the lady found that Edith 
 had never heard the word. Tired, afraid, 
 sick, are three words not in the Science child s 
 vocabulary." 
 
 " Upon my word ! " said Burling. 
 
 "Yes, indeed," went on Miss Jewett airily; 
 " and as for spending time telling anybody that 
 she has had sore throat, or grippe, or a headache,
 
 142 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 a Christian Scientist would exactly as lief tell 
 you that she picked a pocket yesterday, broke into 
 a safe last week, and habitually indulged in pro 
 fanity. Sometimes my mother does have an ail 
 ment they call it a claim, you know and she 
 feels and acts as ashamed as if she had stolen 
 sheep." 
 
 " I am astonished she should ever have an ail 
 ment," remarked Burling. 
 
 His companion met the sarcasm with a quickly 
 pointed finger. 
 
 " No, you are not," she retorted. " If that 
 speech were sincere, you would become a Scientist 
 to-day. You re not surprised that they have ail 
 ments. You re only surprised that they get over 
 them without medicine. So am I. Let s give 
 them their due. I ve got far enough myself not 
 to fuss with doctors. It s too slow after you ve 
 tried this way. Mother says I use Science like a 
 drug store ; but I very seldom have anything the 
 matter with me. How is your nephew, Mr. Bur 
 ling ? Don t be afraid to tell me." She laughed. 
 " I shan t mentally contradict anything you say." 
 
 " He is always well in these days," replied Bur 
 ling. " It is very kind in you to ask for him. I 
 have n t yet forgiven myself for subjecting you to 
 that annoying experience." 
 
 " You did entirely right," said the girl, nodding 
 her vivacious head. " I m going to help you. 
 There 11 be a lot of girls whom I know in this 
 neighborhood after a while, and I m going to tell 
 them that there is an enchanted prince living in
 
 STRINGING BEADS 143 
 
 the pagoda at "Waterview, and that an American 
 princess is expected to break the spell. I shall 
 tell them that he is very handsome and very rude, 
 and I am sure they will all wish to try their effect 
 upon him. Mother has so often referred to that 
 day, for Miss Hereford told her the whole story 
 while we were away." 
 
 "And I suppose Mrs. Jewett conscientiously 
 contradicted every word," suggested Burling, smil 
 ing sadly. 
 
 "If she did, it was only because she believed 
 it was n t hopeless," said the girl gently. " You 
 know, Scientists think it wrong to fix limitations. 
 Their motto is, All things are possible with God. 
 I am sorry if you have thought again of the recep 
 tion your nephew gave me. He was n t to blame, 
 poor boy. I simply was n t the right princess." 
 
 " I gave up hope that afternoon," said Burling, 
 " and made up my mind that we should have to 
 keep him closer, another proof of the old saying 
 that It is always darkest just before day, for 
 very shortly after that, and entirely by accident, 
 the right princess met him." 
 
 " Mr. Burling ! How interesting ! " 
 
 " Yes. We don t know how much will come of 
 it ; but there is a young lady at our house who has 
 taken his fancy. It means a great deal to us." 
 
 " It must. I congratulate you heartily." The 
 bright dark eyes scintillated with curiosity. " Do 
 describe this wonderful being." 
 
 " She is a fair-haired girl about Billy s own age 
 * I never was good at description."
 
 144 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Pretty ? " 
 
 " There are so many different standards," said 
 Burling, smiling. "My nephew seems to think 
 so." 
 
 " I ought to have worn a flaxen wig ! " mourned 
 Miss Jewett, with a serio-comic gesture. 
 
 " You ve reason to congratulate yourself that 
 the choice did not fall upon you. It is weary 
 business adapting one s self to my nephew s pos 
 sibilities. I don t know how long Miss Rogers 
 will stand it." 
 
 " Miss who ? " asked the girl. 
 
 " Her name is Rogers. She is the niece of our 
 housekeeper, Miss Graves. I understand she ie- 
 tends to be a teacher ; but I m sure she never 
 expected a pupil like her present one." 
 
 Miss Jewett s cheeks burned scarlet in her sur 
 prise and indecision. 
 
 " She will be likely to prove of importance to 
 your family," she ventured. 
 
 " Yes, indeed. By the way, she is of your mo 
 ther s faith. She is a Christian Scientist." 
 
 " And she takes your nephew as a patient ? " 
 
 " Scarcely. I believe it is required that the 
 guardians make that request." 
 
 " And have n t you ? Why not ? " 
 
 " The fact is " a polite hesitation " Miss 
 Hereford and I have never felt leanings that way." 
 
 " What will Miss Rogers do for him, then ? " 
 
 "Just what you would, had you proved the 
 right princess, endeavor to break the stupefying 
 spell by her gentle and attractive companionship.
 
 STRINGING BEADS 145 
 
 I left her with him to come here." Burling rose. 
 " I must return and see whether our poor boy has 
 disgraced himself." 
 
 " What a thing to happen to Frances Rogers ! 
 It will be more lucrative than tutoring," thought 
 the girl. It was sure to transpire that the house 
 keeper s niece was no stranger to her. She would 
 better speak. 
 
 " My mother will be interested to hear of this," 
 she responded, rising. "She and Miss Rogers 
 studied Christian Science in the same class. I 
 was greatly surprised to meet Miss Rogers in the 
 road this morning." 
 
 " Indeed ? They will be glad to meet, then. I 
 suppose it would be heresy to inquire after your 
 mother s health." 
 
 " Thank you. She is well, and will be sorry to 
 have missed your call. How handsome Dick looks 
 this morning ! " for here Harvey drove up to the 
 steps. "Give my love to Miss Hereford," said 
 the girl, as her visitor lifted his hat and wa 
 whirled away.
 
 CHAPTER XH 
 
 A BROKEN BRACELET 
 
 SUCH was the celerity with which Dick traversed 
 the intervening space that Burling, whose anxiety 
 had risen gradually from the moment of leaving 
 Winderrnere, soon had the satisfaction of discover 
 ing that the party he had left in the pagoda was 
 still united. 
 
 Frances felt a secret relief as he sprang up the 
 step. She had been wondering how she was to man 
 age a parting with her rough playfellow. As Bur 
 ling entered she extended her hand and exhibited 
 the double band of green, caught together at inter 
 vals with a white bead, which encircled her wrist. 
 
 " Look at that, Maurice ! " said Billy trium 
 phantly. " I made that bracelet myself. She only 
 managed to do this ring for me in all that time." 
 
 " Yes, is n t it pretty ? " said Frances, as Miss 
 Hereford crossed the pavilion and took her hand 
 with expressions of admiration. 
 
 " Drop her hand now ! " said the boy imperi 
 ously. " She does n t like to be touched." 
 
 Frances gave Miss Hereford s wrinkled hand a 
 little pressure before it released her. "Now, Mr. 
 William," she said, turning back to him, " confess 
 you are glad I wore this green gown."
 
 A BROKEN BRACELET 147 
 
 " I m not," he responded, with sudden and un 
 expected fierceness, " and I 11 teach you to do it 
 again ! " With a sudden movement he reached 
 forward, snapped the bracelet on her wrist, and 
 flung the beads over the floor. " Pick those up ! " 
 he said imperatively to Sanders. 
 
 " Let sleeping dogs lie," muttered that worthy, 
 with a dark glance at Frances. " There was no need 
 to stir im hup, miss," he added in an injured tone. 
 
 The young autocrat leaned back in his chair and 
 looked with sullen defiance into Frances s aston 
 ished eyes. Burling stopped with a sign the inef 
 fectual protest which he saw on Miss Hereford s 
 lips. They both watched Frances, who returned 
 the boy s gaze for a silent minute. 
 
 " I m sorry we can t be friends," said the girl, 
 at last. 
 
 " We can if you 11 behave yourself," he replied. 
 " You ve only to do everything I say." 
 
 " And why should n t you," she asked slowly, 
 w do everything that I say ? " 
 
 " Because I m the stronger. I could knock 
 you down with one finger." 
 
 " Then you don t like me, after all, so I 11 go." 
 She started to rise. 
 
 " Sit down ! " he commanded. " Of course I 
 like you. Do you suppose I d let you string these 
 beads if I did n t?" 
 
 " Then don t you want me to like you ? " she 
 asked simply. 
 
 The boy cogitated. A new idea was endeavor, 
 ing to be formulated in his brain.
 
 148 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Everybody likes me," he returned, as a result 
 of his reflections. It spoke volumes for the indul 
 gent love which had surrounded his whims. 
 
 " But you are in America now. I am an 
 American girl, and you are an English boy." 
 
 She spoke very slowly and quietly. 
 
 " American girls don t like English boys unless 
 the boys are kind to them. You have broken my 
 pretty bracelet and thrown it on the floor. How 
 can I like you after that ? How can I want to 
 come out here again? I live a long way from 
 here, and unless you are kind to me I shall want 
 to get into the cars and go home, where you will 
 never see me again." 
 
 " I guess you won t ! " said the boy, a startled 
 look coming into his eyes. " I 11 take you to my 
 own room and lock you up." 
 
 She shook her head slowly. 
 
 "You forget that I am an American girl. I 
 am different. If you want me to stay here and 
 come out in the pagoda with you every day, you 
 ought to be so kind to me that I should want to 
 come. When you break my bracelet and talk 
 about knocking me down knocking a lady down 
 how can I like you ? " 
 
 The boy frowned at the fair face reflectively. 
 There was no grief or sorrow in it, and so it was 
 not akin to Aunt Eleanor s when she pleaded with 
 him. However, it was not bright and happy as it 
 had been ten minutes ago, and he decided to try 
 the tactics which with Aunt Eleanor always had 
 a magical effect.
 
 A BROKEN BRACELET 149 
 
 Suddenly he rested his arms on his knees and 
 advanced his dark face close to that of his com 
 panion. " Here you may kiss me," he said, with 
 resignation. 
 
 Sanders controlled a snort of amusement as he 
 bent above the beads, and Frances shrank slightly 
 before she said calmly, 
 
 " You re very good, but American girls 
 don t care to." 
 
 " By Jove, you re a good sort," declared the 
 boy, sitting back again. " Then don t be huffy 
 any longer." 
 
 " But you ve broken my bracelet," she persisted* 
 
 " Well, I 11 let you string it again." 
 
 " But you made that one for me. That was the 
 reason I liked it. In America the boys and men 
 all wait on the girls and do things for them." 
 
 "That s the truth, Billy," put in Burling. 
 " In America the girls are all princesses." 
 
 " Are you a princess ? " asked the boy, looking 
 straight into the blue eyes. 
 
 Frances smiled upon him. " Without a crown," 
 she answered. 
 
 " Then we 11 make you one yellow," he said 
 promptly. 
 
 She shook her head sadly. " I don t care for it 
 if the first time you get angry you are going to 
 break it in pieces." 
 
 Sanders replaced the recovered beads on the 
 table beside his master. 
 
 " Lunch-time, if you please, Mr. William," he 
 said. " Will you ave it served ere, sir ? "
 
 150 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Yes , and I 11 give you some " to Frances 
 " if you won t make any more row." 
 
 " No," interposed Burling, " the princess is to 
 be served at the house. She will see you later." 
 
 " Ho ! " contemptuously. " A princess ! You 
 think I believe that guff ! Are you ? " to Frances. 
 " I 11 believe you if you say you are. You re a 
 good sort ; different to old Maurice there, always 
 preaching." 
 
 " People often say that American girls are all 
 princesses," said Frances, rising. The boy stood 
 too and looked down at her. " I will be your 
 princess, if you will be kind and polite to me here 
 after," she added. 
 
 " Stay here now, then. I don t choose to have 
 you go." 
 
 " But a princess goes and comes as she wills. 
 Besides, don t you see how much better time we shall 
 have if you let me go when I wish and let me come 
 when I wish ? Will you invite me to lunch with 
 you here some day ? Good-by for a little while." 
 She put out her hand, and after a minute s hesitation 
 the young fellow took it awkwardly and loosely. 
 
 " Aunt Eleanor, you 11 sit with Billy till Sanders 
 comes back ? " asked Burling, and then he and 
 Frances moved off toward the house, followed by 
 the man. 
 
 " Miss Rogers, I know how tiresome this has 
 been for you," said Maurice, low and heartily, 
 " but you can t know you can t what this 
 morning has meant to Aunt Eleanor and me. If 
 there is a Providence that shapes our ends, it sent
 
 A BROKEN BRACELET 151 
 
 you to us in the nick of time. It would be hard 
 for you to realize how unprecedented, how difficult 
 of accomplishment just this sort of intercourse has 
 been hitherto. But the fatigue for you, the 
 strain on you, it makes me ashamed in accepting 
 the sacrifice." 
 
 " We can always do what is right for us to do," 
 returned the girl in a matter of fact tone. " I shall 
 grow used to him ; but if you are counting on any 
 effect I may have, then I must be at liberty to make 
 suggestions as to others treatment of your nephew." 
 
 " We shall follow them gratefully." 
 
 "Then, Sanders," turning to the man, who 
 hastened his steps, with a suspicious glance at the 
 girl, " I m sure it would be better if you did n t 
 say anything about Mr. William in his presence. 
 He may understand more than you realize, and it 
 is hurtful to him, just as it is to a child." 
 
 " Very well, miss, but you 11 soon learn ow 
 cantankerous e is, miss, and you 11 be glad to get 
 along any way you can." 
 
 Burling felt tempted to say something peremp 
 tory, but controlled himself. It was most impor 
 tant to enlist the servant s interest. 
 
 " We re hoping, Sanders, that Mr. William s 
 mind may develop and his temper improve under 
 the influence of this young lady, since he enjoys 
 having her with him. You know he has been 
 unwilling to see any one for so long." 
 
 " Hexcept me, sir. Mr. William was halways 
 appy with me, sir." 
 
 " Were you happy with him when he threw you
 
 152 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 into the hall this morning ? That was the begin- 
 ning of the end which the doctors prophesied, 
 Sanders, fits of gloom and violence alternating. 
 Going on in that way he will in another year or 
 in much less time pass beyond our power and 
 care, and you will have to find another situation. 
 This young lady has come to our rescue, and we 
 must do everything in our power to aid her." 
 
 Frances turned the sunshine of her smile upon 
 the attendant. " You are a very important factor, 
 Sanders. I want to be sure I can count on you." 
 
 " Well, of course, miss," stammered Sanders, 
 upon whom Burling s declarations had had an ef 
 fect, " if hany thing can be done for Mr. William, 
 I m halways ready to do it." 
 
 " Then try to think of him precisely as if he 
 were well. Don t treat him like a child. Don t 
 speak of him in his presence, ever." 
 
 " Her word is law, Sanders," added Burling. 
 " Neither you nor I wish to part with Mr. William. 
 Our only chance of keeping him with us lies with 
 this lady, I believe." 
 
 " They don t like to say so," said Sanders to 
 Dudley later, " but that young woman is some kind 
 of a witch-doctor, you mark my words. They hex- 
 pect she s going to cure Mr. William the same 
 way she did Timmy. She s a princess, she is, 
 Dudley, and we re hall hunder er horders ! " 
 
 The maid s eyes snapped, and her lip curled. 
 " Set a beggar on horseback ! " she returned. " I d 
 like to see her order me." 
 
 " Very likely you will, Miss Dudley, and let me
 
 A BROKEN BRACELET 153 
 
 tell you," with a knowing nod and wink, " you d 
 better step lively when she does. She s the top o 
 the eap now, as sure as you re a foot igh ! " 
 
 Miss Graves had been obliged to exercise con 
 siderable self-control this morning to go about her 
 work ; and when finally she saw Mr. Burling part 
 with her niece on the leafy side porch, she awaited 
 her entrance with a countenance all the more immo 
 bile for the anxiety that filled her. 
 
 " How d you get along ? " she asked as Frances 
 came in. 
 
 " All right." 
 
 " You look sort of tuckered." 
 
 The girl smiled and raised her eyebrows. " It 
 is quite the most tuckering thing I ve ever tried, 
 I don t suppose there is anything to be afraid of," 
 she added, as if to herself, " even to sense." 
 
 Miss Miranda noted the expression and under- 
 stood it somewhat, as she had been making further 
 furtive excursions into her niece s text-book. 
 
 " I should think it was pretty good sense to be 
 afraid of him," she retorted dryly, " or to be on 
 your guard, anyway. No telling what a fool s 
 going to do, ever." 
 
 " But we re not going to think of him as a fooi 
 any longer," said the girl firmly. " You must help 
 me, Aunt Mira, won t you ? You must n t speak 
 of him or think of him that way." 
 
 " I don t know what difference it makes what I 
 think." 
 
 " If everybody thinks of him and talks of him 
 as weak minded, it holds him back. It holds a
 
 154 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 law over him, a mortal mind law, opposed to the 
 divine law of health." 
 
 " That s all right," said Miss Graves shortly. 
 "I forbid you, Frances Rogers, ever to be alone with 
 him. Do you hear ? I ve been on pins and needles 
 this whole morning trying to do my work with one 
 eye on that pagoda, watching to see if the folks 
 came away and left you. I saw Mr. Burling drive 
 off, and I tell you if the others had set foot outside 
 that place, young Nincompoop would have seen me 
 come flying." 
 
 Frances laughed and seated herself at the wait 
 ing lunch-table. " You certainly were very patient 
 and good ; but never worry again. Miss Hereford 
 and Mr. Burling are people of such fine feeling. 
 They are as kind and considerate of me as if I 
 were their boy s own sister." 
 
 " Humph ! They d better be. A nice way to 
 ask you to spend your time sitting out there by 
 the hour with that " - Miss Graves repressed 
 the obnoxious word at a look from her niece 
 " that unfortunate creature." 
 
 " Supposing, though, that I could as they seem 
 to think really possible give him a new start? 
 Ah, Aunt Mira, if they only knew about Science, 
 and wanted it ! " 
 
 "Humph! What have you been doing out 
 there?" 
 
 " Stringing beads." 
 
 Miss Graves laughed grimly. " What d you 
 make ? " 
 
 " A ring for Mr. William, a charming double 
 band of garnets."
 
 A BROKEN BRACELET 155 
 
 " What was he doing ? " 
 
 " Making me a bracelet." 
 
 "Where is it?" 
 
 " He broke it afterward." 
 
 Miss Graves noted the hesitation and looked up 
 alertly. 
 
 " There it is, you see. He s got the temper of 
 the old Harry. Frances Rogers, did you hear me ? 
 If you don t promise me you won t be alone one 
 minute with that boy, I 11 send you back to 
 Boston to-morrow ! My hair d turn white in a 
 week I could n t stand it. I came down here to 
 keep house, and not a fool asylum. I ain t fitted 
 for it. I ve thought out a number of things this 
 morning, and the only way I can consent for you 
 to oblige these folks is by your promising." 
 
 " They feel the same way, I m sure," returned 
 Frances earnestly. " I m sure they would n t al 
 low" 
 
 " We don t know anything about that. What 
 are you to them ? Do you promise ? " 
 
 Miss Graves thrust her Revolutionary nose and 
 chin toward her niece. 
 
 " Yes, Aunt Mira, I 11 do my best." 
 
 " Your best means to run like a deer if you find 
 yourself alone with him by any accident." 
 
 " But after a while you will release me from 
 that promise ? " 
 
 " We 11 see about that," returned Miss Miranda, 
 going on with her dinner. 
 
 " I ve made such a delightful discovery, Aunt 
 Mira ! " The girl s face grew suddenly radiant.
 
 156 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " There is a Scientist in this neighborhood, one 
 whom I studied with. I shall see her." 
 
 An unexplained pang seized Miss Miranda. She 
 regarded the expressive face silently. 
 
 " She is a Mrs. Jewett, and she and her daugh 
 ter have called here. I wonder if you saw them ? 
 They are both decided brunettes, and the mother 
 looks almost as young as the daughter." 
 
 " How should I see anybody who called here ? " 
 returned Miss Graves. " I don t tend the door, 
 you know," she added dryly. 
 
 " Dear Aunt Mira ! " exclaimed the girl. 
 
 " Is n t it goin to be kind of awkward for you 
 receiving company in the housekeeper s rooms? 
 Or do you calculate to have the run of the house 
 now you re nursing the feeble minded ? Dear 
 knows I wish he was feeble bodied, too ! " 
 
 Frances colored. She felt humiliated at the 
 remembrance of her hesitation with Laura Jewett 
 in the morning. 
 
 Miss Graves went on rather dismally : " I don t 
 know how much of a mess I ve made bringin you 
 down h<?re, Frances. Just now it seems all mess." 
 
 " You may be sure it is n t," returned the girl 
 earnestly. " God has been leading us, every step, 
 and we will watch to see what he is bringing us to." 
 
 " I must say, Frances," remarked Miss Miranda, 
 " that I never heard any one quite so free with 
 her Creator s name as you are. It strikes me queer 
 to hear you mention it so easily, just as if you 
 were speakin of an intimate friend." 
 
 " I am," answered the girl simply.
 
 CHAPTER XHI 
 
 AN AFTERNOON CALL 
 
 LAURA JEWETT, after Burliug s departure, 
 awaited her mother s return with impatience ; and 
 when she saw the phaeton approaching she stood 
 at the head of the steps and took bodily possession 
 of the parent, who, as Frances had said, looked as 
 if she might be her sister. 
 
 " He has strained his wrists is the reason," she 
 said, leading Mrs. Jewett toward the armchairs 
 and rugs at one end of the porch. 
 
 "What he, my dear?" 
 
 " The only one within miles." 
 
 " Oh Mr. Burling." 
 
 " Yes. Have n t you heard me wailing because 
 he has n t been at the links for days ? Have n t 
 you noticed the diminuendo of my interest in the 
 royal game ? " 
 
 " Well, dear child, the season is opening now. 
 You will soon have plenty of companions." 
 
 Mrs. Jewett took off her sailor hat and smoothed 
 back the flying locks of her dark hair, regarding her 
 daughter s face, which seemed expressive of news. 
 
 " Has he been here this morning Mr. Bur- 
 ling?" 
 
 " Yes, but that is n t the beginning of the story."
 
 158 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " I thought there was a story," said the other. 
 
 " I went to walk this morning, and was tripping 
 along the country lanes in my fresh print gown, 
 like the heroine of a summer novel, listening to 
 the birds and wondering where Mr. Burling was, 
 when I met a friend not one of mine, one of 
 yours most unexpectedly." 
 
 "Who was it?" 
 
 " I did n t mean to tell you. I had made up 
 my mind not to say one word about it ; but after 
 Mr. Burling s visit I saw that I must. You d find 
 out, anyway." 
 
 " What do you mean, Laura ? " 
 
 " It all comes of your studying Christian Sci 
 ence. I must say I did n t relish the idea of going 
 in at the back door when I visited Water view." 
 
 " Who can you mean, child ? " 
 
 " Do you remember Miss Hereford s telling you 
 about her Yankee housekeeper ? " 
 
 " Yes, and your telling her that you were a 
 Yankee, too. I forget whether she mentioned her 
 housekeeper s name." 
 
 "Miss Graves." 
 
 " But I don t know any Miss Graves." 
 
 " Perhaps not ; but you re likely to. Her niece 
 is Miss Rogers, the class baby, as you called her, 
 whom you invited to the house with the others. I 
 met her this morning, and she told me that she was 
 visiting her aunt, and I foresaw how you would fall 
 on her neck the minute you heard of it, and would 
 never think anything about the social side of the 
 situation, and how surprised Miss Hereford "
 
 AN AFTERNOON CALL 159 
 
 " Laura ! " exclaimed Mrs. Jewett, her eyes 
 shining. " Is Frances Rogers down here ? " 
 
 " That s exactly the way I knew you d look," 
 said the girl. 
 
 " She is very unusual in her understanding. Our 
 teacher told me so. Oh, Laura, how I wish you 
 would see all you can of her ! " 
 
 " Oh, mother, how I wish you would consider 
 conventionality a little bit ! I can t call at the 
 front door to see Miss Hereford and then go around 
 to the back door to see Miss Graves, can I ? You 
 know how English people feel about servants. It 
 is the most unfortunate, annoying thing ! " 
 
 " Laura, my dear, Jesus was born in a stable 
 and bred to the trade of a carpenter. All class 
 differences will have to be lost sight of except 
 those that separate good from evil. But why did 
 Mr. Burling s visit decide you to tell me that Miss 
 Rogers was here ? " 
 
 " Why, it seems that the unfortunate young man, 
 his nephew, who would none of me you remem 
 ber I told you about it will tolerate the presence 
 of this girl, so she is to be allowed in the front of 
 the house ; for they have been a long time search 
 ing for some companion of his own age. It s a 
 Jucky happening for her." 
 
 " It is a wonderful happening for him." Mrs. 
 Jewett s face showed the earnestness of her 
 thought. " I wonder if they know those people ? " 
 
 Laura shrugged her shoulders. " Well, it is 
 going to make it a little easier for us. Mother, I 
 wish you would come down to earth and realize
 
 160 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 that it would be well to convey to Miss Hereford 
 the fact that Miss Graves is not your bosom 
 friend." 
 
 " There has n t a day passed since we were at 
 Waterview, Laura, that I have n t thought of that 
 little Englishwoman, her heavy cross, and her 
 dense ignorance. I mentioned Science to her then, 
 but she brushed it aside, calling it that wicked 
 superstition, and I ve just yearned over them all, 
 wearing out their lives under such a load without 
 trying the one hope of lifting it. What must that 
 young girl feel that dear child Frances, con 
 fronted with such a situation ! I can scarcely wait 
 to see her." 
 
 " I knew it ! " remarked Laura resignedly. 
 " Mother Jewett, listen to me. At least let Miss 
 Rogers come to see you first." 
 
 * How can she ? How is she to command horses 
 and carriages ? " 
 
 " She was halfway here this morning." 
 
 " But did she know it ? Did you tell her the 
 way ? I hope you did." 
 
 " Indeed, I did not ; and I assure you I hoped 
 she would never find it. It was hoping against 
 hope, however, for she sent messages to you, look 
 ing radiant. Oh, you re both just as bad as the 
 early Christians ! " groaned the girl. 
 
 " She did n t notice your coldness, I hope, 
 Laura?" 
 
 " There was n t any. I was so embarrassed, I 
 think I was rather effusive." 
 
 " That is well," Mrs. Jewett gave a little nod,
 
 AN AFTERNOON CALL 161 
 
 K for the lions in your path will change to kittens^ 
 and you will discover what a silly little child you 
 are. I must see Miss Rogers this afternoon." 
 
 "Then I will drive you over," declared her 
 daughter with decision. " I shall be there on 
 your first visit to heal breaks and repair damages 
 as fast as you make them." 
 
 When they reached Waterview they found Mr. 
 Burling watching the paces of a handsome gray 
 horse which was being walked up and down the 
 drive. 
 
 " Dick s days are numbered," he explained, as 
 he assisted the ladies to dismount. 
 
 " Oh, you are n t going to part with Dick ! " 
 said Miss Jewett. " It is as much fun as tobog 
 ganing to drive with Dick." 
 
 " Yes, but with the same drawbacks. Walking 
 back is the dull part of tobogganing, is n t it ? " 
 
 " What has poor Dick done ? " 
 
 44 Well, the last thing he has done is to be sold. 
 I ve just sold him." 
 
 " Very well ; I shall always mourn him," de 
 clared the young woman. Her dark eyes glanced 
 about restlessly. 
 
 " Don t let us detain you, Mr. Burling," said 
 Mrs. Jewett. " I have come this afternoon hoping 
 to see a young friend of mine who is here Miss 
 Rogers. If Miss Hereford is lying down or en 
 gaged, we need not disturb her." 
 
 "No, indeed. Aunt Eleanor s life is monoto 
 nous. She welcomes visitors. I will send for her 
 at once and for Miss Rogers."
 
 162 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 The ladies entered the house. A servant was 
 dispatched for the hostess, and Mr. Burling re 
 turned to the group of men who were awaiting 
 him. 
 
 " Oh, mother, this is so queer ! " said Laura, as> 
 they seated themselves. " I m glad I could explain 
 as much as I did to Mr. Burling this morning ! 
 Here comes Timmy. I hear his bells." 
 
 At once the little pug ran into the room, fol 
 lowed by his mistress, who gave the ladies a cordial 
 welcome and smiled upon Laura as she lifted the 
 dog into her lap. 
 
 " It is n t every one he 11 let do that," said Miss 
 Hereford, and went on to give a history of Timmy s 
 predilections and peculiarities, through the whole 
 of which Mrs. Jewett strained her ears to listen for 
 another step. 
 
 " I take him for a walk every day, or he d never 
 go. He can t bear to be away from me, and Mr. 
 Burling says it is a fortunate thing, for I don t 
 care much for walking and I suffer so much from 
 dyspepsia I should probably be much worse if it 
 were n t for having to take Timmy out." 
 
 " I suppose you drive every day ? " said Laura. 
 
 "I shall drive more hereafter. Of the only 
 driving horses we ve had here, one was too wild 
 and the other too tame. Mr. Burling thinks he has 
 found an excellent animal. He is trying him now." 
 
 " Did any one say to you," asked Mrs. Jewett, 
 " that I should like to see the young girl who is 
 staying here Miss Eogers ? " 
 
 " Mr. Burling told me at luncheon that you
 
 AN AFTERNOON CALL 163 
 
 knew Miss Rogers. I m sure she will be very 
 pleased that you asked to see her. I don t know 
 whether she has been spoken to." 
 
 Miss Hereford rang a bell, and the cheeks of 
 her younger guest flushed. At the same moment 
 Mrs. Jewett discerned Frances herself crossing the 
 lawn a short distance from the house. 
 
 " If you will allow me, Miss Hereford," she said, 
 rising suddenly, " there goes Miss Rogers now. I 
 will join her for a few minutes and leave Laura 
 with you. I will return shortly." 
 
 There was a murmur of assent, and then Miss 
 Hereford and her young guest found themselves 
 alone. 
 
 " My mother and Miss Rogers pursued a course 
 of study together last autumn," said Laura, try 
 ing to smooth the wrinkles out of Timmy s fore 
 head as he lay in her lap. " She was a student in 
 Boston, and that is all we know of her ; but my 
 mother entertained her whole class a few times, and 
 Miss Rogers among them. We knew none of her 
 family and nothing about her home life." 
 
 " Ah, that is the way you do things in America," 
 returned Miss Hereford thoughtfully. " Each per 
 son stands or falls on his own merits." 
 
 "Ah well, some of us do. There are many dif 
 fering ways of managing social life in America." 
 
 " I suppose so," returned the English lady 
 vaguely. " Well, Miss Rogers is one who could 
 stand on her own merits." 
 
 "My mother thinks very highly of her," re 
 turned Laura, her eyes on the dog s ears.
 
 164 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " They believe alike," said Miss Hereford in a 
 lowered voice. " So Mr. Burling tells me, and he 
 also tells me that you are not of the sect." 
 
 " I confess I am not." 
 
 " What church do you attend ? " 
 
 "The Episcopalian, except when I go with 
 mother." 
 
 " That is right, my dear, that is right. It is the 
 Church. I have a friend at home who assured me 
 that she was cured of a dyspepsia like mine by 
 these Science people. I told her I would keep my 
 dyspepsia. Of course it is an inconvenient and 
 painful trouble to have, but one thing you can say 
 for dyspepsia it is thoroughly respectable." 
 
 Laura smiled. "My mother was healed won 
 derfully. There is no doubt of it. Why, they 
 even help sick animals." 
 
 Miss Hereford stirred uncomfortably in her chair 
 and looked at Timmy. 
 
 " But one can t cast loose from all moorings, can 
 one ? " she said a little sharply as she sat up with 
 a sudden stiffness. 
 
 Meanwhile Mrs. Jewett had hastened away to 
 Frances, who, when she saw the visitor coming, 
 turned to meet her, her cheeks flushing with hap 
 piness. With a simultaneous movement each held 
 out both hands, and they stood long looking into 
 each other s eyes as their hands clasped. 
 
 " How very kind of you to come so soon ! " said 
 the girl. 
 
 " I could n t wait. You have been led into a 
 strange position, my child."
 
 AN AFTERNOON CALL 165 
 
 " And what a help it is to see you ! " responded 
 Frances, " to speak with one who understands." 
 
 " You have no sympathy here, then ? " 
 
 " No. My dear Orthodox aunt is pained by my 
 faith. These kind English people smile at it." 
 
 " Yet they are much excited over the effect you 
 have over the nephew, or my daughter gathered 
 as much from a few words she had with Mr. Bur 
 ling this morning." 
 
 " Yes, it is so. How gladly I would escape this 
 experience, since they do not desire the truth." 
 
 " Yet you cannot escape it, Frances." Mrs. Jew- 
 ett had never called the girl by her name before ; 
 but neither thought of that. 
 
 " No, it must be my work. Of course I take 
 an interest. No one could avoid longing to help 
 these poor people ; but their thought is so wrong, 
 and the boy is so big and strong, and sometimes 
 has such a strange light in his eyes." 
 
 " I know. I ve thought it all over and over 
 since morning ; but you know how to protect your 
 self, and you will always be taken care of while you 
 are doing your duty." 
 
 " Of that I am sure ; and I can realize the truth 
 about him for myself every hour in the day. I 
 must do that in order to be strong enough to stay 
 with him." 
 
 " And he will feel the help of it, and it may 
 come that his aunt and uncle will appreciate that 
 there is a power at work beyond a girl s personal 
 influence." 
 
 Frances shook her head slightly. "The little
 
 166 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 dog, Miss Hereford s pet, was healed of a deadly 
 attack the day after I arrived." 
 
 " And what did they think ? " 
 
 Frances smiled into the other s eager face. 
 " Your daughter is not a Christian Scientist, Mrs, 
 Jewett." 
 
 " Yes, I know. It is the old story." The lady 
 sighed. " Though one rose from the dead, there 
 would be found some way to explain the phenome 
 non ; but I live in hopes about Laura. She saw 
 my healing and credited it. She would not have me 
 give up my faith for anything in the world. You 
 are in a hard place, Frances, but you will stand, I 
 know, and I will help you all I can. We are both 
 young in Science, and you are young in fact, and 
 I feel like carrying you off in my arms from so 
 much opposing thought ; but the claim of difficulty 
 must be met." 
 
 " And of course I am in the midst of much kind 
 ness, too," said the girl. " My aunt is very fond 
 of me, and as for Miss Hereford and Mr. Burling, 
 they cling to me in their desperate strait." 
 
 Mrs. Jewett nodded, putting the fact away in her 
 memory for her daughter s benefit. "I should 
 like to meet your aunt. Can she see me? " 
 
 " Certainly. She is always to be found sewing 
 at this time of day either on her porch or in 
 her sitting-room. Our rooms are very pleasant 
 here." 
 
 Frances turned back with her companion, and 
 Laura Jewett, sitting up in her correct summer 
 driving costume, patting Timmy and talking to
 
 AN AFTERNOON CALL 167 
 
 his dumpy but patrician mistress, felt a gentle 
 perspiration break out upon her as the apparition 
 of her mother, deep in converse with the house 
 keeper s niece, passed the window and moved to 
 ward the back of the house. 
 
 " She s doing it ! " she thought. " She is on 
 her way to the back door." 
 
 As a fortunate diversion, Mr. Burling now came 
 into the room. 
 
 " Well, the bargain is made," he announced. 
 "Next time I drive you to the golf links, Miss 
 Jewett, I shall be more certain of restoring you 
 to your mother s arms again." 
 
 " But I was n t afraid of Dick," she responded, 
 as coquettishly as might be, considering that one 
 half her thought was busy with the embarrassing 
 occurrences at the back of the house. 
 
 " Well," answered Burling, with the smile which 
 Laura had described in a letter to a girl at home 
 as " perfectly dear," " I think that was a case 
 where discretion was the better part of valor. 
 Dick is n t all he was reported to be, and I ve 
 sold him to a medical gentleman who can get all 
 his bones set for nothing." 
 
 " Ah ! " exclaimed Laura, with a quick, percep 
 tive look at the bandaged wrist with which Bur 
 ling gestured. " Did Dick do that ? " 
 
 " His wrist, do you mean, my dear ? " asked 
 Miss Hereford solemnly. " Indeed, he got that 
 strain and an ugly one it is on that golf 
 course, and I hope it will be a lesson to him." 
 
 Burling glanced at the visitor with a quick
 
 168 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 movement of his eyebrows, which changed her 
 sudden laugh into a cough. 
 
 " Yes, Miss Hereford, there are plenty of dan 
 gers on the golf links, and the better one plays, 
 the more respect he has for those little bullet 
 balls flying about in all directions." 
 
 " I m glad you see it so, Miss Jewett," said Miss 
 Hereford. 
 
 " She is wise beyond her years this young 
 lady," remarked Burling. " By the way, why has 
 Mrs. Jewett disappeared ? " 
 
 " She went to meet Miss Rogers," said Miss 
 Hereford. " I think they must be strolling." 
 
 " I hear that your nephew looks with favor upon 
 the newcomer," said Laura hastily to her hostess, 
 the direction of her mother s stroll still uppermost 
 in her mind. 
 
 " Yes. We are feeling very happy over it," re 
 turned Miss Hereford, with some formality. " Any 
 event which can brighten our boy s life is of great 
 importance to Mr. Burling and me. I have never 
 thanked you for your kindness in attempting to 
 speak with him." 
 
 " That was nothing," returned the visitor gra 
 ciously. "Perhaps, after he has become accus 
 tomed to one girl, he will grow more kindly in 
 clined to others. Possibly we should get on better 
 another time." 
 
 Miss Hereford regarded the speaker gratefully. 
 u You are very kind," she answered. 
 
 In a few minutes Mrs. Jewett reentered the 
 room alone. A color glowed in either cheek, and
 
 AN AFTERNOON CALL 109 
 
 her eyes shone. While tea was served she smoothed 
 and patted the little dog in her daughter s lap, 
 and as she talked with Miss Hereford she often 
 lifted the pug s chin and looked into the vacuous 
 face with its big eyes. 
 
 "How much they both seemed to admire 
 Timrny ! " said the hostess, wreathed in smiles, 
 when the visitors had taken their departure. 
 
 " Mrs. Jewett would admire anything that had 
 been cured as Timmy was the other day," remarked 
 Burling. 
 
 " Do you suppose Miss Rogers told her? " asked 
 Miss Hereford, the fond pride dying out of her face. 
 
 " I certainly do ; and I m mind reader enough 
 to suppose more than that. There was n t a line 
 in Mrs. Jewett s speaking countenance that did n t 
 reveal her opinion of us." 
 
 "Explain yourself, Maurice." Miss Hereford 
 drew herself up. 
 
 " Have we asked Miss Rogers to try the same 
 sort of healing effect on our boy that she did on 
 the dog ? " 
 
 " You know we have not." 
 
 Maurice nodded. " So you can judge as well as 
 I can what Mrs. Jewett thinks of us." 
 
 " Really, Maurice," Miss Hereford s tone and 
 attitude suddenly recalled the fact that there were 
 great ladies among her ancestors, " do you think an 
 American stranger like Mrs. Jewett presumes to 
 criticise us ? " 
 
 " No. I believe she thinks us below criticism," 
 returned Burling pleasantly.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 A HOSPITAL 
 
 THE smile and kind words which Frances had 
 bestowed on Sanders had affected that individual 
 in the American girl s favor more than he would 
 have dared to admit to Dudley, with whom he had 
 an alliance offensive and defensive. He still had 
 his suspicions of the stranger, and some jealousy 
 of her; but many events in his relations with his 
 charge the past week had verified Mr. Burling s 
 declarations, so it was with some curiosity and an 
 ticipation that the attendant looked forward to the 
 next interview between Mr. William and the guest. 
 
 It was the young man s habit to doze the greater 
 part of the afternoon, and he rarely mentioned any 
 occurrence of a bygone day. 
 
 The morning following the events of the last 
 chapter, Sanders came into his master s room with 
 the mechanical "Good-morning," which usually 
 went unnoticed. 
 
 After his bath the boy sometimes talked, but 
 more often was silent, his sombre eyes looking list 
 lessly from the window, until Sanders was ready 
 to escort him out of doors. 
 
 Others besides the servant were wondering this 
 morning, and more eagerly, whether the second
 
 A HOSPITAL 171 
 
 interview which Billy had had with his new com 
 panion had made any deeper impression upon his 
 memory. Mr. Burling came to the room, smoking 
 his pipe, when the boy s breakfast was finished. 
 He entered with his usual kindly greeting, and 
 such was his surprise and pleasure at the fact that 
 Billy stretched out a lazy hand to him, that he 
 bore the pain the strong grasp gave his wrist with 
 out a wince. 
 
 " Good-morning, Maurice," was his nephew s 
 response. " I m glad the sun shines. I m going 
 out to see the princess." 
 
 " It s the third time e s spoke of her, sir," 
 remarked Sanders. 
 
 Burling looked at the man with no change of 
 countenance. " You re forgetting orders," he said. 
 
 The man sniffed. " I thought you d be pleased 
 to ear it, sir." 
 
 " Very well ; but the business of all of us is to 
 obey the princess. Don t forget again." 
 
 " Is she out in the pagoda ? " asked the boy with 
 interest. " Don t be all day, Sanders." 
 
 " No, she is n t out there yet. Her aunt is ill 
 this morning. The princess has her hands full. I 
 fancy she is ordering our dinner." 
 
 Billy tossed his head imperiously. " Let some 
 body else do it, then. I want her." 
 
 " Yes, very soon, old fellow," said Maurice paci 
 fically. " Aunt Eleanor is ill, too, this morning. 
 We have a hospital. Her ward is the next one 
 I must visit, so au revoir. I 11 come out to the 
 pagoda after a bit. It s a glorious morning."
 
 172 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Miss Graves had indeed succumbed to the head* 
 tclie against which even her strong will was power 
 less. She found a capable help in Frances, who 
 took and carried out her feebly-voiced instructions 
 and insured the smooth service of the next three 
 meals. 
 
 This anxiety relieved, Miss Miranda s thoughts 
 ran on her own pain. Her niece drew near the bed. 
 
 " You know I would be glad to help you if you d 
 like rne to, Aunt Mira," she said softly. She had 
 shaded the windows and moved with a sympathetic 
 noiselessness which Miss Miranda appreciated. 
 
 " She has n t forgotten how it feels, anyway," 
 she reflected. " You could n t help these old stagers, 
 child," she groaned. " Nothing does any more. 
 I ve given up every powder and pill that ever I 
 took. I ve worked em all out." 
 
 " So far, so good," rejoined the girl. 
 
 " I m sure she could go ahead now and try if 
 she wanted to," thought Miss Miranda. " I ve told 
 her I ain t taking any medicine." 
 
 " I suppose you d rather I left you alone," said 
 Frances. " If you can get to sleep it will be a 
 relief. Is there anything at all I can do, Aunt 
 Mira? Do you like your head bathed with co 
 logne ? I used to." 
 
 " No," returned Miss Graves shortly. " Might 
 as well pour water on a duck s back." 
 
 " Then good-by, you dear. I hope you 11 get to 
 sleep." The door closed softly, and Miss Graves 
 was alone. Her pulses beat a little faster and the 
 pain pounded the harder in her temples.
 
 A HOSPITAL 173 
 
 " Well, that may be Christian, but I can t see 
 it," she thought. " I have n t an idea she could 
 do me a bit of good ; but would n t anybody think 
 she d have wanted to try ? She s got rid of her 
 own headaches, and she can see me lay here and 
 suffer I I would n t even have water on, so s to 
 give her a fair chance ; but if she won t take it, 
 I suppose I 11 have to do for myself the best I 
 can." 
 
 The sufferer rose from the bed and groped for a 
 large handkerchief and saturated it. Just as she 
 was binding it about her head, the door opened 
 gently and Frances reappeared. 
 
 " Are you up, Aunt Mira ? I forgot my book, 
 and I knew you would n t be asleep yet. Can t 1 
 tie that ? " 
 
 Her deft fingers secured the handkerchief. " You 
 know how glad I 11 be to give you a treatment 
 whenever you want it," she added. 
 
 " You want to make me ask for it, do you ? " 
 with feeble sharpness. " Dreadful afraid you 
 would n t get the credit if the headache should go 
 off and I did n t know how it went ! " 
 
 " I have n t any right to influence you silently 
 and mentally without your permission, without 
 your desire, in fact. Do you want to see if I can 
 drive off the pain ? " 
 
 A sudden twist of the torturer made Miss Graves 
 wince ; but it would signify so much were she to 
 request the aid of Christian Science that her con 
 sistency won the brief struggle. " I don t believe 
 in it," she said shortly, " and you know it. Now
 
 174 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 if you won t come in and out of that door, perhaps 
 I can get some rest. 
 
 " I guess I was real ugly," she thought with a 
 groan when the door had closed. " Miss Here 
 ford s laid up, too, and that good young one has 
 been a real help this morning." 
 
 Frances understood her aunt s struggle. Moving 
 out into the corridor, she met Dudley. 
 
 " Miss Hereford s compliments, miss, and would 
 you step to her room." 
 
 The maid s automatic manner and tone had 
 grown familiar to Frances. She was aware that 
 Dudley resented her anomalous position in the 
 household. 
 
 She followed the woman at once, and upon 
 reaching Miss Hereford s room found that lady 
 sitting up in an easy chair, a shawl over her dress 
 ing-gown. Timmy was nestled in her lap. 
 
 " My dear, come in." Miss Hereford s invita 
 tion was punctuated with a sneeze, and her little 
 nose was red. " I m so put about to hear that 
 Miss Graves is ill. I wanted to learn what the 
 trouble is." 
 
 Maurice Burling was present, and Frances 
 greeted him as she took the offered chair near her 
 hostess. 
 
 "Nothing but a headache, and that is quite 
 enough," answered the girl. 
 
 " Harvey has ridden off for the doctor for me, 
 and I thought Miss Graves might like to see him 
 too," went on Miss Hereford. 
 
 " My aunt was just telling me that she has ex-
 
 A HOSPITAL 175 
 
 hausted medicine for her headaches. I am sure 
 she will not wish to see the doctor." 
 
 " Has she been taking some of your medicine ? " 
 asked Burling, with a smile. 
 
 The girl shook her head. " No, she is n t ready 
 for it yet." 
 
 " I think we had better let the doctor see her, 
 don t you, Miss Kogers, as long as he is here ? " 
 
 Frances smiled. " You know what I think," she 
 answered. 
 
 " Well I mean, my dear," added Miss Here 
 ford, with some embarrassment and another sneeze, 
 " so long as she is n t a believer with you. Dear 
 me," another sneeze, " I think I must have got a 
 chill on my liver ! Then, of course, the doctor 
 must see Billy," she added. 
 
 " What for ? " asked Frances, suddenly grave. 
 
 " Well, my dear, so long as he is here, you 
 know. This one has n t seen him." 
 
 " And he should not see him," responded Frances 
 bravely. She could feel Burling s eyes upon her, 
 and it cost her something to speak. " Have you 
 faith left in doctors for him ? Have n t you tried 
 them long enough ? You have had the opinion of 
 specialists here, I suppose, as well as in your own 
 country ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered Miss Hereford. " We d a 
 very great man from where was it again, Mau 
 rice a place with a long name ? " 
 
 " Philadelphia," said Burling. 
 
 " Yes, that was it ; but, my dear Miss Eogers, 
 you must excuse our differing with you. That was
 
 176 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 understood, I thought, and when a doctor is right 
 here in the house " 
 
 " But every one who sees him makes our task 
 harder," said Frances. " Every new mind brought 
 to make laws about the difficulty of his case is a 
 cruel wrong to him." 
 
 " My dear, I don t understand you," said Miss 
 Hereford, disturbed by the suddenly decisive tone. 
 
 " And I doubt if we ever should, Aunt Eleanor," 
 put in Burling. " I think it is time that " He 
 went no further, for at this juncture there was a 
 scurrying of heavy feet in the corridor, some evi 
 dent altercation, then the door was burst open, and 
 six feet of wrathful manhood strode into the room, 
 followed by Sanders, one hand clasped pathetically 
 to his eye. 
 
 "Your pardon, Miss Ereford," he stammered 
 breathlessly, " for I knew you was hill, and I tried 
 to keep im hout ! " 
 
 " My darling child ! " ejaculated the invalid, 
 trembling under the angry frown, and instinctively 
 hiding Timmy under her shawl. " Did he come to 
 see poor sick Aunt Eleanor ? " 
 
 Maurice hastily advanced and placed himself 
 before the young fellow, his hand on Billy s shoul 
 der. 
 
 It was one of the boy s peculiarities to prefer to 
 remain in certain familiar spots. They had rarely 
 been able to tempt him from his own haunts, and 
 few apparitions could have been more startling to 
 both uncle and aunt than this of the poor youth, 
 transformed out of his usual lethargy, and seeking 

 
 A HOSPITAL IT 1 } 
 
 them here. He was evidently laboring under great 
 excitement, and he brushed Maurice aside with au 
 ease which astonished that sturdy Englishman. 
 
 " I want the princess," announced the young 
 fellow, his nostrils dilating in his heavy breathing. 
 
 Miss Hereford cowered back in her chair, and 
 even her little reddened nose grew pale under his 
 wild look. 
 
 Burling, flushed of face, regained his balance 
 and turned back to the intruder ; but Frances had 
 risen, and he controlled himself and waited. 
 
 The girl met the glowing, frowning eyes with an 
 unsmiling look. 
 
 " You ve kept me waiting ! " said the boy accus 
 ingly. 
 
 " Is n t that quite right ? " she asked " for a 
 princess ? " Then she smiled at him and drew a 
 step nearer, while he stood motionless, still breath 
 ing fast. " I have done one thing you don t like, 
 for I ve kept you waiting ; but you have done two 
 things I don t like. One is that you have hurt 
 Sanders ; the other that you broke in here so 
 roughly that you frightened your aunt." 
 
 " And I 11 frighten you if you don t behave 
 yourself," was the response. 
 
 She shook her head sadly. " Then you will 
 make me go away from here where you won t see 
 me any more. I don t want to go go and leave 
 you." 
 
 " And you won t, either. You 11 stop here." 
 
 Still she shook her head. " If you are unkind I 
 shall go. It will be when you are asleep, so that 
 you won t know it and you can t help it ; but if
 
 178 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 you will be kind to me and to everybody, I shall 
 stay, and we shall all be happy." 
 
 " Come out, then, to the pagoda. It s stifling 
 in here." He stretched out his hand, and she fell 
 back a step. " Remember ! " she said warningly. 
 
 " Remember what ? " 
 
 " Not to touch me. See what I have for you." 
 She took out of her pocket a spool of fine wire. 
 " Do you remember you said you would make me 
 a coronet? We could not make it with waxed 
 thread, but we can string the beads on this and 
 bend it any way we like. See ? " She bent the 
 wire in points. 
 
 " That won t be bad," said Billy, his brow slowly 
 clearing and his attention at once distracted. 
 
 " I don t know that you have enough yellow 
 beads." 
 
 " Come out and see." 
 
 " You take the spool and go. I will come in a 
 few minutes." 
 
 " No, you don t ! You re coming now ! " he 
 answered, with a return of anger. 
 
 " Is that the way to talk to a princess ? " She 
 smiled gayly into the suddenly morose face. 
 " You re to do as I say if I am to wear a coronet. 
 Go ! I 11 not keep you waiting long and look 
 at that lump above Sanders s eye ! Oh," with 
 a sudden change of tone, " I m so sorry to see 
 that!" 
 
 " He tried to keep me from coming in." 
 
 Frances shook her head. " There is no use in 
 being strong unless you are gentle, too," she said, 
 " I can t like you unless you are sorry for that."
 
 A HOSPITAL 179 
 
 " Well, I am sorry sorry Sanders got in my 
 way." A gleam lighted the young fellow s eyes as 
 iae made the addition. 
 
 " Then go," she pointed smilingly out toward 
 tttie pagoda, " and wait for me ! I command it ! " 
 She smiled, and after a long look he smiled too. 
 
 " Come on, then, Sanders," he said suddenly, 
 and turning, he left the room without a word to 
 his mute relatives. 
 
 " Oh, Miss Rogers, what a wonderful way you 
 have with him ! " said Miss Hereford in a breath 
 less voice, when the steps of the two men had died 
 ilway. " You see yourself that you could n t leave 
 -as ! " 
 
 The laughter had died out of the girl s face, and 
 she turned to face her hosts with a stern earnest 
 ness in strange contrast to her fair youth. 
 
 " Yes, I see it, but not in the way you think. I 
 am yielding myself to a slavery, to a dangerous 
 slavery, many would say, for that boy is scarcely 
 more reasonable or self-controlled than an animal. 
 Why should I consent to do it ? Never for money 
 surely. I would rather scrub in your kitchen. 
 Not from attachment to you. You are only ac 
 quaintances of a few days who have been kind 
 to me. You have both of you known of Christian 
 Science. To some degree you have seen its work 
 ings ; yet you are indifferent to its help for this 
 afflicted boy, although you call yourselves believers 
 Jn Jesus Christ. Know, then, that it is nothing 
 the strength that Science has given me that 
 6 me here ; nothing but Principle which will
 
 180 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 not let me put this cup from me, that makes me 
 go now to spend my time with that childish man 
 who to mortal sense could kill me with a blow in 
 some sudden passion. Principle will quell my fear 
 of him. God will take care of me as he did of 
 Daniel." 
 
 There was nothing dramatic in the girl s manner, 
 but her earnest speech made the red return to 
 Miss Hereford s face and her heart to beat quite 
 as fast as had her nephew s wrath. She felt ar 
 raigned and humbled, and glancing at Maurice 
 saw agitation in his flushed countenance. 
 
 He spoke first. " You are severe, Miss Rogers, 
 but you are entirely right. I am so certain of it 
 that unless Miss Hereford consents not to mention 
 Billy s case to any physician, but to make your 
 sacrifice as light as may be, I shall urge your 
 return to Boston at once." 
 
 " Maurice, you re crazy ! She can t go ! " Miss 
 Hereford spoke excitedly. 
 
 Burling turned to her. " Don t you think her 
 very courageous astonishingly kind ? " 
 
 " Of course I do. You know I do." 
 
 " Well, she has just told you why she is so. 
 This is indeed having the courage of her convic 
 tions. What holds us back, Aunt Eleanor, from 
 asking this young lady to try the help for Billy s 
 mind which we were glad enough to accept for a 
 dog s body?" 
 
 Miss Hereford cleared her throat in perplexity. 
 " The rector " she began. 
 
 " The rector be hanged ! " broke forth Burling
 
 A HOSPITAL 181 
 
 emphatically. " I never happened to learn of tha.t 
 reverend gentleman s taking up any cross and 
 carrying it as Miss Rogers is doing now. I for 
 one have come to wish with all my heart that she 
 should bring any and every sort of influence she 
 has at her command to bear upon that poor boy of 
 ours ; and if she succeeds in stopping his present 
 trend downward and helps him to climb ever so 
 little in the direction of intelligence and happiness, 
 I am ready to place all the credit of it wherever 
 she does." 
 
 Frances gave the speaker a bright, unsmiling 
 look, then turned to her hostess. 
 
 " And you, Miss Hereford ? " she asked. 
 
 " I want you, my dear," was the piteous answer. 
 
 " Don t you want God more ? " 
 
 " He knows I want him. He knows that I pray 
 to him every night and beg for strength to be 
 resigned to his will." 
 
 " You will learn really to know God s will, Miss 
 Hereford, and then a new understanding will come 
 of what the Bible means by saying that he is a 
 very present help in trouble. It is a grand awaken 
 ing to discover that nothing can be too good to be 
 true." 
 
 Miss Hereford regarded the face bending over 
 her. Its strength and brightness fascinated her. 
 
 " Could you cure this cold of mine ? " she asked. 
 
 " No, but God could." 
 
 " I ve sent for the doctor ! " exclaimed Miss 
 Hereford hastily. 
 
 "We know you have," said Maurice briefly:
 
 182 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " but about Billy. If you should ever be obliged, 
 Aunt Eleanor, to admit to your rector the fact that 
 you had asked a Christian to pray for Billy, I will 
 take the reproach the blame of it. Will that 
 do?" 
 
 " Yes, yes, dear child." Miss Hereford still 
 looked into Frances s down-bent face, and a little 
 break came in her voice. " I m sure you would 
 never do anything that was n t right, and I m 
 willing you should do whatever you can for Billy. 
 Now pray go. I m in such terror that he will be 
 rushing back here. Maurice, you 11 take care of 
 her." 
 
 Without further words the two started for the 
 pagoda, Frances bearing a lightened heart.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE REMEMBERING RINGS 
 
 THIS morning s experience had convinced San 
 ders that Mr. Burling knew what he was talking 
 about when he hinted at a time soon coming when 
 his position would be untenable unless some change 
 for the better should take place in his charge. 
 
 Miss Kogers s sympathy for himself, no less than 
 her influence with Mr. William, had caused her to 
 rise largely in Sanders s esteem after the interview 
 in Miss Hereford s room ; and as he cast sullen and 
 injured looks at his imperious young master when 
 they had reached the pagoda, he sent also continu 
 ous expectant glances across the lawn, hoping for 
 Frances s appearance. 
 
 " Here, pick out all the yellow beads ! " com 
 manded the young man. " Put them in a separate 
 box ! " 
 
 " You pig- eaded young ruffian ! " thought the 
 injured attendant as he obeyed. 
 
 " My ead is swimming like a top, sir," he 
 began, as he sorted. " I can t stop with you, Mr. 
 William, if you " 
 
 " Don t whine," interrupted the boy. " Be 
 lively. I want those beads all ready by the time 
 the princess gets here."
 
 184 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Sanders sniffed. " She won t stop either unless 
 you " 
 
 " Hold your noise ! What do you know about 
 the princess ? What a time she is ! " said the 
 young fellow, suddenly rising from the chair where 
 he had flung himself and striding to the entrance 
 to the pagoda with a movement very different from 
 his usual lazy and nonchalant action. 
 
 " I m sure she 11 be ere directly, sir. Won t 
 you sit down, Mr. William ? It s er horders, 
 and she s a lady worth listening to, she is." 
 
 Sanders was relieved to see a pleasant change 
 come over his master s face. " We must listen to 
 her," said Billy. 
 
 For a minute he walked up and down the floor, 
 and then his impatience returned. 
 
 " Why doesn t she come? I 11 see to her," he 
 said, with a sudden reaction of mood. He started 
 out on the grass. 
 
 "Mr. William, sir, will the beads go on the wire? 
 You ave n t tried ! " called Sanders anxiously. 
 
 The suggestion was successful, and a few minutes 
 were consumed in experimenting with the wire, 
 which was found to be sufficiently slender. 
 
 " They 11 look well on er ighnesses air, Mr. 
 William," suggested Sanders, and the mildness 
 that overspread his master s face caused him al 
 most to forget the swelling on his forehead in 
 Admiration of his own powers of strategy. 
 
 " The ousekeeper s niece er ighness ! This 
 is rum ! " he thought. " What would Dudley 
 say!"
 
 THE REMEMBERING RINGS i85 
 
 " Her hair would n t be bad to string beadd on, 
 eh, Sanders ? I think when she comes I 11 pull out 
 some." 
 
 " It would urt her, sir." 
 
 " I had n t thought of that. Perhaps I d bet 
 ter not. She might try to run away but she 
 would n t get far, I can tellher that." 
 
 " Hamericans can, sir, hespecially princesses. 
 They re neither to bind nor to old, sir," responded 
 Sanders, quite as anxious now as the family to 
 insure Miss Rogers s remaining, and increasingly 
 charmed with his newly discovered powers of inven 
 tion. Sanders was not prone to underrate himself. 
 
 The boy s restless eyes looked out again to descry 
 the blue gown. " I m going to fetch her," he ex 
 claimed suddenly, and jumped down upon the grass. 
 Stepping around the corner of the little house, he 
 almost ran into Frances and Burling, noiselessly 
 approaching. 
 
 The girl recognized the impatience in his face. 
 
 "You came to meet me? " she asked pleasantly. 
 
 The young fellow s clinched hands loosened. 
 " Will the wire do ? " she went on. 
 
 " Yes, it s all right," he answered sulkily, and 
 t.hey all entered the pagoda. 
 
 Burling took his newspaper and pipe into the 
 hammock at the opposite side of the little room, 
 where he could watch the scene at the table, which 
 engrossed him far more than the news of the day. 
 The two young people had their chairs drawn near 
 together, while Sanders stood behind the table, a 
 discolored mark above his eye.
 
 186 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Burling turned sick at heart as he observed it, 
 and then glanced at the blonde head near the dark 
 one as the two bent over the bead boxes. The 
 mist that suddenly obscured his vision made a 
 nimbus about that fair hair. 
 
 " I think Sanders must be very uncomfortable, 
 Mr. Hereford," said Frances presently to her com 
 panion. 
 
 " I ve told you to call me Billy. I like you," 
 remarked the boy. 
 
 "It is pleasant to like people, isn t it?" she 
 returned. 
 
 Billy smiled at her. " Yes," he said. 
 
 " The unhappiest thing in the world is to dislike 
 people, because the happiest thing is to like them," 
 went on the girl. She spoke to him slowly always, 
 and now her blue eyes met his kindly. 
 
 " Do you like me ? " he asked. 
 
 " Yes ; but I might like you a great deal better 
 than I do." 
 
 He looked puzzled a minute. " Then I 11 make 
 you," he said at last. 
 
 " You can ; but not with your strong hands and 
 arms. Do you think I could make you like me 
 more if I should strike your forehead and make it 
 look the way Sanders s does ? " 
 
 The boy glanced curiously at his man s disfigured 
 face, then back at Frances, with a childish shake of 
 his head. " You d be sorry if you did," he re 
 marked threateningly. 
 
 " Are you sorry ? " she asked ; then as he paused 
 uncertainly, she added : " That is the way you can
 
 THE REMEMBERING RINGS 187 
 
 make me like you better, by being sorry that you 
 hurt Sanders and trying to make him comfortable." 
 
 The boy looked again at the girl, and then back 
 at the man. A new thought seemed working in 
 his mind. 
 
 "You can make yourself a ring, if you like, 
 Sanders ; I don t mind," he said at last. " We re 
 not going to use the needles now." 
 
 " Thank you, Mr. William." Sanders smiled 
 faintly. " I think I d sooner watch er ighness 
 make the coronet." 
 
 " There. Do you like me any better now ? " 
 asked the boy. 
 
 " Yes." Frances nodded reassuringly. " I can 
 tell you something to remember, Billy. The only 
 way to be happy is to love everybody in the world. 
 When we love people we do kind things for them." 
 
 " I m doing a kind thing for you now," he an 
 swered, " letting you make yourself a crown." 
 
 " Yes." Her deft fingers bent the points as fast 
 as each section was filled with beads. " And when 
 ever you do a kind thing to your Aunt Eleanor, 
 or Uncle Maurice, or Sanders, or even to little 
 Timmy, it makes me happy, because it is right. 
 Wrong things, like being angry and hurting peo 
 ple or speaking roughly to them, make me unhappy, 
 and you unhappy, and everybody. I m always so 
 sorry when I forget and am cross or unkind myself. 
 When we get this coronet finished, let us make 
 two remembering rings. I will make one for you 
 and you will make one for me, and they will help 
 us remember to love everybody, all the time."
 
 188 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " All right," responded the boy willingly, 
 " hurry up, Sanders ! Did you hear the princess ? 
 Thread the needles ! " 
 
 Frances raised her eyebrows. " That is n t the 
 way I should say it. I should find a pleasanter 
 way to ask. That sounds like a rough boy. You 
 don t suppose a princess could enjoy sitting out 
 here with a rough boy ? " She smiled as she 
 said it. 
 
 Billy bit his lip and scowled. After a pause he 
 looked back at his man. " I m sorry if you ve 
 the headache, Sanders ; and if you can t see to 
 thread the needles, I dare say Mr. Burling will 
 do it. It bores me." 
 
 " Of course I will. What can I do ? " Mau 
 rice leisurely left the hammock and advanced. 
 
 " You see, Billy," Frances lightly bent her head 
 toward the newcomer, " that is kindness." 
 
 " And does that make you like Maurice ? " in 
 quired the boy quickly. 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then he can t thread the needles. I 11 do it 
 myself." 
 
 " I can do them, Mr. William," protested San 
 ders. " My ead does n t umnear to what it did." 
 
 " Still, I think one of the gentlemen wants to 
 do it for you this time, Sanders," said Frances 
 quietly. 
 
 " I should be delighted," said Burling. 
 
 " Well, you won t then. Get out ! " said his 
 nephew, and seriously as Maurice and Frances re 
 garded the petty situation, each of them had diffi-
 
 THE REMEMBERING RINGS 189 
 
 culty in restraining a smile at the efforts of the 
 big clumsy hands, as Billy scowled at his task. 
 
 Sanders stood on one foot and then on the 
 other, in momentary fear of an explosion. 
 
 " Really, your ighness really, Mr. William," 
 he stammered, when the strain began to tell on 
 him. 
 
 " The needle is too small, you idiot ! " ejaculated 
 Billy, flinging the bit of steel from him. " Nobody 
 could thread it ! " 
 
 " A bigger one won t take on the bead, Mr. Wil 
 liam. There are plenty more of them ere," 
 eagerly, " and I 11 thread one in a jiffy, please, 
 sir." 
 
 Billy turned slowly around, still scowling, until 
 his eyes met those of Frances. 
 
 " We need to hurry with that remembering 
 ring," she said. " Such a disagreeable word popped 
 out then ! " 
 
 " Well, Maurice shan t thread them, all the 
 same," declared the boy doggedly. 
 
 " Good is the only Power," said Frances, her 
 eyes on her work. 
 
 The boy s brow slowly cleared. " Sanders has n t 
 any headache," he went on. " Why should n t he 
 doit?" 
 
 " Very well. Look at this now. Is n t this a 
 pretty nice coronet ? " 
 
 She had made a row of points, the middle one 
 rising a little above the others. " Here are a 
 couple of golden hairpins to fasten it with." She 
 put her hand up and took them from her hair,
 
 190 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 and slipped one through each end of the bead 
 decoration. 
 
 Billy sprang to his feet. Burling marveled at 
 the interest in his face. 
 
 " I can put that on for you," said the boy, and 
 Frances allowed his awkward hands to adjust the 
 coronet in her fluffy hair. 
 
 " A little higher on this side, Billy, eh ? " sug 
 gested Burling. 
 
 " All right." The young fellow made the change 
 and stood off to see the effect. 
 
 " There, Maurice ! " he said triumphantly. 
 
 Burling nodded, and the girl s cheeks grew pink 
 as she held herself for inspection under the three 
 pairs of eyes of the standing men. 
 
 " Have to mind our p s and q s now we have a 
 resident princess, eh, Billy ? " 
 
 " Yes ; and we ve to mind her, too," said the 
 young fellow, his pleased, admiring gaze unswerv 
 ing. 
 
 " Certainly," said Frances quietly. " You have 
 crowned me. Now you must obey me." 
 
 " Down on our knees, Billy, and swear alle 
 giance," said Burling, and slipping his hand 
 through his nephew s arm, he sank on one knee 
 before the wicker throne, the boy following his 
 motion obediently, his bold eyes full of a new 
 earnestness, and the listless hanging of his parted 
 lips lost in an eagerness of expression. 
 
 Burling waited with smiling gaze for the girl 
 to speak. Sanders looked on and thought of 
 Dudley.
 
 THE REMEMBERING RINGS 191 
 
 " I shan t tell her," he decided. " She would n t 
 believe me, and if she did, she could n t understand 
 it." He swelled importantly with the feeling that 
 he was in this plot, was a part of it, was looked 
 upon with favor by his superiors, did understand 
 their efforts, and was about to benefit by them. 
 
 Frances glanced quickly away from Burling s 
 quizzical eyes into the nobly set brown ones. 
 
 "Billy knows what I want him to swear alle 
 giance to. It is to Good for Good is the only 
 Power. We have been talking about it." 
 
 " Yes," said the boy, " and I m not to thump 
 Sanders or Timmy, so she 11 like me better." 
 
 " And I 11 take the same vow," said Burling. 
 
 " Oh, she likes you well enough. It is n t any 
 matter about you." 
 
 " I dare say," remarked Burling dryly. " It 
 never has been any matter about me." 
 
 " I m to have a remembering ring," went on 
 Billy, " and so is the princess. She s not to thump 
 anybody, either." 
 
 " And no jewelry for me ? " said Burling. 
 
 " Oh, no, you 11 do well enough," returned the 
 boy hastily. " If you don t behave yourself, I 11 
 make you." 
 
 The princess shook her head. "That is part 
 of it," she said. " There is n t to be any more 
 making people do things except by love." 
 
 The idea thus presented seemed to touch the 
 young fellow s slow sense of humor. The rare and 
 welcome sound of his laughter rang out. 
 
 " Say, that s a good one, Maurice ! I ve got to
 
 192 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 love Sanders, I suppose, and so have you. Ha! 
 ha ! ha ! " Again the laugh waked the echoes so 
 infectiously that even Sanders s uplifted and long- 
 suffering expression relaxed to a smile. 
 
 " Of course," said the princess calmly. "Most 
 certainly. And now, my good subjects," she added, 
 " you may rise. We understand each other." 
 
 Burling lifted appreciative eyes to her. " Wo 
 kiss your hand," he said, moving to take hers. 
 
 " No, you don t ! " exclaimed Billy, suddenly 
 sobering and seizing his uncle s fingers. " She 
 does n t like it and neither do I." 
 
 Frances s cheeks were bright as two roses, and 
 Burling flicked the knees of his knickerbockers 
 with his handkerchief. 
 
 " If your highness will kindly hasten with my 
 nephew s ring," he said ; " I think Billy was near 
 to forgetting just then." 
 
 " It was n t that, you old duffer ! I loved you 
 all right," protested the boy indignantly ; " but 
 she doesn t like to be touched, do you?" appeal 
 ing suddenly to Frances, who hastily rose and 
 approached the table. 
 
 " It s no matter, Billy," she answered. " Here 
 are the needles ready. If we don t get to work 
 we shall not finish the rings before your lunch is 
 brought." 
 
 They seated themselves beside the table, and 
 Burling strolled out of the pavilion. 
 
 " You said the other day that you broke your 
 ring up every evening. This one is n t to be 
 broken, is it ? " asked the girl.
 
 THE REMEMBERING RINGS 193 
 
 " No, this one is to make you like me better. 
 If any one breaks it, I 11 break every bone in his 
 body." 
 
 " Oh, Billy ! " exclaimed Frances sadly. 
 
 " I mean " a deep color flew all over the boy s 
 face, "I mean I won t, you know. That s 
 what I meant. I won t even kick him." 
 
 There was a very kind look in the eyes which he 
 sought so eagerly, and Frances smiled. That rush 
 of color and those words brought her the happiest 
 moment she had known at Waterview. 
 
 " What stones are you going to use in my 
 ring ? " she asked. 
 
 " Sapphires, of course ; unless," with reluc 
 tant second thought, " unless you want diamonds. 
 You re a silly if you do." 
 
 " I think I would rather you chose this time." 
 
 He sighed relief . 
 
 " And what stone will you choose for yourself ? * 
 she went on. 
 
 " What do you think ? " 
 
 She smiled and lifted her shoulders in a girlish 
 gesture. 
 
 "I do love diamonds, Billy," she declared softly. 
 
 " I like them well enough," he returned gener 
 ously. " You can make mine of diamonds if you 
 like." 
 
 So Sanders went at his accustomed work of 
 sorting, and the two began their task. 
 
 "Yes, these will not be common rings," said 
 Frances, as they worked, " and we must take great 
 care of them. Every day we are like people
 
 194 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 climbing a hill. We walk firmly and climb safely 
 when we are doing right, but when we do wrong 
 we slip down. These rings are to help us not to 
 slip down ; for heaven is at the top of the hill." 
 
 " M, h m," said Billy, engrossed in picking up a 
 refractory sapphire. " I know all about heaven. 
 My mother s there." 
 
 " And we re all going there when we stop for 
 getting." 
 
 "No, when we die." The big boy spoke ab 
 sently, for he at that moment succeeded in impal 
 ing the bead. 
 
 " But dying has n t anything to do with it, Billy ; 
 I want you to remember that. We must climb up 
 right here and now and every day. When things 
 don t go right, and we are tempted to grow angry 
 and be unkind to people, those are the hard places 
 where we slip down if we are not very careful." 
 
 * But we shall have these rings," said Billy. 
 
 " Yes. Love will help us that way, and it helps 
 us every way. Did your Aunt Eleanor ever read 
 to you in the Bible the psalm, The Lord is my 
 Shepherd ? " 
 
 " Perhaps. Did she, Sanders ? " 
 
 " I don t remember, Mr. William ; but she hof ten 
 used to read to you of a Sunday, sir. If you re 
 member, sir, you liked the story of the boy that 
 killed the giant." 
 
 Billy scowled in an effort of memory ; then his 
 face cleared, and Frances was pleased at the intel 
 ligent gleam that came with his boyish, handsome 
 smile.
 
 THE REMEMBERING RINGS 195 
 
 " Of course. The chap that let the giant have 
 it in the forehead. He was a good one. Aunt 
 Eleanor said he was just about my size. He did 
 n t have any remembering ring." The brown eyes 
 twinkled with mischief. 
 
 " Yes, yes, Billy. David was good and the giant 
 was evil. The giant seemed to be very big and 
 strong and terrible, but just a little stone that a 
 boy threw destroyed him. It is always so with 
 evil. It is n t anything really. You can always 
 destroy it." The girl smiled at her companion. 
 " There s one thing it is always right to thump." 
 
 " What ? " The boy s waning interest quickly 
 revived. 
 
 " Well, supposing I were to say now that I had 
 to go back to the house that I could n t stay 
 with you any longer." 
 
 " I would n t let you," said Billy promptly. 
 
 Frances nodded. " You see, that would be the 
 giant that you must thump." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " It would be wrong for you to try to keep me 
 here if I ought to go ; so you would have to thump 
 that wrong feeling and let me go." 
 
 The boy s face looked troubled. " You are n t 
 going, are you ? " 
 
 " No, I don t have to go yet. We are traveling 
 up the hill of life very pleasantly now, and neither 
 of us is tempted to do wrong and slip down and 
 hurt ourselves." 
 
 " Say, Sanders," Billy took his curious eyes from 
 the girl s face and looked up at his man, " that s 
 aueer talk, eh ? "
 
 196 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " I like to ear her, sir. It s like fairy tales, 
 sir. I was Lever fond of tales." 
 
 "Sometime I want to read you that psalm I 
 spoke of about the Lord being our Shepherd," went 
 on Frances, proceeding with the elaborate double- 
 threaded ring she was constructing. " You know 
 how kind a shepherd always is, and this shepherd s 
 name is Love. Every morning when we wake up 
 he is going to help us all day help us not to 
 fall. There is a song about it. Can you sing, 
 Billy?" 
 
 " I don t think so. Can I, Sanders ? " 
 
 " E used to sing, mum," said Sanders respect 
 fully, feeling his way. This might be disobeying 
 orders, but Frances looked at him encouragingly. 
 " E used to sing, but of late e as n t been in 
 spirits, mum." Sanders cleared his throat. The 
 girl s quick nod showed him that he had said 
 enough. 
 
 " I should like to teach you this song, because it 
 will go with our rings ; " and the girl the amber 
 coronet still bent above her work sang softly 
 
 and clearly, 
 
 " Shepherd, show me how to go 
 
 O er the hillside steep ; 
 How to gather, how to sow, 
 
 How to feed Thy sheep. 
 I will listen for Thy voice, 
 Lest my footsteps stray, 
 I will follow and rejoice 
 All the rugged way." 
 
 She looked up, to find Billy, his work dropped, 
 listening, with his eyes intently upon her.
 
 THE REMEMBERING RINGS 197 
 
 " Sing that again," he said. 
 
 She obeyed, and this time it was not so easy to 
 control her voice. 
 
 When the last note had died away there was a 
 moment s silence, then the boy sighed. 
 
 " I wish you did n t want me to love anybody 
 but you," he said simply. 
 
 " Everybody everybody," returned Frances 
 gently. " There is enough for all. The Shepherd 
 gives it to us. He is Divine Love." 
 
 " Remember that for me, Sanders," said Billy. 
 " I might forget. I m going to see if he conies in 
 the morning." 
 
 " It s just tales, sir," said Sanders deprecat- 
 ingly. 
 
 " Oh, no, Sanders," returned Frances ; " it is the 
 truth. You cannot see the Shepherd, but you can 
 feel him, and he proves his presence in countless 
 ways. Wait. You will find it so." 
 
 As she finished speaking, Maurice Burling re 
 appeared at the entrance to the pagoda. He was 
 very pale, and the look in his eyes made Frances 
 rise involuntarily as he approached the table. 
 Billy went on lifting the sapphires on the needle- 
 tip. 
 
 Burling rested a hand on his nephew s broad 
 shoulder, and returned the girl s waiting gaze. 
 
 " I have had news from England sad news," 
 he said. "Billy s father has been accidentally 
 killed. This," he lifted his hand and replaced it 
 impressively, " this is Sir William Hereford." 
 
 Frances started and looked at the young fellow,
 
 198 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 who did not even drop his work as he responded 
 equably : 
 
 " My father dead ? Then he s gone to heaven, 
 too, I suppose." 
 
 Frances saw the effort for control in Burling s 
 face. He was thinking of a stately mansion, and 
 parks, and forest where to-day the dappled deer 
 were grazing. 
 
 " This is Sir William Hereford," he said again, 
 his voice unsteady, " and he is stringing beads ! " 
 
 Frances took a step forward and clasped both 
 hands unconsciously before her. 
 
 " This is Sir William Hereford," she returned 
 in a low, ringing tone, " and he is the child of 
 God ; and there is no power in the universe which 
 can deprive him of his birthright."
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 THE ONLY POWER 
 
 Miss HEREFORD was at first prostrated by the 
 sudden news of bereavement ; but her grief and ex 
 citement were due more to her hopeless remoteness 
 from home than to the loss of the brother who had 
 of late years taken but slight interest in his family. 
 
 " We must go instantly to-morrow ! " were 
 her first words to Burling when the overwhelming 
 fact in the cable message had been revealed to her 
 as gently as might be. 
 
 " Will you take Dudley and go ? " he asked 
 kindly. 
 
 " And you and Billy," she added quickly. 
 
 " Do you remember who Billy is now ? " 
 
 " Oh ! " she cried, with a note of pain in her 
 voice. " I never thought it could come never ! 
 never ! " 
 
 " But it has come. He must more than ever be 
 our first consideration. What effect do you think 
 it would have to take him away from Miss Rog 
 ers ? " 
 
 Miss Hereford lifted her hand to her bewildered 
 head. " I had n t thought of Miss Rogers." Sud 
 denly she lifted her tearful eyes. " I have it. We 
 will take Miss Rogers to England."
 
 200 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Burling shook his head gravely. " She is not a 
 chattel. What do we know of her and her attach 
 ments ? She might consent, but even then would 
 you break this spell which seems to be working 
 for good ? I would not alter one condition which 
 seems to be favorable. We will wait to see if my 
 presence at Ardleigh is imperative. If it is not, 
 you can take Dudley and go. I will stay with 
 Billy." 
 
 " I could n t, Maurice," said the little woman 
 chokingly. " I could never leave the child ! " 
 
 Burling nodded gravely. " Even if everything 
 were as hopeless as before, I should regret to take 
 him home now while all the tongues are wagging. 
 The boy would be the storm centre of curiosity 
 and speculation. I regard it as no slight blessing 
 that we are separated by an ocean from all that. 
 Of course, the lawyers and all our connection to 
 the remotest cousin will respect our remaining 
 here if I state that we have at last found hope for 
 the heir of Ardleigh." 
 
 "Maurice, shall you say that? Do you feel 
 that ? He was so violent this morning." 
 
 " I know, but she quelled him, you remember. 
 Of course, I don t know what it may amount to, 
 but I do know it would be madness to throw away 
 the chance. There is not the slightest doubt in 
 my mind that if Billy were separated from Miss 
 Rogers now, melancholia or dangerous violence 
 would ensue. Whether he ever develops beneath 
 her influence enough to take his place in the world 
 is another question j but I swear that girl has made
 
 THE ONLY POWER 201 
 
 me believe that there may be a God who takes an 
 interest in us after all." 
 
 " Maurice ! My dear ! " Miss Hereford s swollen 
 features expressed her genuine dismay. 
 
 " Well, you have always said it, of course, but 
 you have never seemed actually to believe in an 
 omnipotent goodness. Don t cry, Aunt Eleanor," 
 he added, and his voice gained a greater charm in 
 the tenderness with which he appealed to her. 
 * You have been the dearest and most uncom 
 plaining of women. I will try to be brother and 
 nephew both to you now. Let us know that there 
 are better times coming. I will ring for Dudley, 
 and see you again after a little while." 
 
 When Dudley came she brought with her the 
 doctor, who had just arrived, and Maurice left the 
 room, free to return to his own train of thought 
 and to seek Frances in the pagoda. 
 
 The two remained with Billy while Sanders went 
 to the house to bring out his master s luncheon. 
 The events of the morning had reduced that worthy 
 almost to forgetf ulness of his own importance and 
 his own wrongs. The exciting climax, making 
 him body servant to the reigning master of Ard- 
 leigh, lent wings to his feet in his desire to see 
 Dudley. 
 
 Good fortune sent her his way while he waited 
 for the burdened tray, and her eyes were red. 
 
 " When do we go ome ? " he ejaculated softly. 
 
 " We don t go home," she returned bitterly ; 
 " and what do you suppose is the reason ? The 
 housekeeper s niece, if you please."
 
 202 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " I was thinking of er coming along," returned 
 Sanders, " wondering what they would do. I ope 
 I m an hordinarily brave man, but look at my 
 ead, Miss Dudley. That appened because I tried 
 to keep Mr. William ahem, Sir William," the 
 speaker drew himself up, " away from the princess 
 for five minutes." 
 
 " Away from who ? " 
 
 Sanders cleared his throat in embarrassment. 
 " That s what e calls er. You need n t look at 
 me like that, Miss Dudley ; I did n t hinvent the 
 title, and e s got to be umored, as n t e? So 
 you see if e hassaults me for a thing like that, I 
 would n t hundertake im if e was to be took away 
 from that young woman forcible. No, Miss Dud 
 ley, I ave my mother to think of." 
 
 " Humph. Set a beggar on horseback ! " com 
 mented the maid again scornfully. 
 
 Sanders rolled his eyes feelingly. He knew 
 that he could scarcely translate his new estimate 
 of Sir William s princess into language which 
 Dudley could understand. 
 
 " You don t know that young lady," he said at 
 last. " I can hassure you she is all eart ! " 
 
 " All art, I should say so ! You don t often hit 
 it so near, Sanders," retorted the maid, flouncing 
 away as a servant appeared with the luncheon 
 tray. 
 
 Sanders s thoughts were busy as he crossed the 
 lawn with his burden. The visions he had had of 
 a return to familiar haunts had been dashed by 
 Dudley s words, but he was too firmly convinced
 
 THE ONLY POWER 203 
 
 now of Miss Rogers s importance to complain of 
 the decision. As he entered the pagoda he saw 
 her and his master facing each other, the com 
 pleted rings in their hands, while Burling, thought 
 ful and abstracted, looked on. 
 
 " Now, what are these rings for, Billy ? " Frances 
 was asking. 
 
 " To remember each other by," he answered 
 promptly. 
 
 " No ; we shall remember each other anyway. 
 These are to remember something else." 
 
 " Oh, yes ; not to thump Sanders." 
 
 " Not to do any unkindness to anybody," said 
 Frances slowly. " We are both to remember that 
 4 Love is the only Power. Say that, Billy." 
 
 " Love is the only Power, " repeated the boy. 
 " Tisn t, though," he added. 
 
 " Yes, it is. Other things everything evil 
 that seems to be power is n t. Evil is a lie, and 
 it can be proved so." 
 
 " I 11 put on your ring for you," said Billy. 
 
 " Yes, I want you to ; and while you are doing 
 it say that truth I just taught you." 
 
 The young fellow took her hand in both his and 
 pushed the blue ring on her finger. " Love is 
 the only Power, " he said. " Now, you." 
 
 She placed the ring on his finger. " Love is 
 the only Power, " she repeated slowly. " We won t 
 forget, Billy, will we ? " 
 
 " I can remember right while you re looking 
 at me," said the boy, with a gentleness that fell 
 strangely on the ears of the listening men. " San-
 
 204 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 ders, I don t like to see your forehead. Just keep 
 behind my chair, will you ? " 
 
 " You need n t mind, Mr. Sir William ; it 
 does n t urt me now." 
 
 Burling opened his lips to speak. He was about 
 to tell Sanders not to use the title, but he thought 
 better of it. Let the boy get used to it. Billy 
 noticed the new form of address. 
 
 " What s that you called me ? " he asked, as 
 Sanders uncovered the steaming tray. 
 
 " That title belongs to you now," said Burling 
 gravely. " Your father is dead." 
 
 The young fellow looked up, vaguely troubled 
 by the other s tone. " Then there is n t any Sir 
 Edward Hereford ? " 
 
 " No ; so you are Sir William." 
 
 The boy shrugged his broad shoulders and 
 smiled. " Won t I make them all stand around 
 when I m a man ! " he remarked, taking up his 
 soup spoon. 
 
 " But that is over now, you know," said Frances 
 suggestively. " I ve just given you a ring." 
 
 He lifted his handsome head and met her 
 look. 
 
 " What a blessing," she went on, " that you 
 know now what is the only power ! " 
 
 She rose ; so did he. " You are n t going, are 
 you ? " he asked hastily. 
 
 " Yes. I want my lunch too." 
 
 " There s enough here for us both. I I don t 
 want any. I m not hungry," he stammered eagerly,, 
 
 " My aunt is ill. I have left her all the morn-
 
 THE ONLY POWER 205 
 
 mg to stay out here with you. Now I must go to 
 her." 
 
 " When are you coming again ? " 
 
 " To-morrow." 
 
 " There is all this afternoon and all to-night, * 
 said the boy, " before to-morrow." 
 
 He planted himself before her, and his eyes 
 were gloomy. 
 
 " Yes, and that is where we have to be unself 
 ish." 
 
 " I don t have to be unselfish." 
 
 " Yes because Love is unselfishness, and 
 you re wearing the ring." 
 
 " So are you," with a sudden idea. " You have 
 to love me." 
 
 " You, and everybody else, remember ; and you 
 are to love me, and everybody else. My aunt is ill 
 and needs me. You re to love her, you see." 
 
 " It s beastly ! " ejaculated the boy. 
 
 " That is n t the way to talk to a princess." She 
 smiled and touched her crown. " Is it on straight 
 still ? You re not going to spoil our lovely morn 
 ing, are you? I wish you a good appetite, Sir 
 William. Wish me one too, and good-by." 
 
 " Good-by, Princess," he answered sadly, and to 
 Burling s relief, he stood aside, though reluctantly, 
 and let her go, his eyes following her retreating 
 figure. 
 
 Burling accompanied her, and as soon as they 
 were out of earshot of the little summer-house he 
 spoke. 
 
 " I must go to New York, Miss Rogers, and foi
 
 206 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 the last hour I have been trying to concoct some 
 scheme to do so safely." 
 
 " Safely ? " 
 
 " Yes ; it is the problem of the fox and the goose 
 and the corn. My last idea is to take you and 
 Miss Hereford and my nephew and his man with 
 me if you will go." 
 
 "Why such a caravan? I don t understand." 
 
 " Why, surely you would be uncomfortable to 
 be left here with him ; yet if I attempted to take 
 him without you there would be the the results 
 might be embarrassing." 
 
 " Oh, I see. No, I m not afraid, Mr. Burling. 
 I m not afraid, since you want Science." 
 
 " I should be gone only a few days, and if there 
 should be any trouble there is Harvey, the coach 
 man." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Burling, please stop yielding to any 
 such thought ! I don t wonder that you have had 
 it, and we have all been tempted, but that is over." 
 The girl s eyes shone. "You can go away and 
 stay forever, so far as I am concerned." 
 
 He looked around quickly. " That is rather 
 more permission than I asked for. Can t you " 
 he smiled " put it a little more mildly ? " 
 
 She nodded. " You know what I meant. We 
 shall all be taken care of." 
 
 Burling s face grew grave again. " I am anx 
 ious to be spared returning to England just now. 
 Billy could n t go, and you know why. It will 
 necessitate an amount of cabling to come to an 
 understanding of the situation. I must be where
 
 THE ONLY POWER 207 
 
 I can send my questions and receive my answers 
 speedily." 
 
 " Without a doubt ; and you must know that we 
 are safe every minute that you are gone." 
 
 Frances ate a solitary luncheon that day, for 
 Miss Graves took only a glass of milk in her room. 
 The girl had some quiet hours for reading and the 
 first systematic work for her patient, before her 
 aunt, pale and languid, appeared in a wrapper in 
 their sitting-room. 
 
 Frances started up to greet her, and placed her 
 in the most comfortable chair. 
 
 " I m ever so much obliged to you for doing 
 my work as you have to-day," said Miss Miranda. 
 " Through my open window I ve heard more com 
 ing and going than common, seems to me. Has 
 there been a lot of company ? " 
 
 " No." Frances drew her chair so near that she 
 could touch her aunt, who regarded her radiant 
 face questioningly. 
 
 " Miss Hereford has been ill and sent for the doc 
 tor. You heard him come, probably. No, it s no 
 thing serious. She is dressed, but she has a cold." 
 
 " Is that what makes you look as if you d lost 
 a quarter and found ten dollars ? " inquired the 
 housekeeper curiously. " I suppose he did n t do 
 her any good, perhaps." 
 
 Frances laughed. " Do I look happy ? I am. 
 But they have received sad news here." The 
 smile vanished. " They have received a cable 
 message from England that Miss Hereford s 
 brother has been killed."
 
 208 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 "What? The young man s father?" Miss 
 Graves straightened up in her interest. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " They 11 go home, then, won t they ? " 
 
 "No, it seems not. Did you know they were 
 titled people ? " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Yes. The father was Sir Edward Hereford, 
 and now the son succeeds to the title." 
 
 " How you talk ! " There was no languor left 
 in the housekeeper s wan countenance. " Well, 
 now, that s what I call sad ! " she added, after a 
 digestion of the fact. " I should think they d 
 have to go back." 
 
 Frances hesitated an instant. " You see," she 
 began, and again hesitated. " This morning," she 
 went on, " before the news came, I was in Miss 
 Hereford s room she had sent for me to inquire 
 about you. It seems that the nephew grew tired 
 of waiting for me in the pagoda, and he surprised 
 everybody by appearing suddenly, very much ex 
 cited, and demanded that I should come out. He 
 frightened them by his vehemence, and I was able 
 to persuade him to go back and wait for me ; and 
 that impressed them so much that in their sym 
 pathy for me, and their perplexity, they asked at 
 last that I should try Science." Again the happi 
 ness flashed in the speaker s face. 
 
 " Oh, that s it, eh ? " Miss Graves regarded 
 her niece for a silent moment. " Have you ever 
 taken any other patient except Timmy ? " she 
 asked after the pause.
 
 THE ONLY POWER 209 
 
 " Yes, I have helped people a few times." 
 
 " Quite a skip from a pug to a nobleman, eh ? " 
 pursued Miss Miranda, but the banter was kindly. 
 " Frances Rogers," she added, after another pause 
 given to reflection, " I should n t wonder if that s 
 the reason why they won t go back to England." 
 
 What Science ? " 
 
 " No," returned Miss Graves bluntly, " you. I 
 believe it s just a little tow-headed Yankee school 
 girl that s keeping an English nobleman out of 
 his own. What s that thing?" the housekeeper 
 squinted at the ornament in her niece s hair. " I 
 have n t got my glasses on, but I ve been trying 
 for the last five minutes to make out what that is 
 you ve got on your head." 
 
 Frances flushed as she involuntarily put her 
 hand up to the amber circlet. " I d forgotten all 
 about it." She gave Miss Miranda a laughing 
 glance. " Sir William Hereford does n t know 
 that I m a little tow-headed Yankee schoolgirl. 
 He calls me princess. This is his idea." 
 
 " I want to know ! " said Miss Graves, coming 
 nearer to observe the coronet. " Well, you re a 
 wonder to me, Frances. I should think you d 
 begin to feel luny yourself. They have n t said 
 anything about taking you to England, I hope ? " 
 
 " Oh, no. I have n t seen Miss Hereford at all 
 since the blow fell on her, poor lady ; but Mr. Bur 
 ling was evidently in much anxiety." 
 
 " Well, it s a mercy if they don t buy your 
 steamer ticket and then inform me when it s all 
 over."
 
 210 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Oh, they are considerate, Aunt Mira ; they 
 are considerate." 
 
 Miss Graves continued to regard her companion 
 with that curiosity which so often now dwelt in her 
 glance. 
 
 "You re hopeful, Frances," she said slowly, 
 "I can see you are;" and for answer the girl 
 smiled confidently.
 
 CHAPTER XVH 
 
 THE MORNING LESSON 
 
 Miss GRAVES was busy in her sitting-room the 
 following morning when Sanders appeared to her, 
 his eyes roving about the room in search of some 
 one. 
 
 " Good-morning, Mrs. Graves." 
 
 " Miss," returned the housekeeper, the assertion 
 of her single blessedness slipping mechanically 
 from her lips through frequent repetition. 
 
 " I was oping to find the princess ere." 
 
 " You were, eh ? Well, there is n t a crowned 
 head about the place that I m aware of." 
 
 " Quite so, mum," returned Sanders, with some 
 embarrassment ; " but you see, Sir William, e will 
 ave it so, and if I hever did ear your niece s name, 
 I can t just recall it. You see, Mr. Burling being 
 gone, I was going to hask er if she would ave the 
 goodness to come hout hearly this morning." 
 
 " Mr. Burling gone ! What do you mean ? " 
 Miss Graves s black eyes snapped anxiously. 
 
 " He went to New York yesterday to cable the 
 lawyers and the relatives and that, mum." 
 
 " I should think he d have taken you and the 
 young man with him," said Miss Miranda quickly. 
 
 " Bless you, Mrs. Graves," returned Sanders
 
 212 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 anxiously, his hand involuntarily seeking the varie 
 gated hues on his forehead, " e would n t ave gone 
 a step, Mr. William would n t, not without er igh- 
 ness ! " 
 
 " Who are you talking about ? " asked Miss 
 Miranda, with some exasperation. 
 
 " Your niece, mum. Mr. Burling knew it would 
 be opeless to try it, and *e hasked the princess 
 would she go or would she stay so e told me, 
 Mrs. Graves and she said she d sooner stay." 
 
 The housekeeper s eyes were flashing, and 
 Frances, at this moment coming in, felt their fire. 
 
 " Why did n t you tell me Mr. Burling was 
 going away ? " demanded Miss Miranda. 
 
 " I thought it might worry you. He is not to 
 be gone long, and it was necessary for him to go. 
 I knew that there was nothing to fear." 
 
 Miss Graves compressed her lips for a silent 
 instant. 
 
 " Nothing to fear ! As if you were any judge ! 
 You re just as ignorant, Frances Rogers, as a 
 white, woolly, bleating baa-lamb ! I ve a mind 
 to lock you in your room till Mr. Burling comes 
 back." 
 
 " Oh, Mrs. Graves ! " besought Sanders, his eyes 
 rolling. 
 
 " Miss," snapped the housekeeper. 
 
 " E d tear the ouse down," continued Sanders 
 earnestly. " I do hassure you, mum, Mr. William 
 is the woolly lamb when er ighness is with im. 
 She can wind im round er finger, mum ; but if 
 e s disappointed of seeing er, I would n t be han-
 
 THE MORNING LESSON 213 
 
 swerable for the consequences. E s that eadstrong 
 and boisterous, mum. I ope I in an hordinarily 
 brave man, but if you lock up the princess I I 
 can t stop, really." 
 
 " No, no, Sanders," said Frances soothingly. 
 " Calm yourself. Remember all that we said yes 
 terday." 
 
 " Yes, I do, your ighness," returned the other. 
 ; Mr. William Sir William was aving it hall 
 over again this morning. E remembered wonder 
 ful about the Shepherd, and e was that civil to me 
 I d scarce know im ; but it was hall a urry to get 
 ready for the princess, and if you failed im, muni, 
 there d be a terrible storm hall the same." 
 
 " I shan t fail him," said the girl. " Aunt Mira, 
 may the young man and Sanders come on your 
 piazza a little while right now ? " 
 
 Miss Graves put her hand to her head. Her 
 thoughts were in a whirl, but above them shone 
 the confident, calm, girlish face, that seemed to 
 dominate a situation which apparently had already 
 passed far beyond Miss Miranda s control. 
 
 She hastily decided that to have the little party 
 on her piazza, would be much more conducive to 
 peace of mind than to be wondering all the morn 
 ing what was going on in the pagoda. " Yes, 
 bring him here," she said briefly. 
 
 " Sir William as never walked around ere," 
 said Sanders, " but I hexpect e will now, mum," 
 and he sped away. 
 
 " Well, Frances Rogers ! " was all the house 
 keeper could say when they were left alone.
 
 214 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Don t you think it was better than for me to 
 goto New York?" 
 
 " It does n t much matter at this late day what I 
 think, does it ? " 
 
 " Well, I had accepted the duty. You also 
 wished me to, you remember." 
 
 " Did I have an idea what it was coming to ? 
 * Your ighness ! Well, if I ever ! I don t half 
 know whether I m dreaming or awake the 
 whole thing is so queer." 
 
 Frances gave an odd little smile. " Of course. 
 Don t you remember the hymn, 
 
 This life s a dream, an empty show 
 For man s delusion given. 
 
 The great point is to remember who the giver of 
 the delusion is. God does n t delude us." 
 
 " Don t talk riddles to me. I never guessed a 
 conundrum yet. What do you suppose we ought 
 to do about Miss Hereford, Frances ? Wait till 
 she sends for us? " 
 
 " Oh, I was going to tell you. I have just come 
 from her. She sent for me to give me a message 
 from Mr. Burling. She is sad but calm. I am 
 sure she would be glad to see you." 
 
 " Well, I 11 go in after a little while. There 
 they come," looking out of the window and espy 
 ing Sanders, with his charge, approaching. 
 
 Miss Graves s lips twitched in a reluctant smile. 
 "I might be quite overcome with the sight of a 
 real lord or baron or whatever he is if I 
 did n t have a princess on the premises." 
 
 She took up her position near a window where
 
 1HE MORNING LESSON 215 
 
 she could see without being seen, and as the long 
 strides of the young man approached the piazza 
 she inspected his face closely. It was the first 
 time she had seen the youth since her niece s ar 
 rival, and the alteration from the sombre, lethargic 
 face she remembered, to the bright one that greeted 
 Frances now, made her start. The window was 
 open, and for the first time Miss Miranda heard 
 the young fellow s voice. 
 
 " You have on the ring," he said. 
 
 " Certainly, and you. We don t take those off, 
 do we?" 
 
 Frances seated herself under the swaying canopy 
 of leaves, and her caller glanced slowly about him, 
 ending with a satisfied look at the blue-gowned girl. 
 " This is n t a bad place. Is this where you live ? " 
 
 " Yes. Won t you sit down ? " 
 
 The visitor took the offered chair, and Sanders 
 sank upon the step with a sigh of relief. 
 
 " At first I thought I would n t come," said 
 Billy. " I was going to make you come out to the 
 pagoda." 
 
 Frances gave him a smiling glance. " And then 
 you looked at your ring and you remembered ! 
 You remembered that you were n t going to make 
 people do things any more except in one way." 
 
 Miss Graves noted the close attention with which 
 the young fellow received her words. 
 
 " I could n t have come quite yet. I have n t 
 studied my lesson," went on the girl ; " but I 
 should like to read it with you if you would n t 
 mind."
 
 216 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 * E can read fine, Sir William can, your igh- 
 ness," put in Sanders. 
 
 " I hate lessons," remarked Billy. 
 
 " Oh, no, you don t," returned Frances. " You 
 only hate the way they ve been given to you. I 
 believe you d like them with me. This is short, 
 and I will read it aloud ; and if you are n t inter 
 ested you can walk about a little out there and I 
 will join you when I am through." 
 j She had three books in her hand, and she 
 opened them on the table before her. 
 
 " That s a Bible," said Billy, watching her. " Is 
 this Sunday ? " 
 
 " No, but I need the Bible every day to help me 
 up the hill we were talking about yesterday. It 
 is the good Shepherd himself, Divine Love, who 
 gave us the Bible. Did you know that ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 "Yes. He gives us every good thing we have." 
 
 Frances, finding her place, read aloud the lesson 
 for the day, and her visitor scarcely took his eyes 
 from her face as the words fell. 
 
 At last she closed the books. " That is all," she 
 said, her heart giving a little bound as she met the 
 unconscious pathos in her listener s face. 
 
 " Now you might sing," he said. " Aunt Eleanor 
 sings." 
 
 " Very well. Shall it be the same song ? " 
 
 " Yes, give us the same one ; eh, Sanders ? " 
 
 " I should say the same, by hall means, Sir Wil 
 liam." 
 
 Miss Graves still stood, listening, by her window.
 
 THE MORNING LESSON 217 
 
 " I should be glad to have you and Sanders sing 
 too," said Frances. 
 
 " Ho ! Sanders only knows one tune, Sally in 
 our Alley. I m tired of that." 
 
 " Well, he can learn this one. You both can." 
 
 Then Miss Graves carefully followed the words 
 and music that fell from the singer s lips. 
 
 " Shepherd, show me how to go 
 
 O er the hillside steep ; 
 How to gather, how to sow, 
 
 How to feed Thy sheep. 
 I will listen for Thy voice 
 
 Lest my footsteps stray, 
 I will follow and rejoice 
 
 All the rugged way." 
 
 " That s pretty good ; eh, Sanders ? " asked the 
 boy when the last note had died. 
 
 " T is the prettiest song that hever I eard in 
 hall my life, sir." 
 
 " Well, mind you don t sing it that s all." 
 
 " I should never hoffer to, sir." 
 
 " Ah, we may all sing it," said Frances. " It 
 was given to us by a wise and good woman who 
 knows the good Shepherd, and who knew how hard 
 it was for us to learn how to help him feed his 
 sheep, instead of looking out for ourselves ; and 
 how much we needed to listen for his voice, so 
 we should not stray from the right path." 
 
 Billy was playing with the ring on his brown 
 hand. " I did n t bring the beads," he said. 
 
 " No," answered Frances, " we ve made every 
 thing, have n t we ? Let us do something else 
 this morning."
 
 218 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 His eyes roved quickly to her hair. " Where s 
 your coronet?" 
 
 " I left it in the house." 
 
 " Get it," said the boy briefly. 
 
 The girl raised her eyebrows and smiled. " That 
 sounds like an order." 
 
 " Please get it," said the young fellow obediently. 
 
 " Certainly," she returned, rising and entering 
 the house. 
 
 She was surprised to find Miss Graves standing 
 where she had left her by the window. "You 
 here still, Aunt Mira ? " 
 
 " Of course I am. I calculated to see if I had n t 
 better put on a kettle of water. I tell you there s 
 a good many weaker weapons than a kettle of boil 
 ing water when it comes to either a dog fight or 
 a man fight." 
 
 " Well, you ve seen, haven t you?" 
 
 " Yes, I ve seen, and I ve been to meeting." 
 The corners of Miss Miranda s lips twitched. 
 " There did n t seem to be any sleepy members in 
 your congregation." 
 
 Frances smiled too as she searched in a drawer 
 for the coronet. " There never are in a Christian 
 Science congregation," she remarked. " I always 
 think it is interesting to look over the mass of 
 faces there and realize that not one person in that 
 crowd is present from a sense of duty, but all be 
 cause they d rather be there than anywhere else. 
 In the old days I often used to hear people say, 
 * I ve been real good to-day I Ve been to church ; 
 or, * I ve been to church for two Sundays. I
 
 THE MORNING LESSON 219 
 
 don t need to go to-day. In Science churches you 
 can t keep the people away. I hope you 11 go with 
 me once, just to see the happy, satisfied faces." 
 
 " Humph ! " returned Miss Graves from her 
 post by the window, where she was screened by a 
 blind from the view of the outsiders. "Better 
 hurry. Your young man is beginning to turn 
 around here with a look in his eyes as if he might 
 be going to lose his religion." 
 
 " I was sure I put that coronet in this drawer," 
 said the girl, still searching. 
 
 " He s got up," announced Miss Miranda ; then 
 her lips snapped together and she left her place 
 suddenly. She had seen the tall youth make a 
 stride toward the door and had heard Sanders s 
 protest. 
 
 " Why was I soft enough not to put on that 
 kettle ! " she thought, as she swiftly passed into 
 the outer room and confronted Billy, who had just 
 entered. 
 
 He paused in surprise at the apparition of the 
 dark stranger. 
 
 " Who are you? " he asked brusquely, his brows 
 drawn together. 
 
 " My name s Graves," said Miss Miranda, re 
 turning his stare boldly, though her heart sank. 
 
 " I don t like it," announced the youth. 
 
 " Well, I was asked to change it once, but 1 
 did n t, so you 11 have to make the best of it." 
 
 " I don t care to see you any more," said the 
 boy, with a superb air. 
 
 Sanders had followed at his heels. " It s the
 
 220 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 princess s aunt, Mr. William," he said coaxingly, 
 favoring Miss Miranda with a wink across hia 
 master s shoulder. " I m sure you d wish to speak 
 her fair." 
 
 " You Ve hidden the princess, then ! " broke 
 forth the young fellow, taking a step toward the 
 housekeeper, his hands clinching. 
 
 Here Frances hurried into the room, and com 
 ing close to her aunt, threw an arm around her. 
 Miss Miranda clung to her protectingly and cast 
 a glance at the cold kettle. 
 
 " This is my dear Aunt Mira, Billy," said the 
 girl. " Her name is Miss Graves. Aunt Mira, 
 this is Sir William Hereford." 
 
 The boy s fast breathing lessened under the 
 pleasant tone, but he still glowered at the house 
 keeper, whose face was a study. 
 
 " I love her very much indeed," said Frances 
 slowly. 
 
 " I don t see why," returned Billy. 
 
 " Children and fools," thought Miss Miranda. 
 
 " She has always taken care of me and loved 
 me, as your Aunt Eleanor has you." 
 
 " What a bore ! " was the reply. 
 
 " Billy," said Frances warningly, " you re for 
 getting so many things. Look at your ring." 
 
 The color rushed over the young fellow s face 
 as he lifted his hand and glanced at the ring. 
 
 " Well, you did n t come," he said. " I thought 
 she would n t let you." He seemed too abashed to 
 raise his eyes, and Miss Graves relaxed her hold 
 and breathed more freely. 

 
 THE MORNING LESSON 221 
 
 " Supposing she would n t. What is the only 
 power ? " 
 
 " Love," responded Billy, still red, and shifting 
 uneasily. 
 
 " Now we 11 go," said the girl. " See, I found 
 nay coronet at last. I was a very careless prin 
 cess and mislaid it. I ought to take more care of 
 the crown jewels. Aunt Mira, may we go out on 
 your piazza a little while again ? We re going to 
 play some game." 
 
 "Sir William is very fond of draughts, your 
 ighness," suggested Sanders. 
 
 u Very well. Will you get the board, please ? " 
 
 Billy s face slowly cleared, and he followed 
 Frances out upon the piazza. When the door was 
 closed and Sanders had gone on his errand, she 
 turned and faced her companion. 
 
 " See how much taller you are than I am," she 
 said. " See, my head reaches only to the bottom 
 of your ear." 
 
 Billy looked down at her. " You don t feel bad 
 about it, do you ? " he asked anxiously. 
 
 " No, I don t ; for while you are stronger than I 
 am in some ways, I am stronger than you in others. 
 I am more patient than you are. I ve learned how 
 to be. I want you to learn, Billy. I felt sorry 
 to hear you speak so sharply to my Aunt Mira." 
 
 " You see you see I did n t know you liked 
 her," stammered the other. " Don t stop liking 
 me," he added. " I 11 be better next time." 
 
 " Well," thought Miss Graves, who had heard 
 this from her old post of observation, " if Frances
 
 222 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 ain t a case ! She seems safe enough. 1 believe 
 I 11 go in and see Miss Hereford and tell her how 
 the lion and the lamb are hobnobbing on my piazza. 
 It 11 kind of chirk her up." 
 
 Sanders brought the checker-board promptly, 
 and Frances and her visitor settled to the game. 
 
 Sanders sat by and watched the moves, but as 
 they progressed his countenance gradually grew 
 anxious, and it became evident to the girl that he 
 was endeavoring to telegraph some idea to her 
 from his post behind Billy s shoulder. 
 
 " Ho, I don t think you re much of a player," 
 remarked her opponent once, looking up trium 
 phantly after a successful move. 
 
 She laughed, and quickly made one still more 
 effective which he had overlooked. 
 
 " Good enough to get ahead of you," she said 
 
 gayly. 
 
 Billy s brow grew dark, and Sanders s panto 
 mime grew more emphatic, but she could make 
 nothing of his grimaces and headshaking, and he 
 saw the blankuess in her face. 
 
 " It was no fair your doing that ! " said the 
 boy in displeasure. 
 
 " All s fair in love and war, " she answered, 
 " and this is war, is n t it ? " She smiled at him, 
 and he paused a minute before making another 
 play. 
 
 Sanders had taken an envelope from his pocket 
 and was writing on its back. 
 
 " Er ighness don t know hall the rules of the 
 game as well as you do, Sir William," he said at
 
 THE MORNING LESSON 223 
 
 last, and coming behind Frances s chair, he slipped 
 the paper into her lap. As soon as she had accom 
 plished another move she let her eyes fall to the 
 written scrawl, 
 
 " Beter not beet him. Sumtimes he kicks." 
 
 Her lips twitched as she read. " Well, which 
 jne of us is coming out ahead, I wonder," she 
 asked of her opponent. 
 
 " I am. I always do," returned the boy promptly. 
 
 " I should n t think that would be any fun." 
 
 " Because I play the best," he said. 
 
 " Then I 11 have to try hard to win, so you will 
 have a change. Don t you want me to ? " 
 
 The boy s brow grew dark. " If you win, it will 
 be because Sanders helps you. Come back, San. 
 ders. Go and sit down." 
 
 Frances shook her head at him, still smiling. 
 " You re a great, great, big boy ! I only come 
 up to your ear, and yet you don t want me to beat 
 you. I can t understand that." 
 
 Neither did Billy understand her, evidently ; but 
 he gathered that in some way he was falling short 
 of her standard. 
 
 " Well, do you want to win ? " he asked impa 
 tiently. 
 
 "Of course," she answered, drawing out the 
 words laughingly, " else what should I play for ? " 
 
 Her opponent regarded her long and gloomily. 
 " It is n t any sport to play if I don t win," he 
 said. 
 
 " And don t you want me to have any sport ? n 
 she asked.
 
 224 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 He glowered at her thoughtfully. " Yes, I do," 
 he answered at last, with a long breath, as if the 
 effort had been great. 
 
 Frances beamed upon him. " That is very nice 
 of you, Billy," she said, so earnestly that his face 
 cleared. 
 
 " Now every game we play," she went on, " we 
 are both to try as hard as we can, and then which* 
 ever wins, both of us are to be glad." 
 
 " Yes," he said, with docility, " because I love 
 you and you love me." 
 
 The door leading to the piazza opened and Miss 
 Graves appeared. 
 
 " Frances, I ve just come from Miss Hereford. 
 She would like to have you bring her nephew to 
 see her." 
 
 The housekeeper s account of the amicable con 
 dition of affairs upon her leafy porch had indeed 
 emboldened Miss Hereford to make this request ; 
 but the interruption did not meet with a cordial 
 reception from the object of the invitation. 
 
 Instantly Billy s face grew cold and dark as he 
 regarded the newcomer with disfavor. 
 
 " Go into the house, Miss Coffin," he commanded 
 briefly. 
 
 Miss Miranda stared. 
 
 " It is Miss Graves," said Frances, trying not to 
 smile. 
 
 " What s the difference ? " remarked the boy 
 carelessly, returning to the board. 
 
 " When would she like us to come ? " asked the 
 girl.
 
 THE MORNING LESSON 225 
 
 " Right off," returned the housekeeper, turning 
 on her heel and entering the house. 
 
 " I suppose it ain t a mite of use losing my tem 
 per over that poor creature," she said to herself ; 
 " but I tell you what it is, Frances Rogers 11 need 
 the patience of Job if she don t run away from 
 this contract. I wonder how she 11 manage him 
 now ? He has n t an idea of minding his aunt." 
 
 She hastened to her window in time to hear 
 Billy speak after making his move. 
 
 " Your turn, Princess." 
 
 " Yes, Sir William, but first, of course, we have 
 to go to Miss Hereford." 
 
 " Not much, we don t ! Not till we finish this 
 game." 
 
 Frances reached her hand across the table and 
 pointed to the ring he wore. 
 
 "Do you remember what has happened?" she 
 asked gently. " Do you remember why you are 
 Sir William Hereford ? Dear Miss Hereford is 
 sad because she has lost her brother your father, 
 you know. I should think you would wish to go 
 right to her and comfort her." 
 
 The youth looked obstinate. " She 11 probably 
 want to hug me," he said. 
 
 " Then let her," returned Frances. " I 11 tell 
 you what I think would be lovely : to give your 
 Aunt Eleanor a surprise. It would be lovely for 
 us to go in there together, and for you to go to 
 her anc put your arms around her and kiss her." 
 
 " Oh, I say ! " protested the boy. 
 
 " Think how it would comfort her and make hei
 
 226 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 happy," went on Frances. " Love is such a great 
 power ; and she is very sad, and none of the rest 
 of us can do so much for her as you can." 
 
 " Can t you ? " A faint awakening of interest 
 greeted this declaration. Sir William Hereford, 
 even in his present embryotic condition, enjoyed 
 excelling in any situation. 
 
 " Nobody. You have the most power of all, be 
 cause she loves you best. Now, we can leave the 
 board just as it is and come out after a few minutes 
 and finish the game ; but don t let Miss Hereford 
 think you re in a hurry to come away, will you ? " 
 
 "Why not? lam." 
 
 " Because you want to be so kind to her, and it 
 might make her feel unhappy to know that you 
 were in a hurry to leave her." 
 
 " What a lot of things you think of ! " said Billy, 
 watching his companion wonderiugly. 
 
 As the two rose and passed from sight, the 
 housekeeper incautiously revealed herself at the 
 window. 
 
 Sanders saw her. "Didn t I say true, Mrs. 
 Graves ? " he called triumphantly. " Is n t Sir 
 William the meekest, mildest, woolliest lamb that 
 hever you saw ? " 
 
 " Humph ! " said Miss Miranda grudgingly. 
 " Maybe ; but you scratch that wool and you 11 find 
 pretty soon that it s clothing a wolf." 
 
 "Just a little patience, Mrs. Graves. Er igh- 
 ness as n t ad im a week. I m that dazed with 
 what she s done halready that I m looking to see 
 f im sheep clear through to the bone before long. 

 
 THE MORNING LESSON 227 
 
 She leads im now just as if she d got a blue 
 ribbon around is neck." 
 
 As Frances and her companion stopped before 
 Miss Hereford s door an^, knocked, the girl thought 
 of the different manner in which Billy had last 
 made his appearance here. 
 
 A voice within bade them enter. Miss Hereford 
 was propped up with pillows in a reclining chair, 
 and her eyes bore the marks of recent tears. She 
 looked eagerly toward her nephew. 
 
 Frances s earnest explanations and suggestions 
 had given Billy a degree of comprehension of his 
 aunt s expression. Her wistful eyes discovered 
 the new look in his handsome face. " My darling 
 boy ! " she said, and though her lips trembled, she 
 forbore from weeping lest it repulse him. 
 
 He advanced to her chair and stood there, let 
 ting her cling with both her little hands to his big 
 one. 
 
 " I m very sorry, Aunt Eleanor, because my 
 father died and made you feel bad. I hope you 
 won t cry about it, because I m Sir William now, 
 and I know a lots of things that I did n t used to. 
 I know all about Love, and how he makes me stop 
 playing draughts and come in here when I don t 
 want to, and and I 11 kiss you. Shall I ? " 
 
 " My precious child ! " Miss Hereford pressed 
 the hand she held to her cheek and swallowed hard 
 as the big boy stooped and kissed her forehead. 
 
 " The princess comes up only to my ear, but she 
 knows such a lot," went on Billy, looking around 
 at Frances.
 
 228 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Yes, dear, so she does," returned Miss Here 
 ford tremulously. " It is a good thing she can 
 reach your ear, Billy, so she can speak into it 
 and tell you all these wonderful things, is n t it, 
 dear?" 
 
 " Yes." The boy s brown eyes had a perplexed, 
 pitying look as he regarded his aunt. " The 
 princess is always happy, Aunt Eleanor. I wish 
 you were happy. Let her tell you things, too." 
 
 " Sit down, both of you," said Miss Hereford. 
 " I should so like to have the princess make me 
 happy ; for my path is rough, darling rough." 
 
 " That s it ! " he answered eagerly. " She knows 
 about that. Tell her," to Frances, " about climb 
 ing the hill." 
 
 Frances seated herself beside him. " Billy is 
 interested in thinking about the hill of life, and 
 the good Shepherd, Love, who leads us every day 
 and makes us brave when we come to the hard 
 places. Only we must listen for his voice, or else 
 other things drown it so we can t hear. That is 
 what Billy gave me this ring for," holding out her 
 hand, " to make me remember to listen ; and I gave 
 him one." 
 
 Billy exhibited it proudly. Suddenly a thought 
 seemed to strike him. " I don t believe Aunt 
 Eleanor remembers to listen ! " he exclaimed. 
 " That s why her eyes get red. Let us make her 
 a ring ! " 
 
 Miss Hereford s gaze was still resting on him. 
 Amazement was in her face. " Yes, Billy, yes," 
 she said softly, " perhaps I do need it."
 
 THE MORNING LESSON 229 
 
 " There s a song about it," lie went on earnestly. 
 * Sing it to her, Princess." 
 
 He left his hand in its gentle captivity while 
 Frances sang the song, and Miss Hereford listened, 
 her wistful, wondering look wandering back and 
 forth between the two young faces. 
 
 " There ! " said Billy triumphantly, when it was 
 finished. " I dare say the princess would teach 
 you that." 
 
 " Ah, it is a good song," responded Miss Here 
 ford. " All the rugged way, " she repeated. 
 " Yes, rugged, rugged." 
 
 "But," Frances reminded her gently, " I will 
 follow and rejoice all the rugged way. 
 
 " That s it," said Billy eagerly, " that s what 
 the princess knows, that you don t know. She 
 knows how to rejoice." 
 
 A lump rose in Miss Hereford s throat as she 
 met the soft light in his eyes. 
 
 " I believe the princess does know a lot of things, 
 Billy," she answered slowly. " I 11 learn of her, 
 dear ; I 11 learn of her."
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 AN INTERRUPTED GAME 
 
 LAURA JEWETT drove to the village as usual the 
 following morning for the mail, and it was there 
 that she learned of the changes that had come to 
 the household at Waterview. Her driver Michael 
 was the mouthpiece through which the information 
 reached her. 
 
 Her dark eyes were dancing with excitement 
 when she came home to her mother. 
 
 " He s a lord, mother that young bear ! " she 
 announced, hastening into the room. " Oh," re 
 gretfully, " why is n t it Mr. Burling ! How well 
 he would look the part ! He has gone away ; went 
 to New York day before yesterday." 
 
 " Alone ? " asked Mrs. Jewett. 
 
 " Yes, so they say ; but I suppose they will all 
 go. Miss Hereford s brother has died, and it seems 
 he was Somebody, and now the son is Somebody in 
 his place ; but though I questioned Michael until 
 he agreed that Mr. Burling must be soom sart 
 iv a barr net, I believe gossip does n t attempt to 
 give him any title at all, which is awfully shabby, 
 considering how much better he deserves it than 
 the other one." 
 
 " Poor Frances left alone there ! " said Mrs.
 
 AN INTERRUPTED GAME 231 
 
 Jewett ; and quickly added, " There is nothing to 
 fear." 
 
 Laura shrugged her shoulders. " It is a rather 
 creepy position to be in. I don t know that I envy 
 her the honor of breaking the prince s spell. Well, 
 I suppose he will soon be spirited away from her. 
 What a mortification for those people to appear at 
 the the oh, I hope it s a castle with such 
 an heir ! Meanwhile, mother, please do remember 
 that you live next door to a Title, and don t go 
 flirting with the Title s housekeeper and her rela 
 tions. Let s live up to our privileges for once ! " 
 
 " Miss Graves is a very nice, sensible woman, 
 and she and Frances are very fond of each other," 
 said Mrs. Jewett abstractedly. 
 
 " I haven t a doubt of it," returned Laura 
 plaintively. " You ve told me so before, and I 
 thought it was highly laudable, and I think so now. 
 Let them agree in their little nest and we will 
 agree in ours." 
 
 " I feel as if I wanted to go right over to see 
 how Frances is getting on," said Mrs. Jewett, " but 
 she could send one of the servants if she needed 
 me, I suppose." 
 
 " I should think you would feel more like going 
 to inquire for Miss Hereford in her bereavement," 
 remarked Laura accusingly. " There is no one 
 else likely to do it, and she alone in a strange land, 
 even Mr. Burling gone." 
 
 " That is true. Perhaps it would be kind." 
 
 " We might as well go now," said Laura, jump 
 ing up. " I 11 tell Michael not to unharness."
 
 232 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 When mother and daughter reached Waterview, 
 Mrs. Jewett asked to see Miss Hereford s maid, 
 and Dudley responded to the summons. 
 
 Mrs. Jewett explained that they had but just 
 learned the sad news from England and wished to 
 inquire for Miss Hereford ; and the maid replied 
 that her mistress would be very much obliged to 
 them, but that she had a headache this morning and 
 could not see any one. 
 
 Mrs. Jewett asked the maid to deliver a message 
 of sympathy, and then inquired if they might see 
 Miss Rogers. 
 
 Laura s sharp eyes noted the change in the 
 woman s face as her chin lifted. 
 
 " Certainly. She is out in the pagoda. Shall 
 I call her, or will the ladies prefer to go to her? " 
 
 "We will go to her," replied Mrs. Jewett. 
 " Good-morning." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! " exclaimed Laura discontentedly, 
 as they moved over the soft turf in the direction 
 of the summer-house. 
 
 Mrs. Jewett could not resist a little gurgle of 
 laughter. " We ve lost caste with an English 
 lady s maid ! " she said. " What shall we do ? " 
 
 " And for such a nobody ! " responded her 
 daughter, giving rein to her annoyance. " Of 
 course they will all be hurrying off to England 
 soon, and I would like them to feel very friendly 
 to us. How do you know but they might ask us 
 to visit them if you would n t insist on giving the 
 impression that if they did, we should yearn to 
 spend all our time in the servants hall ? "
 
 AN INTERRUPTED GAME 233 
 
 " Laura ! Laura ! " protested Mrs. Jewett, still 
 laughing. 
 
 The girl kept an injured silence until they 
 reached the pagoda. Before they rounded its 
 corner they heard voices ; and when the interior 
 came into view they saw Frances and the young 
 man whose name was in the mouths of the village 
 gossips seated, one each side of the table, engrossed 
 in a game of cards. Near by sat Sanders reading 
 the morning paper. The air was full of the sparkle 
 and song of early summer. 
 
 It was Mrs. Jewett s first sight of the heir of 
 the house, and she, like everybody else, was im 
 pressed by the interesting contour. of the head and 
 face, which he lifted at their appearance. His 
 bright expression clouded at once, and he stared in 
 disapproving silence, while Frances sprang from 
 the table with a glad exclamation. 
 
 Sanders dropped his paper and stood back, 
 and his master slowly rose with reluctant, mechan 
 ical civility. 
 
 After the first happy greeting Frances remem 
 bered her companion, and seeing his lowering 
 brow, hastened to speak. 
 
 " These are some dear friends of mine," she said. 
 " It makes me so happy to see them. This is Mrs. 
 Jewett, and this is her daughter, Miss Jewett. I 
 want you to know them both. And this is Mr. 
 Hereford, ladies. Come in and sit down." 
 
 Frances, in her gladness to be again with Mrs. 
 Jewett, seated herself close beside her, while 
 Laura, smiling sweetly upon the heir of Ardleigh,
 
 234 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 took the place Frances had vacated. Sir William 
 slowly lowered himself into the opposite seat, 
 There was a tumult of impatience in his breast, 
 but he was constraining himself with a novel 
 effort. The intrusion of these people had made 
 the princess happy : he must bear it for a time. 
 
 " You were playing cards," said Laura brightly. 
 " What game is it ? " 
 
 " Cribbage," responded her companion gloomily. 
 " It is a new game. She began teaching it to me 
 yesterday. It is very hard to learn." 
 
 " He looks as if he would like to jump across 
 the table and swallow me," thought the girl. 
 " How can Miss Rogers endure it ? Surely she 
 earns her money." 
 
 " I love to play cards," she remarked effusively, 
 " and I like cribbage immensely. Some day when 
 you have learned I hope you will play it with me." 
 
 His dark eyes fell before her laughing glance, 
 and he nervously turned the glass ring on his finger 
 as he kept silence. 
 
 " What a pretty ring ! " said Laura. " I saw 
 you making them one day. Did you make that ? " 
 
 " No, the princess made it." 
 
 Laura opened her pretty eyes. " Who ? " 
 
 "The princess." The young fellow s longing 
 glance in the direction of Frances left no doubt 
 of his meaning. 
 
 " Oh, of course." 
 
 " I made her one, too. They are remembering 
 rings. They make us remember to to be kind, 
 because Love is the only Power." The speaker s
 
 AN INTERRUPTED GAME 235 
 
 eyes came back to Laura s bright, wondering ones. 
 " That is the reason I bear it to have you sit there 
 in the princess s place," he finished gloomily. 
 
 Meanwhile Frances was talking fast and low 
 with Mrs. Jewett, telling first of all her good news. 
 
 " They want Science ! " she said softly. " They 
 asked for it. It makes everything bearable." 
 
 " Ah, Frances, dear child ! " 
 
 The two regarded each other radiantly. 
 
 " But this news ? " asked Mrs. Jewett after the 
 pause. " They will have to go to England, I sup 
 pose, but he will be taken care of. There are 
 plenty of Scientists there." 
 
 Frances shook her head. " They won t go," she 
 said simply, " because they think they can t take 
 him away from me. Mr. Burling is in New York 
 now, cabling and arranging." 
 
 Mrs. Jewett looked in surprise at the girl who 
 was apparently so unconscious that there was any 
 thing strange in her own importance. 
 
 " They would n t dare to try to take him yet," 
 she went on. " They don t know the strength of 
 Science ; but I see myself that if they can stay it 
 will be easier and better for them." 
 
 " The young man has an important place to fill 
 in the world, I hear." 
 
 " Yes, they tell me so, and to think, Mrs. Jew 
 ett," the girl s face grew radiant again, " at last, 
 after all their struggles, Divine Principle has led 
 them to the fountain of " 
 
 A crash made the absorbed pair start. The 
 table at the other side of the pavilion was
 
 236 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 denly overset, the cards floated or flew to the floor, 
 and Laura Jewett was seen shrinking against a 
 wooden upright in the wall. 
 
 With two strides Billy was beside Frances, 
 breathing fast, his nostrils dilated, his face and 
 eyes flaming. 
 
 He grasped the girl s shoulder. " It s not true 
 what she says the giggling one ! It s not true ! 
 She says I am to leave you ; that they will take 
 me away to England ! You are cheating me, 
 then ! " With an unexpected movement he caught 
 Frances up in his arms and held her close to his 
 breast, while he glared into her pale face. 
 
 Laura Jewett stared in speechless terror. Her 
 mother s eyes were closed. Sanders, his mouth 
 open, wrung his hands undecidedly, in the back 
 ground where he stood. 
 
 " I won t bear it ! " stormed the boy, beside him 
 self. " I 11 drown myself first, and you, too ! Are 
 you cheating me ? Say ! Oh, Princess, Prin 
 cess ! " An agony of reproach altered his voice, 
 and great tears suddenly dimmed his hot eyes and 
 splashed upon Frances s gown. 
 
 " It is a mistake, Billy," she said, at the first 
 pause. " Put me down, so that we can talk. You 
 know I would n t cheat you." 
 
 " The giggling one " - he began brokenly. 
 Then he paused and replaced the girl in the chair. 
 Sinking beside her on his knees, he buried his face 
 in her lap and wept like a child. 
 
 Frances s hands trembled from embarrassment 
 as well as shock ; but the sobs that shook the big
 
 AN INTERRUPTED GAME 237 
 
 shoulders moved her heart, and she laid her hand 
 timidly on the thick, dark hair. 
 
 " Miss Jewett thought you must go home be 
 cause your father has died," she said in gentle 
 explanation, " but she was mistaken." 
 
 " She s-said our rings rings - were to re-re 
 member each other ! " sobbed the young fellow 
 in abandonment of grief. 
 
 " No. They are to help us remember the good 
 Shepherd. Stop, Billy ! You must be quiet, for 
 you know we must always be listening for His 
 voice." Frances patted the crisp, dark hair until 
 the head lay quiet in her lap. Then she went on. 
 
 " If the Shepherd called us to walk in a rugged 
 way, we should want to follow and rejoice, don t 
 you remember ? But now He does n t ask you to 
 leave me. We are to stay together. I shall never 
 deceive you, Billy ; be sure of that." 
 
 The young fellow, tenderly guarded for so many 
 years, had no self-consciousness or fear of ridicule, 
 whatever might be his mood or humor. Now he 
 lifted his tear-stained face, and turned with the 
 unconsciousness of a child of five to where the 
 younger visitor still leaned against the support. 
 
 " You hear, do you ? " he asked. 
 
 " I m very sorry I made such a mistake," re 
 plied Laura unsteadily, not being at all sure what 
 sudden retribution might follow at the hands of 
 her host, and regretful that she had not retreated 
 while he was preoccupied. 
 
 " I must n t say you cannot come again," said 
 the young fellow, rising to his feet and resting
 
 238 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 his hand upon Frances s chair, while iiis speech 
 was interrupted by a catching in the throat, " be 
 cause it made the princess glad to see you ; but I 
 need not believe anything you say another time/ 
 
 " I shall be careful what I say, you may be 
 sure," returned Laura, relieved, and regaining 
 somewhat her self-possession. " Mother, we inter 
 rupted a game. Let us excuse ourselves." 
 
 Mrs. Jewett rose and with a kindly smile held 
 out her hand to the young man. 
 
 " I hope you and the princess will come to see 
 us some day," she said. He took her hand for a 
 moment and dropped it. 
 
 " My little girl," she turned to Frances, whose 
 still face showed the effect of the recent tempest, 
 " let us see all of you that we can." She put her 
 arm around her friend s shoulders, and was sur 
 prised to have Billy gently but firmly push it off. 
 The lady looked up at him questioningly. 
 
 " She does n t like to be touched," he explained. 
 
 Mrs. Jewett raised her eyebrows and smiled. 
 " You seemed to forget that a few minutes ago." 
 
 " Yes. I forgot everything. I am sorry. The 
 princess will forgive me after you re gone. You re 
 going right away, are n t you ? " 
 
 " Yes, and how sorry I am ! " said Frances 
 sadly. 
 
 " Why ? " demanded Billy. 
 
 " Because I love Mrs. Jewett." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 "Because," the girl smiled at her friend, "be 
 cause sne knows the good Shepherd, and always
 
 AN INTERRUPTED GAME 239 
 
 does kind things to everybody." As she paused 
 Frances leaned forward and kissed Mrs. Jewett. 
 
 Billy watched the movement closely. " Does n t 
 she mind? " he asked. 
 
 " No," returned Frances quietly, still smiling 
 into her friend s eyes. " We are fond of each 
 other." 
 
 " Are you going to kiss the other one ? " asked 
 the boy, as Laura advanced, smoothing her gloves. 
 " I would n t." 
 
 " We don t know each other so well," returned 
 Frances genially, holding out her hand to the girl. 
 " I am so sorry you have been annoyed," she 
 added. 
 
 " Don t mention it. If you can forgive me for 
 precipitating storms and wrecking furniture and 
 cards, I am sure there is nothing for me to do but 
 learn wisdom by experience." 
 
 Laura shook hands conventionally as she made 
 her airy speech, and Billy read the wistful signs 
 in his princess s face. 
 
 " They can stay if you want them to," he said 
 hastily, " and I can go to sleep in the hammock 
 until they have gone." 
 
 Frances shook her head. " No. We have n t 
 made them have a happy enough time to wish to 
 stay. Next time we will do better, I hope." 
 
 " Where are you going ? " demanded the boy, 
 for Frances had moved out on the grass with her 
 guests. 
 
 " I am going with these ladies to their carriage." 
 
 " Sanders, you may pick up the cards and ar
 
 240 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 range the table. We shall want it again soon." 
 This was the last the visitors heard as they left the 
 pagoda. 
 
 "It is a great improvement that he makes no 
 objection to my leaving," said Frances softly, as 
 she crossed the grass with her friends. 
 
 " Of course there is improvement," replied Mrs. 
 Jewett, " and there will be. It will come faster 
 and faster." 
 
 Laura shrugged her shoulders. " All I know is, 
 I wouldn t do it for twice the money, whatever 
 they give you," she declared. In her character of at 
 tractive maiden, her pride had been deeply injured 
 by the young man s persistent aversion to her, now 
 that one girl had been admitted to his good graces. 
 Moreover, her nerves were still quivering from 
 fright. 
 
 " It is n t a question of money," replied Frances 
 quietly. " It is too evidently my work for me to 
 refuse it. That is all." 
 
 After the parting, and as the carriage drove 
 away, Miss Jewett did not incline to talk. Her 
 mother finally spoke. " That class baby of mine 
 turns out to be more important than the lady s 
 maid, after all." 
 
 " To the heir of the house, certainly. Bah ! 
 What a position ! " 
 
 " To all of them, my dear. Mr. Burling went 
 to New York simply to make arrangements so that 
 they need not leave her. The household are hang 
 ing their hopes upon her. They have asked for 
 Science treatment. It is plain to be seen that if
 
 AN INTERRUPTED GAME 241 
 
 they do return to the ancestral halls they will try 
 to take her with them." 
 
 Laura s eyes grew large and thoughtful. She 
 had certainly seen enough to enable her to under 
 stand something of the situation.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 SANDERS S ACCOUNT 
 
 THOSE were anxious days that Maurice Burling 
 spent in New York, especially since he was detained 
 far longer than he had thought possible. In spite 
 of the reassuring answers which Harvey gave to 
 his queries when finally he was driving home from 
 the station one evening, he was not satisfied until, 
 his nephew being safely in bed, he could send for 
 Sanders and ask for an account. 
 
 " Things is going beautiful, sir," declared San 
 ders. " Sir William is has keen as hever habout 
 the princess." 
 
 " That is good," replied Burling. " We will 
 drop Sir William s title for the present. We are 
 going to remain in America for a time, and we will 
 call as little attention as possible to Mr. William. 
 Address him as you always have done. It will be 
 better. Then there has been no outbreak in my 
 absence, eh ? " 
 
 " There was one hoccasion, Mr. Burling, when I 
 wished with hall my eart that you ad been ere. 
 The ladies from Windermere were calling. They 
 came hout to the pagoda where Sir Mr. Wil 
 liam and the princess were playing cribbage." 
 
 " Playing cribbage ! "
 
 SANDERS S ACCOUNT 243 
 
 " Yes, sir. I think er ighness wished to see if 
 Mr. William could hadd figgers, sir. Well, e s 
 slow, but she elps im, and if it was to walk hon is 
 ands, and the princess said walk, e d try it, sir." 
 
 " Very well. Go on, Sanders. The ladies came, 
 and what did Mr. William do ? " 
 
 " E was quiet and well be aved has you d hask, 
 sir, till the young lady, Miss Jewett, appened to 
 say to im she supposed e d soon ave to leave the 
 princess and go ome." 
 
 Sanders rolled his eyes reminiscently. 
 
 " Well ? " demanded Burling. 
 
 " I can scarce tell what it was like, Mr. Burling. 
 E flew into a tantrum, Mr. William did. There 
 was an hupsetting of chairs and tables, and e 
 caught the princess in is harms has she was a baby, 
 and then took hon terrible. I ope I m an hordi- 
 narily brave man, Mr. Burling, but when Mr. Wil 
 liam snatched er hup and talked of drowning, my 
 knees went hunder me, sir. I hexpecfed nothing 
 but e d run with her. If e ad well," Sanders 
 gave his head a shake, " what could I ave done, 
 Mr. Burling ? " 
 
 " You could have gone for Harvey, and both fol 
 lowed him. Had n t you sense enough for that ? " 
 Burling s brows were drawn. " What did take 
 place?" 
 
 " She talked to im er ighness did soft as 
 an hangel, and e broke down, and when I could 
 see straight hagain e was kneeling with is ead in 
 er lap, sobbing. The first time hever Mr. William 
 shed tears in my presence, Mr. Burling."
 
 244 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Ah ! " Maurice breathed a sigh of relief. " I 
 think Miss Jewett will have had enough of visits 
 to that pagoda," he said, as if to himself. " Were 
 the ladies much frightened, Sanders ? " 
 
 " They were, sir. Mrs. Jewett, she ad er heyes 
 closed, and I think she was faint ; and the young 
 lady clung to the wall to keep erself from falling." 
 
 " Did they go directly, Sanders ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, as soon as hever Mr. William stopped 
 crying." 
 
 Burling heaved a long sigh, and rising, took a 
 few turns up and down the room while the man 
 waited in respectful silence. At last Maurice 
 paused and spoke. 
 
 " This is very hard on Miss Rogers, Sanders." 
 
 " Quite so, sir ; but hif you 11 excuse me, sir, I 
 think she s henlisted for the war." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " I think, sir, that no matter ow cut hup she 
 may feel, she won t desert. She won t show the 
 white feather, sir. Hif she did hif she should 
 go away I ope I m an hordinarily brave " 
 
 "Yes, yes; but we must save her all we can, 
 Sanders." 
 
 " Quite so ; but we re zeros, we are, if you 11 
 hexcuse my making so free, Mr. Burling. Hall 
 we can do is to fall into line and follow er lead." 
 
 " Ha ! You ve got that far, have you ? And 
 what does she seem to be accomplishing ? Any 
 thing?" 
 
 " Well," Sanders s eyes sought the ceiling, 
 * when I look back three weeks, say, Mr. Burling,
 
 S ANDERS S ACCOUNT 245 
 
 and then try to take it in that that Mr. William 
 and this Mr. William are one and the same person, 
 it sets me thinking, Mr. Burling, that s what it 
 does. I go in every morning now and find the 
 young man quite cock-a-hoop and ready to talk, and 
 never an ugly word hout of is ead. E s hall for 
 getting ready for the morning lesson." 
 
 " Has she begun to teach him ? " asked Burling 
 eagerly. 
 
 "Yes, she did, sir, yesterday; but that isn t 
 what I meant. It s er lesson hout of the Bible 
 and er hother religious books that we ave hevery 
 morning, and then I ve to go hoff and stay for an 
 hour while she I don t know what she does." 
 Sanders lowered his voice. " You said I was to 
 do heverything the princess hordered, so I go. 
 But I 11 be honest with you, Mr. Burling I don t 
 know what she does while I m away ; but for my 
 self," impressively, " I ave hevery confidence in 
 the princess, hin spite of what Mr. William says." 
 
 "What does Mr. William say?" Burling 
 paused again in his walk. 
 
 " Why, I hasked im, sir, why the princess 
 wanted me to go away hevery morning and what 
 she did while I was gone I thought that was 
 honly right, Mr. Burling." 
 
 " It was wrong. What did he tell you ? " 
 
 " E said but, mind you, Mr. Burling, it 
 did n t shake my confidence in the princess s mo 
 tives. I ve seen enough of that lady to old 
 against the ole world that she s a igh-minded 
 young woman."
 
 246 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Well, out with it ! " 
 
 " E answered, Mr. William did, that in my 
 habsence she the princess treated im." 
 
 Maurice s drawn brow relaxed and he laughed 
 softly. 
 
 Sanders sniffed. " I ve signed the pledge my 
 self," he said righteously. " I don t know what 
 she gives im, and I did n t hask ; but I thought 
 it honly right you should know it, for being honly 
 an hunderling, hall I can do is to hobey borders ; 
 but you know ow careful we ve kept hintoxicants 
 away." 
 
 " All right, Sanders, all right. You are quite 
 correct not to let this prejudice you against the 
 lady." 
 
 " Yes, sir. The more so that my conscience drove 
 me to look through a crack at the back of the 
 pagoda, and I could n t see sign of heven a glass. 
 There was honly the princess sitting there with er 
 and over er heyes, and Mr. William reading in 
 the book she ad you to send im, sir, patient and 
 mild has a lamb. I lingered for some time, but 
 that s the way it went hon : Mr. William yawning 
 sometimes fit to swallow the book, but never speak 
 ing to er." 
 
 " That is one way of treating, Sanders ; and I 
 hope with all my heart that it may go to Mr. Wil 
 liam s head. Don t speak of this to Dudley or to 
 any one else. You had no business to spy upon 
 the princess, and if you speak of what you saw you 
 lose your place, do you understand ? " 
 
 "Well, sir, I ope " began the astonished man.
 
 SANDERS S ACCOUNT 247 
 
 ** So do I. Now go on. Tell me anything else 
 that has occurred. What do you think of these 
 morning lessons, Sanders ? " 
 
 " They re nice and short, sir, and the singing is 
 sweeter than birds. The princess is better than 
 alf you ear in the music alls." 
 
 "Indeed?" 
 
 " Yes, sir. Days when it rains she as us in to 
 the piano. She as a ymnal, and I wish you d 
 ear er songs. Mr. William never minds the rain 
 now. There is one song habout arpstrings, Mr. 
 Burling. It would be worth your while to ear it. 
 It was haf ter the singing yesterday that she talked 
 to Mr. William habout is studies. She as an has- 
 tonishing way with er the princess as. She just 
 leads hup to what she wants to say, playing in a way 
 with Mr. William, huntil by the time she s ready 
 to make im do something, e s hall ready to do it." 
 
 " I have n t a doubt of it," said Burling. " The 
 princess is a woman. Well, Sanders, anything 
 more ? " 
 
 " Plenty more to-morrow, no doubt, sir." 
 
 " Ah, to be continued in our next, eh ? " 
 
 " That s habout it, sir." 
 
 " Good-night, then, Sanders." 
 
 "Good-night, sir." 
 
 The account was on the whole cheering. Miss 
 Hereford s was still more so, and Burling sought 
 Miss Graves s piazza next morning in a relieved 
 frame of mind. 
 
 He caught sight of Miss Miranda through *he 
 open window.
 
 248 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Home again, you see, Miss Graves," he said 
 pleasantly. 
 
 " And it s where you d better stay, Mr. Bur 
 ling," she replied, coming to the window. " You 
 took risks." 
 
 " It seemed necessary ; and your niece said Go, 
 else I should not have gone alone." 
 
 " Ask me next time," suggested Miss Miranda, 
 with a rather grim smile. She had not been told 
 of the scene on the day of the Jewetts call, or the 
 smile would have been missing. 
 
 " Nothing wrong, I hope ? " asked Maurice. 
 
 " No. The wind has been tempered to the shorn 
 lamb. Frances seems shorn of her common sense 
 and to have something uncommon in its place. 
 I d feel full as easy if you would n t take her ad 
 vice about things. Her head s in the clouds, you 
 know." 
 
 " H m, yes ; but she seems to see something up 
 there that is beyond our vision. Miss Hereford 
 tells me a great and good work is going on." 
 
 " Well," returned Miss Graves doubtfully, " I 
 shall be very glad for you ; but I set just as much 
 store by my niece as you do by your nephew, and 
 until he s improved a good deal I d feel easier 
 to have you stay by." 
 
 " I sympathize in that sentiment. Only neces 
 sity took me away. May I see Miss Rogers ? " 
 
 " I 11 send her out," responded Miss Miranda, 
 and in a few moments Frances appeared. 
 
 From the back of the room the housekeeper saw 
 through the window the pink-gowned figure emerge
 
 S ANDERS S ACCOUNT 249 
 
 upon the piazza, and saw Burling s face as he 
 greeted her. 
 
 " Land sakes ! " she said to herself in a startled 
 tone. She straightened an already straight lamp 
 mat, then she slowly and cautiously looked up and 
 out again. The two were seated and talking, and 
 Burling s back was now toward the watcher. She 
 resisted the temptation to hear what they were say 
 ing, and walked into the next room. " What s the 
 use of a man looking at a girl like that, as if 
 he thought the sun rose in her head and set in 
 her heels ? " she soliloquized uneasily. " Suppose 
 Frances should take notions ! What on earth 
 should I do ? They re all disguised folks, anyway. 
 This Mr. Burling may be cousin to the Prince of 
 Wales, for all we know. His eyes are kind of pop, 
 I ve noticed. I should n t be a mite surprised if 
 he was. Look out, Frances Rogers ! A bead 
 coronet is the only kind you 11 ever wear ! You 
 poor little young one, whatever made me ask you 
 down here, anyway ! " 
 
 Meanwhile Frances, in girlish serenity, was talk 
 ing with her visitor. "You found a very warm 
 welcome in New York." 
 
 " Whew ! It was fierce. The thermometer 
 had n t budged when I left ; but I had n t time to 
 think of weather. I think I ve lost a few pounds, 
 but that was anxiety, not heat." 
 
 " What ? " Frances smiled. " In spite of the 
 daily telegram you made me send you? " 
 
 " Ah, but you see I had to consider the soun e 
 of that."
 
 250 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Indeed ! " The girl straightened up and 
 laughed. 
 
 " But all s well that ends well ; and Aunt 
 Eleanor is full of the boy s improvement. San 
 ders tells me you re making a good Scientist of 
 Billy these morning lessons, and so on. I sus 
 pect, however, the boy would listen if you read 
 him Sanskrit." 
 
 " No, you re all wrong, Mr. Burling. You sel 
 dom see a child who does n t like to have the Bible 
 read to him ; and you never can find a child who 
 questions the truths of Christian Science. To them 
 it seems nothing strange that there is a God and 
 that He is omnipotent Goodness. It is hard for a 
 grown person to put aside intellectual pride and 
 become as a little child, as we all must to gain clear 
 vision. Your nephew has an advantage ; he has 
 little to unlearn." 
 
 " And you see a change in the boy since you 
 began these treatments?" asked Maurice, half 
 eagerly, half curiously. 
 
 " Of course," answered Frances simply. 
 
 " In what way ? Tell me all you can." 
 
 " I m going to ask you not to question me. It 
 is a hindrance to voice error." 
 
 Maurice regarded her inquiringly. 
 
 " I strive to think of your nephew only as God 
 sees him," she explained. " I cannot serve two 
 masters. In God s sight he is already all that 
 you desire him to be." 
 
 Burling nodded reflectively. " I don t under 
 stand you in the least," he remarked, " but as
 
 SANDERS S ACCOUNT 251 
 
 Sanders very truthfully stated, we are all Tommy- 
 Atkinses and you are commander-in-chief." 
 
 Frances smiled. " Good Sanders ! I certainly 
 shall have no mutiny from him." 
 
 " Nor from me, your highness. Are you going 
 to have your sermon, or lesson, or reading, or 
 whatever it is, this morning? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " May the unenlightened attend ? " 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " Sanders tells me you have a a seance with 
 Billy alone after it." 
 
 " Yes, I give him present treatments now. Mr. 
 Burling, you are aware that the tender solicitude 
 that has always guarded your nephew has pre 
 vented his having the least consciousness or fear 
 of ridicule. I suppose I can trust you not to 
 comment in any jocose vein upon what you may 
 not understand in our methods ? " 
 
 Burling s imperturbable face flushed to his ears, 
 and his eyes shone. " Do you take me for such a 
 stupid and ungrateful idiot ! " he exclaimed.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE 
 
 SCARCELY had he replied, when the tall figure 
 of Sir William Hereford, followed at a little dis 
 tance by Sanders, was seen approaching the piazza. 
 
 Maurice Burling s heart leaped with a painful, 
 vague mixture of hope and fear. Was he really 
 to see a sign, or were these sanguine women 
 one made optimistic by her love, and the other by 
 her mysticism misled ? 
 
 " Good-morning, Billy," he said, advancing to 
 meet the newcomer, with a face still flushed from 
 the stir within him. 
 
 " Good-morning, Maurice." The young fellow 
 smiled as he shook his uncle s hand. " Sanders 
 said you had come home ; " but swiftly the brown 
 eyes glanced by Burling s face and rested on 
 Frances. " Good-morning, Princess." He jumped 
 lightly up the piazza step and clasped the girl s 
 hand for a second. 
 
 " Good-morning, Billy. Watervicw looks very 
 cool and comfortable to Mr. Burling this morning. 
 You remember we noticed in the papers how hot it 
 has been in New York." 
 
 "Yes." The looy turned back to his uncle. 
 " Was it very bad, Maurice ? "
 
 THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE 253 
 
 " Indeed it was. Pretty warm here, too, I fancy, 
 but it is at least fresh." 
 
 " And it is n t any matter about the heat, either." 
 The young fellow gave Frances a knowing look, 
 and she nodded. " Maurice will understand some 
 time," he added in an undertone. 
 
 " Certainly," she replied. " He wishes to come 
 to our reading this morning." 
 
 "All right, you may come, Maurice. Ready, 
 Princess ? " 
 
 " Please go on. I will get the books." 
 
 Billy slipped his arm through his uncle s, and 
 together they walked toward the pagoda, Sanders 
 following. 
 
 " Are you quick at learning songs, Maurice ? " 
 
 " I m afraid not, old man." 
 
 " Because there s one you 11 want to learn when 
 you hear it, eh, Sanders ? " 
 
 " That e will, Mr. William." 
 
 " I m very quick at learning them, the princess 
 says." 
 
 " You always were quick at music, Billy. You 
 used to sing a lot. Don t you remember ? " 
 
 " Did I ? I suppose so ; but I don t care now 
 for what I did before it grew dark." 
 
 " What ? " Burling s heart-beats began to hasten. 
 
 " Yes." The boy gave a short, uncomfortable 
 laugh. " Nor while it was dark." He shrugged 
 his shoulders as if to throw off an harassing in 
 cubus. "I don t care to remember what I did 
 while it was dark, either. It grew light when the 
 princess came. She says I m not to think about
 
 254 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 the darkness ; because you see how it is yourself, 
 Maurice, darkness is n t anything. If you bring a 
 light into a dark room the dark disappears ; that s 
 all." The young fellow snapped his fingers. " It 
 has n t gone anywhere, because it was n t anything. 
 You only thought it was something while you were 
 in the dark. The princess says I Ve found the 
 light now, and so I m safe to be happy forever. 
 Did you ever feel it dark, Maurice I mean, in 
 side of you ? " 
 
 " Many and many a time, Billy," answered Bur 
 ling slowly. 
 
 " Well, you need n t again. The princess will 
 teach you about God. God is the Light. It s 
 very interesting. Is n t it, Sanders ? " 
 
 " That it is, Mr. William." 
 
 " He made us, you know ; and of course He 
 would n t if He had n t loved us, because He s just 
 nothing but Goodness and Love, and so of course 
 He takes care of us every minute just the way a 
 shepherd takes care of his sheep ; and even when 
 we have hard times all we have to do is to remem 
 ber Him, and then everything comes right again. 
 It s very interesting the way the princess tells it, 
 is n t it, Sanders ? " 
 
 " That it is, Mr. William." 
 
 "It is very interesting the way you tell it, 
 Billy," said Maurice gravely. "The dark inside 
 of me grows brighter while you talk." 
 
 " Then I m glad," returned the boy, " for the 
 dark is wretchedness. How did I live in it ? " 
 The brightness died from his face as his eyes grew 
 thoughtful.
 
 THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE 255 
 
 " You did n t," said Frances with quiet cheerful 
 ness, suddenly joining them where they stood wait 
 ing. " Error deceived you for a little while, 
 nothing but error. You must be like a little 
 Christian Science child whom I know. She felt a 
 pain and she just turned on it. She said : You re 
 nothing but error. I know what you are, and I 
 know what you ain t are ! 
 
 Laughing, they all entered the pagoda, and on 
 the table, from which the bead boxes had disap 
 peared, Frances spread out her books. Burling 
 took a chair at a little distance and, resting his 
 arms on his knees, bowed his head in his hands. 
 His nephew rocked gently in the hammock. 
 
 "The light is dawning on Billy s darkness. 
 The light is dawning on Billy s darkness." The 
 thought surged back and forth through Burling s 
 brain while Frances read, with such an exciting 
 accompaniment of contingencies and hopes that 
 no word of those that fell from her lips penetrated 
 his consciousness. His sister s face rose clearly 
 before him, sad and wistful. 
 
 " God is good," he thought with passionate grati 
 tude. " How little we conceded to win this help, 
 and how reluctantly ! God is good ! " 
 
 His wandering, excited thoughts were at last 
 stilled by a familiar line. Frances had begun to 
 repeat the Lord s Prayer; Billy and Sanders, 
 their heads bowed, were saying it with her, and 
 Burling, more thoughtfully than he had ever in 
 his life spoken those sacred lines, joined his voice 
 to theirs.
 
 256 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 When it was finished, Billy looked up at his 
 princess expectantly. 
 
 " Which shall it be this morning ? " she asked. 
 
 " Oh, Maurice has n t heard any of them, so of 
 course he must hear Shepherd, show me how to 
 go, and you sing it alone this time, Princess." 
 
 "I d rather not, Billy," she returned, smiling 
 and flushing a little. " Such a large audience. 
 Don t you think it is much nicer more like 
 church for us to sing it together ? " 
 
 " Ho, you need n t be afraid of old Maurice ; but 
 if you are, I 11 sing it with you." 
 
 So the two fresh young voices Billy s easy 
 baritone coming ringingly from his broad chest 
 sang the hymn, and Burling, his face rather pale, 
 looked off among the summer trees to the water 
 while he listened. 
 
 When they had finished, Billy looked up for 
 his uncle s approval, and the latter nodded and 
 rose. 
 
 " I thank you very much for admitting me this 
 morning," he said. "The song is a good one, 
 Billy, and I like to hear your voice again." 
 
 The young fellow put out his hand. " Sit down 
 a minute more, please, Maurice." 
 
 Burling obeyed, looking at the speaker question- 
 ingly. Each word his nephew spoke in this novel, 
 civil, collected manner aroused his wondering in 
 terest. 
 
 " I m glad you ve come home, for I was think 
 ing in the night of you, and wanting to ask you 
 some questions. How old am I, Maurice ? "
 
 THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE 257 
 
 The dark eyes with the appealing droop at the 
 corners Mary s eyes regarded him. 
 
 " Twenty-one, Billy." 
 
 The boy looked around at Frances. " How old 
 are you, Princess ? " he asked seriously. 
 
 " Twenty." 
 
 The young fellow winced. " I was afraid so," 
 he said, through his teeth. 
 
 " Why afraid, Billy? " she asked. 
 
 Large tears welled up in his eyes as they looked 
 at her. 
 
 " It is n t fair that you should know so much 
 more than I do, and be younger." He suddenly 
 turned upon his uncle. " Why is it so, Maurice ? " 
 he asked accusingly. 
 
 Burling s face gave no sign of the way his heart 
 was beating. 
 
 "You were very ill when you were a little 
 chap, Billy. You could n t study, you see," he an 
 swered. 
 
 " And then I was in the dark," said the boy. 
 " Whose fault was it that I was in the dark, so 
 long so long? " 
 
 Burling s face, from being flushed, grew very 
 pale at the mournful cry. " Ah ! " he ejaculated 
 acutely. " I hope it was nobody s fault, boy ! If 
 it was any one s it was " 
 
 "No one s. No one s," cried Frances quickly. 
 She went on slowly. " Billy, what does it matter 
 whether I am older or younger? You are no 
 longer in that dark that was only a lie. We are 
 living in eternity now. Time does n t matter.
 
 258 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 You are in the light. You reflect all intelligence. 
 No error can keep you out of knowing all the 
 truth you long for. The Bible says, 4 Ye shall know 
 the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Re 
 member that. Divine Love meets all our needs. 
 It is meeting yours, and you must have not one 
 fear or regret that you have lost anything." 
 
 The young fellow, drinking in her words, 
 watched her, his teeth still set. Suddenly again 
 he turned to his uncle. 
 
 " Maurice, where were you and what were you 
 doing at my age ? " 
 
 Visions of a flowery quadrangle at Oxford 
 flashed through Burling s mind. 
 
 " I was lying on cushions in a punt on the Cher- 
 well River, reading a book and gliding under the 
 heavy branches, a good deal of the time," he an 
 swered, with a faint smile. 
 
 Billy only looked at him, his lips trembling. 
 
 "Maurice, I am a man, and I don t know so 
 much as this girl, who comes up only to my ear. 
 She she Oh, Princess," the depth of the 
 wound suddenly revealed itself, " you are too 
 kind to let me see it, but in your heart you de 
 spise me ! " He buried his face in his hands, and 
 Sanders, forgotten in the background, blew his 
 nose softly and stealthily. 
 
 "Why, Billy Billy!" she said with cheery 
 reassurance. " I am glad this thought was uncov 
 ered, for now we can banish it into nothingness. 
 There are things I should despise a man for, but 
 you have n t one of them."
 
 THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE 259 
 
 The ears, crimson under the close-cropped, crisp 
 brown hair, were eagerly listening to the sweet 
 voice, though the face continued covered. 
 
 " You are no more to blame for being deceived 
 by error than you are for having brown eyes. The 
 great point is that now it is over. You let me 
 advise you, Billy, don t you, even though I do come 
 up only to your ear ? " 
 
 A muffled assent came from behind the hands. 
 
 " You see, I ve been studying all these years, 
 and so there are things I can teach you now every 
 day that will prepare you to study with some man 
 who knows far more than I do, when we all go 
 away from here." 
 
 The hands came down quickly. " You will leave 
 me ! " ejaculated the young fellow, this thought 
 submerging even the first mortification of his life. 
 
 Frances smiled into his startled eyes. 
 
 " We shall both do what is right," she answered, 
 " when the time comes." 
 
 Burling laid his hand on his nephew s shoulder. 
 " There is one very pleasant thing for you to learn, 
 old man : it means a great deal to be Sir William 
 Hereford. You can come or go or study or travel 
 when and where you like." 
 
 The boy looked from one to the other of his 
 companions as if digesting this thought. 
 
 " I choose to study," he said at last, vehemently. 
 
 " Good," returned Burling, with a nod ; " but 
 you and the princess must not have all work and 
 no play." 
 
 Billy bit his lip. Some remembrance seemed
 
 260 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 suddenly to sting him ; and his eyes fell to the bead 
 ring he wore. Impulsively he pulled at it. 
 
 " Please, Billy, please ! " exclaimed Frances. 
 Her unaccustomed touch on his arm made the 
 young fellow pause, and meeting her eyes, he saw 
 them swimming. 
 
 "These rings are very precious to me," she said 
 quickly. 
 
 "But we can t wear them we can t!" he re 
 sponded breathlessly. 
 
 " Then let me keep them both. They are not 
 to be despised. They were little torches of truth 
 fco us, Billy." 
 
 "To us us!" he repeated bitterly. "You 
 are very good to me, Princess." But he pulled off 
 the glass circlet carefully and dropped it into her 
 outstretched hand. 
 
 " Billy has never cared much for sports," said 
 Burling, addressing Frances, " but you are both 
 going to support the frivolous old uncle at last in 
 his favorite amusement. I brought with me a set 
 of golf clubs for each of you." 
 
 " How delightful ! " exclaimed the girl, in genu 
 ine pleasure. 
 
 " Have I time, Princess ? " asked Billy gravelj 
 and doubtfully. 
 
 She flashed him a bright look full of courage. 
 
 " You have eternity," she answered.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE FIRST STEPS 
 
 IT was in the early stages of their nephew s 
 realization of his own lack and limitations that 
 Miss Hereford and Maurice Burling had most 
 cause for gratitude to their guest. Her fair, whole 
 some, cheerful youth, her spiritual faith, and that 
 beneficent power which she wielded a power 
 which they could not understand, and could still 
 less deny combined to guide their nephew over 
 the delicate and swaying bridge which led from a 
 hopeless labyrinth of irresponsible moods to the 
 solid ground of intelligent intention. 
 
 More and more they stood in the background, 
 more and more they looked to Frances to lead, 
 now that there was no longer an overgrown child 
 to coax and soothe, but a wounded consciousness 
 to be consoled and encouraged. 
 
 Even with his uncle and aunt the young Sir 
 William now showed an inclination to shrink and 
 be silent. It has been recorded that when an oper 
 ation on the eyes of one long blind restores the 
 sight, the first effect is not of added but of di 
 minished courage. That old world in which the 
 afflicted one moved with such confidence has van 
 ished, and instead a hundred hitherto unsuspected
 
 262 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 objects cause the new-born faculty to doubt and 
 fear and move with caution. The heir of Ardleigh 
 had discovered the nakedness of his mental equip 
 ment and was ashamed. 
 
 " E s that mild, sir, these days, it goes to my 
 eart," Sanders confided to Mr. Burling a few days 
 after the scenes of the last chapter ; " and e s hall 
 for his book. E d study imself into a fever hif 
 it weren t for the princess. No more naps for 
 im in the afternoon, and hexcept the princess 
 likes to play golf, I m thinking you d not get im 
 over there to the links, sir." 
 
 Burling assented. He knew also that Frances 
 needed not to affect an interest in the game. She 
 entered into this new pleasure with the usual ab 
 sorption of its votaries, and Billy s rare smile 
 came most willingly when her hearty laugh rang 
 out over her own blunders. Here was something 
 in which they could start even. 
 
 The days were now divided in regular order. 
 The morning began with the little service, in the 
 pagoda when it shone, in the large parlor or living- 
 room when it rained. Following this, until lunch- 
 time Frances and her pupil studied and recited in 
 the common English branches. At first this ses 
 sion of tutoring was fraught with such embarrass 
 ment on the side of the pupil that frequently hot 
 tears blinded his sight ; but the girl met the diffi 
 culty with such sweet frankness, blending honesty 
 with consolation in such wise measure, that she 
 disarmed the young fellow and abated his self- 
 eonsciousness. His eagerness and her patience
 
 THE FIRST STEPS 263 
 
 combined to bring good results, at first slowly, but 
 as time went on, with increasing certainty. 
 
 After luncheon, away for the golf links, and a 
 merry season of another sort of teaching, where 
 Frances and her pupil were fellow learners. 
 
 Billy s strength had to become tamed gradually 
 to skill, but there was gratification to him at first, 
 which he did not voice, when his ball flew like a 
 bird far beyond Frances s ineffectual drives. 
 
 " How well you do, Billy ! " she said with genu 
 ine admiration, the second day of their efforts. 
 
 The young man did not respond. 
 
 " Does n t he ? " she turned to Burling, who stood 
 by ; but she appreciated the tact with which Mau 
 rice refrained from open praise, which just now 
 would grate upon his nephew s sensitiveness. 
 
 " He gets good direction," he said quietly ; " but 
 don t count on it, Billy. That s golf. It is a will- 
 o -the-wisp : now you get it and now you don t." 
 
 Following the hours spent on the links, the heir 
 of Ardleigh returned to his studies, and remained 
 until bedtime buried in the books from which he 
 was to recite in the morning. 
 
 Miss Hereford meantime kept watch at a little 
 distance and talked with Frances every day. Dud 
 ley, the sharp-eared, sharp-eyed, and sharp-tongued, 
 saw all that was going on, and was frequently the 
 recipient of her mistress s expressions of thanks 
 giving. 
 
 "I waken every day to find the great cloud 
 lifted, Dudley," she said one morning when the 
 maid came in to make her toilet. " I never thought
 
 264 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 to have such kindly feelings toward America and 
 everything and everybody in it ; and it s all owing 
 to this wonderful young girl." 
 
 " I can t see, Miss Hereford, that she has done 
 anything so wonderful," responded the maid, with 
 the frankness of a privileged confidante. " The 
 doctors all said it would be the saving of Mr. Wil 
 liam to have his mind waked up by an interest in 
 young people his own age, and he happened to 
 fancy Miss Rogers." 
 
 " Ah, but what a happening it was for us that 
 it should be such a lovely character to whom he 
 took a fancy ! Mr. William s mind was like that 
 of a child, and to have all these new impressions 
 now being made upon it, pure and good what a 
 gift of God it is, Dudley ! " 
 
 The woman sniffed. " Miss Rogers has you all 
 under her thumb, Miss Hereford, you and Mr. 
 Burling as well as Mr. William, and even that 
 poor creature Sanders. There are some people 
 too good for me. I tell you, she knows which side 
 her bread is buttered on." 
 
 " Dudley ! " Miss Hereford s gentle eyes flashed. 
 " You don t know what you are saying," she added, 
 kindly but firmly, " but never another word of that 
 sort in my hearing." 
 
 The maid dashed away the tears that suddenly 
 smarted in her eyes. " Then I suppose you won t 
 mind entertaining Miss Graves at Ardleigh." 
 
 Miss Hereford stared. 
 
 " What interest have I except for you ? " went 
 on Dudley, seeing her advantage and pursuing it.
 
 THE FIRST STEPS 265 
 
 " Your love for Mr. William makes you blind to 
 everything else. If I might be so bold, Miss Here 
 ford, why don t you have Mr. William to take his 
 meals now with you and Mr. Burling ? " 
 
 " I did suggest that to Mr. Burling yesterday ; 
 but he thought it wisest not to disturb the pres 
 ent conditions for a while yet. Mr. William takes 
 an early start now in the morning earlier than 
 we do so as to get at his studies. Think of it, 
 Dudley ! Look back to the days when our poor 
 child was ill ; look over the weary years between ; 
 and then see how small are the thoughts you are 
 holding in your mind in view of this wonderful 
 blessing that has started on its way to us." 
 
 " That s true, my lady," said Dudley meaningly. 
 " Things have only started. There s more com 
 ing to you than you ve counted on ; and I only 
 wish for your sake that Miss Rogers was really a 
 princess instead of a Yankee school-teacher with 
 loud-talking Yankee relations." 
 
 After this burst Dudley s lips snapped together. 
 Miss Hereford did not reply, and the toilet pro 
 ceeded in silence ; but the maid hoped the words 
 she had dropped would not be forgotten. 
 
 After their last unlucky visit, the Jewetts had 
 not called at Waterview ; but many notes were ex 
 changed between Frances and Mrs. Jewett, whose 
 helpful thought was always going out to her young 
 friend. 
 
 Laura had reflected daily upon the scene in the 
 pagoda. Frances Rogers had become an object 
 of decided interest to her since the hour when she
 
 266 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 had seen the enchanted prince weeping, with his 
 head in the lap of his princess. She still felt a 
 private sense of surprise that she herself was but 
 a cipher in his estimation, but the bulletins of his 
 condition as they reached her through her mother 
 always roused her interest. 
 
 Laura always afterward looked back upon this 
 time as the season when she began to regard 
 doubtfully those standards to which during all 
 her girlhood she had bowed down. She began to 
 get an inkling that life held more important things 
 than an intimate knowledge of the "latest wrin 
 kle" in every line of fashionable interest. She 
 suddenly came to the realization that she was 
 no longer thinking of the housekeeper s niece at 
 Waterview as an inferior, but was, in spite of 
 herself, looking up to her. 
 
 Her own fond mother, she knew, was patiently 
 tolerating her weaknesses and vanities and waiting 
 for the happy day when a larger outlook would 
 sweep away her present small hopes and fears. " I 
 could never have done what Frances Rogers has ! " 
 she thought, with a sudden revulsion of humility. 
 " I went to the pagoda that first time full of con 
 ceit and vanity, just thinking of my own effect on 
 Mr. Burling and his nephew. If the prince had 
 fancied me, I should never have done him any 
 good. I could n t have been the right princess, 
 anyway." Her cheeks burned. 
 
 It was a very salutary dose that she was swal 
 lowing, and having beneath all her airy affecta 
 tions a very honest nature, she did not blink the
 
 THE FIRST STEPS 267 
 
 truth now that she saw it. " 1 ve been just a 
 silly little snob ! " she thought. " Mother knows 
 it. I dare say she s been telling me so for weeks, 
 in some underhanded way." 
 
 The neighboring houses filled with their summer 
 residents, and Laura found her girl friends about 
 her again ; but no word escaped the Jewetts of the 
 story of the enchanted prince. 
 
 Finally one of Frances s notes stated that Mr. 
 Burling had returned from New York. Morning 
 after morning Laura expected to meet him at the 
 golf links, but he did not appear. 
 
 " Do you suppose Englishmen go into seclusion 
 when they lose a brother-in-law ? " she asked her 
 mother one evening, when she came in bringing 
 the mail. 
 
 " I don t know. Here is a note from Frances 
 now. Let us see what she says." 
 
 " All is going well with us. Mr. Burling and 
 Miss Hereford are much stirred by the improve 
 ment in their nephew. Mr. Burling is elated that 
 he has at last persuaded Mr. Hereford to learn 
 golf, for he considers it will be such a helpful di 
 version for mind as well as body. One of the claims 
 in the case has been inertia, and it was impossible 
 for them to interest their nephew to drive, or walk, 
 or fish, or enter into any kind of sport. Mr. Bur 
 ling brought from New York a complete golf out 
 fit for me as well as for Mr. Hereford, and we have 
 been going over to the links every afternoon " 
 
 " That is the reason, then ! " interrupted Laura< 
 M He always used to go in the morning."
 
 268 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " I m not very quick at learning the game, but 
 am fascinated with trying, and Mr. Hereford takes 
 to it wonderfully. I can see what a satisfaction it 
 gives him to excel me. Ah, we are fast gaining 
 the realization for him that there is nothing abnor 
 mal. By autumn he will be ready for a tutor. I 
 am now trying in thought to prepare him to allow 
 me to leave him. " 
 
 " Well," commented Laura, " your class baby 
 is coming in for everything." 
 
 " And you are glad, of course," suggested Mrs. 
 Jewett. " Did n t you say that no money would 
 tempt you to fill her place ? " 
 
 " Yes, I did ; and I am glad." The girl spoke 
 thoughtfully. " I suppose it is only to be expected 
 that those two people should set her up in a niche 
 now and worship her ; but I do think " Laura 
 left the sentence unfinished, and determined to con 
 tinue to ignore the golf links in the afternoon. 
 
 A few days afterward Mr. Burling called, and 
 mother and daughter were filled with sympathy, as 
 they observed the relief and hopefulness of his 
 words and manner. 
 
 " What a short time ago it seems, Miss Jewett," 
 he said, " since that morning when you said to me 
 that you were not the right princess ! Our horizon 
 never was so dark as then." 
 
 " So the adage was proved, was n t it ? " re 
 sponded Laura. " Yes, indeed ; I was so far from 
 being the right princess, I seemed to be the far 
 thest wrong that could be found. I wonder if 
 every time I meet your nephew I am to drive him 
 to extremes ? "
 
 THE FIRST STEPS 269 
 
 " I scarce dare to make a suggestion,* f^nswered 
 Burling, with a smile, " but I have looked for you 
 on the links for several afternoons. My nephew 
 studies through the morning, so I attend to what 
 ever business I have to do then, and give my after 
 noons to teaching the young idea how to drive. 
 Miss Rogers threatens to outdo us all in enthu 
 siasm." 
 
 " How long does she remain at Water view ? " 
 asked Laura. 
 
 Burling s countenance sobered. "That is one 
 of the questions which we don t face as yet. She 
 has brought the sunshine into our lives. As yet 
 we scarcely dare hope or can realize that her going 
 will not mean a return to old conditions. I am 
 sure she will not leave us until my nephew has 
 become wonted to this new phase of his life. I 
 speak confidentially with you both, because you 
 know what the situation has been, and you are Miss 
 Rogers s friends. You have seen how he has clung 
 to her, demanded her time, would like to tyrannize 
 over her. All that is past. Now he rather seeks 
 seclusion, and she is dealing with the present phase. 
 It is not one in which she could leave him, and none 
 of us could perceive that so clearly as she herself. 
 It has become her problem as well as ours. She 
 will not leave us." 
 
 Burling smiled as he finished, and his expression 
 startled Laura. 
 
 " I m sure she will not," she answered thought- 
 fully. 
 
 " You will have a testimonial to give for Christian
 
 270 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Science when you get back to England, Mr. Buiv 
 ling," said Mrs. Jewett. 
 
 " I hope so," he replied gravely. " I shall if my 
 nephew goes on as he has begun, after he is sepa 
 rated from Miss Rogers." 
 
 Laura Jewett shrugged her shoulders. " Of 
 course your doctors and friends will say it was just 
 the start that any congenial comrade would have 
 given him if his interest could have been roused." 
 
 " Do you yourself believe that is all that has 
 been done, Mr. Burling ? " asked Mrs. Jewett. 
 
 He smiled into her questioning eyes before he 
 replied. 
 
 " No, I am convinced that it is not," he answered 
 slowly. 
 
 " Good." 
 
 " Of course we can t go over to the links without 
 meeting people," went on Maurice after a pause, 
 " and I notice that my nephew attracts consider 
 able attention." 
 
 " He would anywhere," suggested Mrs. Jewett. 
 
 " True ; and that is why it may be as I hope, 
 that his story is not generally known." 
 
 " I hope you don t suspect us," remarked Laura. 
 
 " Certainly not," responded Burling. 
 
 " You might," said the girl. " I should have 
 been apt to relate the tale to some intimate, only 
 that mother warned me. You see, I had not such 
 faith as she in the outcome, and did not suppose 
 that Mr. Hereford would leave his retirement. 
 As it is, I scarcely think any one knows his story 
 excepting one phase of it." Laura smiled archlj.
 
 THE FIRST STEPS 271 
 
 " It is very generally known that your nephew has 
 a title. You must realize that all good Americans 
 would stare even if he were an insignificant pygmy : 
 how much more, then, under the circumstances ! " 
 
 " Ah ! " Burling raised his eyebrows. " I had n t 
 thought of that feature of the situation." 
 
 " Yes, indeed. In fact, a friend who came to 
 see me yesterday was full of interest in your party. 
 She had seen and heard you at the links. She 
 assured me with much excitement that there was 
 a lovely blonde princess visiting you, and supposed 
 that was why you so evidently desired to remain 
 by yourselves." 
 
 Burling laughed. " What did you tell her ? " 
 
 " I told her it was a nickname that had been 
 given the young lady, and that you were all really 
 very human." 
 
 " Be careful. We must n t be considered too 
 human. I don t want my nephew frightened away 
 from the course. Won t you come to-morrow after 
 noon if it is fine and help me protect him ? We 
 will each take one of the novices and have a four 
 some." 
 
 Laura consented demurely ; but when the visitor 
 had departed she turned to her mother in comical 
 dismay. 
 
 "Fancy me as the partner of Ursa Major! 
 You 11 have to come and caddy, mother. Some 
 of my innocent small talk will be sure to make him 
 set on me with a mid-iron, and I shall need you to 
 cry for help."
 
 CHAPTER XXTI 
 
 GOLF 
 
 THE following day, the weather being glorious, 
 Laura Jewett and her mother took their way to 
 the golf links at the appointed hour. They found 
 their friends waiting for them near the first teeing- 
 ground. 
 
 Frances and Mr. Hereford were receiving a 
 lesson in form from Mr. Burling, using daisies for 
 balls, and Laura looked with much covert curiosity 
 at the stalwart figure of Sir William and the face 
 that he turned toward them upon hearing his un 
 cle s greeting. 
 
 " He did n t expect us. He is sorry," thought 
 the girl quickly ; but the young fellow advanced 
 hatless and shook hands with the two ladies. His 
 associations with Miss Jewett were of the most 
 disagreeable. She had worried and annoyed him 
 when he was in the dark, and afterward had pro 
 phesied evil which was unfounded ; but he was 
 rapidly learning that other things beside noblesse 
 oblige, and he faced her now with pensive atten 
 tion as she spoke to him. 
 
 " Is n t it a great game ? " she asked brightly. 
 
 " Yes. I am only learning it ; but I don t break 
 so many clubs as I did. Maurice says I shall 
 play after a while."
 
 GOLF 273 
 
 Laura was confident that the eyes looking 
 through her scarcely saw her at all. 
 
 " I think golf is the best sport there is except 
 dancing," she went on. " Of course, dancing takes 
 the lead." 
 
 She laughed rather nervously. She knew she 
 was saying the wrong thing, and there seemed 
 nothing else to say. 
 
 " Dancing ? " repeated her companion gravely, 
 at last looking at her. " Is it difficult to learn ? " 
 
 "No, indeed. Easy. I could teach you my 
 self." 
 
 The serious dark eyes seemed weighing this. 
 " Thank you. Princess," said the young fellow, 
 suddenly turning toward Frances. 
 
 " Yes ? " The girl looked up from her chat with 
 Mrs. Jewett. 
 
 " Do you dance, Princess ? " 
 
 "Alas! no." 
 
 " Do you intend to learn ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 The young fellow turned back to Laura. "I 
 don t need to learn to dance," he announced simply, 
 with an air of relief. 
 
 Miss Jewett repressed a smile. "Silly little 
 cipher zero goose-egg Laura Jewett ! " she 
 said to herself. " Will you never learn your place? 
 This is growing romantic. I wonder if Frances 
 Rogers realizes it ? What am I ? " with a sudden 
 rush of humility, " what am I, anyway, compared 
 to her ? I m going to write a new primer : The 
 lion is strong. Frances Kogers is strong. ;
 
 274 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Are n t you going to play, Mrs. Jewett ? " 
 asked Burling. " You don t seem armed." 
 
 " No. I ve left my clubs in the locker. I m 
 going to look on this afternoon. The weather is so 
 fine, I m satisfied simply to be out of doors." 
 
 " Well, then, we 11 show you a thing or two, 
 We 11 have a great foursome." 
 
 " And I will play with the princess," announced 
 Sir William, moving toward Frances s blue Tam- 
 o -Shanter. 
 
 "Not at all, not at all," returned Burling. 
 " What would you two beginners do against such 
 seasoned warriors as Miss Jewett and myself ? " 
 
 Frances smiled into Billy s grave eyes. " We re 
 nothing but babes in the woods, you know," she 
 said. " We should get lost at the first bunker, and 
 the robins would come and cover us with leaves." 
 
 Sir William looked as if he would rather like 
 that programme, but his uncle spoke decidedly. 
 
 " You and Miss Jewett will play together, Billy, 
 and the princess and I. Watch Miss Jewett s 
 form now, Miss Rogers. You could n t do better 
 than to imitate her." 
 
 Laura shrugged her shoulders. "You expect 
 me to hit the ball after that, do you ? " she asked, 
 as Burling stooped and carefully made a tee. 
 
 " It would be impossible to rattle Miss Jewett," 
 he replied. 
 
 " What an awful moment ! " she remarked air. 
 ily, taking her place and addressing the ball. 
 
 " I think you re too near me, partner," she 
 added, looking around at the young man, who was
 
 GOLF 275 
 
 watching her movements absently. " I should be 
 sorry to disable you, for we have to beat these peo 
 ple, and I m counting on your strong right arm." 
 
 He stepped back, and she made her drive with a 
 coolness and skill that roused the admiration of 
 her audience. 
 
 " Ah, if girls can drive like that ! " exclaimed 
 Frances, her eyes shining. " Was n t that splen 
 did, Billy ? " " 
 
 His face had grown interested as he watched the 
 ball s true, swift flight. " Immense. I should n t 
 suppose you could do that, Miss Jewett." 
 
 " Oh, it is n t muscle that counts in golf," she 
 returned lightly. 
 
 " Or anywhere else, I find," he answered soberly. 
 
 They got on very well together. Laura took 
 touch pains with her partner-pupil, and he being 
 eager to learn, by the time they sat down to rest, 
 flushed with the pride of winning the game, there 
 existed quite friendly relations between them. 
 Mrs. Jewett had sauntered around the course 
 with her daughter, and now Sir William invited 
 her to be seated at a little table with them, to 
 drink Apollinaris lemonade. 
 
 Frances and Mr. Burling were at another table 
 farther down the piazza, and Laura exulted that 
 in the glow of pleasant excitement evident in her 
 partner s face he did not appear to be restless 
 under the arrangement. A number of her ac 
 quaintances and friends passed and repassed, and 
 it was with a mischievous satisfaction that she 
 noted their covert interest.
 
 276 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " The next time you must play, Mrs. Jewett," 
 lie suggested. " Do you play as well as your daugh 
 ter?" 
 
 " Ask me that, Mr. Hereford," said Laura. " I 
 do wish I could call you Sir William ! It s so 
 graud for us Americans, who don t have Sir 
 Anybodys, you know ; but Mr. Burling says I 
 must n t." 
 
 "No," assented the young man, with the sim 
 ple and rather sad dignity into which he instantly 
 fell upon remembering himself. " Maurice says it 
 makes people stare, so it is best not. That s odd, 
 too. I don t understand it. But you were going 
 to speak of your mother, Miss Jewett." 
 
 "Yes. I was going to say she is a famous 
 golfer." 
 
 " Then you shall play with your daughter next 
 time." He looked at Mrs. Jewett, who smiled in 
 return. 
 
 " I learned the game in your beautiful country," 
 she remarked. " I learned to play in England." 
 
 " Do you think England is beautiful ? " asked 
 the young man. " I never noticed. It is beauti 
 ful here." 
 
 " When you go back it will look to you as never 
 before. You will be filled with joy in the whole 
 land, and your own home, of course, is very lovely." 
 
 " Ardleigh ? " without enthusiasm. " Oh, yes, I 
 believe Ardleigh is a fine old place." He paused, 
 then added, "I am studying now, getting ready 
 to go back. I have lost so much time ! " 
 
 " Talk about people with a past ! " thought
 
 GOLF 277 
 
 Laura embarrassedly, stirring her lemonade with 
 the straws. " They re not to be compared for dis 
 comfort to people without a past. How is one to 
 talk to a man who was born yesterday without 
 reminding him of the fact every minute ? " 
 
 She was relieved by the direct and calm manner 
 ia which her mother replied, 
 
 " We know in Science that nothing can ever be 
 lost. It is never too late for people who know 
 they are living in eternity." 
 
 "Yes, the princess told me that you under 
 stood," said the young man simply. " Miss Jewett 
 does n t understand, does she ? " He turned his 
 dark eyes upon Laura, who grew warm with sur 
 prise. 
 
 " Not yet ; but she will some day," returned 
 Mrs. Jewett. 
 
 " No," still regarding Laura. " It is n t in her 
 eyes. It is in the princess s eyes, and in yours. 
 P.erhaps it will be in mine some day when I have 
 climbed farther up the rugged way." 
 
 "Certainly; especially if you remember to re 
 joice." 
 
 " That is the hardest part now," said the young 
 man frankly. " I used to think the princess liked 
 to be with me as much as I do with her ; but now 
 I understand that it is only her kindness. She 
 knows so much that she would rather talk with 
 Maurice, of course. He knows a lot, does Mau 
 rice." 
 
 " That won t last long," said Mrs. Jewett. " You 
 can learn all she knows of books, and when that is
 
 278 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 accomplished she will care more for your trust in 
 divine Love than for all the learning." 
 
 " But she can t enjoy stupid, ignorant people." 
 
 " Of course not ; and there can t be any in 
 Science." 
 
 The young fellow looked at the speaker eagerly. 
 " There can t be any in Science, can there ? " he 
 repeated. 
 
 " No, indeed. God is Intelligence as well as 
 Love, and you have nothing to fear." 
 
 Billy caught his breath. " But it hurts me to 
 bore the princess ! " he said. 
 
 "Patience," returned Mrs. Jewett, smiling at 
 him. "Patience. You are on the right track. 
 Can one ask or wish for more than that ? " 
 
 He drank in her words with touching absorption. 
 
 " We would be very glad to have you come to 
 see us, Mr. Hereford," said Mrs. Jewett, when later 
 they were parting. " I know you are very busy, 
 but if you find yourself in our neighborhood, drop 
 in." 
 
 " I will," he responded quickly, " If you will 
 let me, I will come." 
 
 " Well, mother ! " exclaimed Laura, as they were 
 driving home. " Such a wonderful thing as the 
 change in that man I have never in my life seen ! 
 If that is Christian Science, then I am wasting 
 time." 
 
 "Oh, Laura!" Tears sprang to Mrs. Jewett s 
 eyes. " If our class baby has brought that about, 
 as well as this wonderful help to Mr. Hereford, 
 what do I not owe her I "
 
 GOLF 279 
 
 <l He is transformed, that is certain. Of course, 
 people might say he is under the spell of the first 
 attractive girl who could ever come near him ; but 
 I know it is more than that. Is n t his simplicity 
 touching ? Why, he has n t his eyes wide enough 
 open yet to know that he is in love with his prin 
 cess." 
 
 " And he is n t. He won t be," said Mrs. Jewett 
 quickly. " Frances will take care of that." 
 
 " Don t be so sure. How about Frances her 
 self ? I can t imagine any more attractive situation 
 than waking up the spiritual part of that handsome 
 young boor as he was when I first saw him." 
 
 " The affection of a mother for her child," said 
 Mrs. Jewett. " Something like that Frances must 
 of course feel for him." 
 
 Laura laughed. " She did n t look the part this 
 afternoon. She is a girl, mother, and he is a 
 lord of high degree or low degree, I don t know 
 which and he worships her." 
 
 " Science attends to all that," replied Mrs. 
 Jewett quietly. " Every working Scientist ought 
 to handle the claim of mortal mind attraction be 
 tween man and woman every day of his or her 
 life." 
 
 " How about love ? I notice they marry." 
 
 " Love is a different thing. When true love 
 comes, it glorifies the day s work." 
 
 " Well, how do you know it has n t come in this 
 case ? " persisted the girl. 
 
 " That is none of my business," said Mrs. Jewett, 
 smiling, " and there is so much that is ! We don t
 
 280 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 want to hurt or confuse our friends by 
 thoughts." 
 
 " Oh, if you re going to be a Sphinx ! " returned 
 Laura, but she reached over and squeezed her 
 mother s hand. " I m going to study it, mother," 
 she said. " I ve been very slow, but I ve come to 
 it. I ve done a lot of thinking the last month. 
 I ve outgrown the attitude of those astute outsiders 
 who think they make such an astonishing conces 
 sion when they announce that they do believe there 
 is something in it. I begin to know that there s 
 something in it a good deal bigger than I am." 
 
 Sanders, with an unwonted amount of time on 
 his hands, had become jaunty in the same ratio 
 that his master had grown humble. 
 
 " I m a valet instead of a nurse now, that s 
 what I ham," he announced to Miss Graves this 
 afternoon while the golf players were away. He 
 had found her sewing on her porch. " There s 
 something doing in our family, Miss Graves, and 
 it s hall along of your niece, bless er good eart." 
 
 " I don t worry as I did about her, Sanders, I 
 must say. She s done what Miss Hereford asked 
 of her, and the young man shows the effect of her 
 help. I don t believe he d hurt a fly ; and he 
 seems kind of sad to me, though my niece won t 
 admit it." 
 
 " Yes ; but I m looking for im to get hover 
 that. From being the laziest young gentleman 
 one could find, the days don t seem long enough ; 
 and hinstead of sleeping when e as a bit of time
 
 GOLF 281 
 
 or the rain won t let them play golf, e goes hoff 
 for long tramps through the country. At first I 
 was for going with im ; but e said I might stop 
 at ome. So I went to Mr. Burling and told im, 
 and e looked sort of startled and then went to 
 hask the princess ; but she just laughed. Let 
 im go, she said, w enever and w erever e likes. 
 What surprised me as much as hanything was 
 that Mr. William was willing to go without the 
 princess." 
 
 " It s a mercy," rejoined the housekeeper curtly. 
 " My niece has an hour to herself now and then in 
 these days." 
 
 " And so do I, Miss Graves ; and it s hall along 
 of the princess and er religion. She will ave it 
 that nobody s done hanything but God halrnighty, 
 and she must know what she s talking about 
 and the fact his, Miss Graves, I stopped to hask 
 if you d kindly get me the princess s book er 
 ymnal. She said, the young lady did, that I might 
 read in it w enever I ad time. I was hever fond 
 of poetry ; and that as the truest in it that hever 
 I eard." 
 
 Miss Graves looked in astonishment at the man 
 a minute before she rose, then going into the house, 
 returned with the hymnal. 
 
 He turned over its leaves and pointed to the 
 second verse of their favorite hymn, " Shepherd, 
 show me how to go." 
 
 " Read there, Miss Graves." 
 
 She took the book and followed as Sanders 
 read,
 
 282 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Thou wilt bind the stubborn will, 
 
 (That s Mr. William.) 
 
 Wound the callous breast, 
 (That was is e was arder than nails.) 
 
 Bid self-righteousness be still, 
 
 (That was me. I thought I was a peach till *er 
 ighness came.) 
 
 Break hearth s stupid rest. 
 
 (That was hall of us, Miss Graves.) " 
 
 Sanders paused, and his companion read to the 
 end of the verse, 
 
 " Pilgrims on a barren shore, 
 
 Lab ring long and lone, 
 We would enter by the door, 
 And Thou know st Thine own." 
 
 " The princess, she s one of is hown," said 
 Sanders. " Miss Ereford, she hentertained an 
 hangel hunawares. I guess I know if hanybody 
 does. I ad sour looks and ot tea thrown at me. 
 I ad kicks and cuffs and hevery few days a grouch ; 
 and I was a havaricious ypocrite, pretending to 
 love Mr. William when I ated im ; and now look 
 at us. This is your niece s doings, and I m going 
 to be the same kind of a Christian she is. She 
 says I can. I suppose you are one halready ? " 
 
 Miss Graves cleared her throat. " I was brought 
 up a Christian, yes, Sanders," she answered, sew 
 ing busily. 
 
 The man was turning over the leaves of the 
 hymnal. " Ere s another," he said. "I ll lay 
 the princess says this verse hevery morning of e* 
 sweet life."
 
 GOLF 283 
 
 He indicated the lines to Miss Graves, who read 
 silently, 
 
 " My prayer, some daily good to do 
 
 To Thine, for Thee, - 
 An offering pure of Love, whereto 
 God leadeth me." 
 
 He went off at last, bearing the hymnal trium 
 phantly under his arm. 
 
 Miss Graves looked after him through her 
 glasses as he receded. Then she rose restlessly and 
 moved to the edge of the porch. Standing there 
 on the step, she worked a few minutes untwisting 
 some matted tendrils of the vine. But her thoughts 
 were not upon what she was doing. At last she 
 ceased, and her absent eyes took note of a stone 
 lying near by. She turned it over with the toe of 
 her shoe. 
 
 " What have you got to say about Frances ? " 
 she inquired. " Nothing ? Well, it s a wonder/
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 MORE LIGHT 
 
 THE weeks went by, and the programme of the 
 days was practically unchanged, except in one 
 particular ; and this was the attitude of the young 
 Sir William Hereford toward his princess. 
 
 The suspicions which Dudley had endeavored 
 to instill into her mistress s mind seemed less 
 and less founded. Maurice Burling continued to 
 attend the little morning service, after which his 
 nephew was left alone for an hour for the treat 
 ment and talk which Frances gave him daily, and 
 under the influence of which a quiet good cheer 
 and courage gradually came to him. Following 
 this came recitations and study ; but unless the 
 party went to the golf links after lunch, that was 
 the last Frances saw of her pupil until the follow 
 ing day ; and when golf was indulged in, as soon 
 as the game was over Billy always, as a matter of 
 course, left Miss Rogers to Burling s escort. 
 
 The social life of the resort was now in full 
 swing, but as the family at Waterview were known 
 to be in mourning, it was easy for them to escape 
 its demands. 
 
 Frances soon discovered that many of the tramps 
 which Sir William took in the afternoons included
 
 MORE LIGHT 285 
 
 an informal visit at Windermere. Sometimes she 
 drove about the country with Maurice Burling, 
 whose watchfulness for her comfort was vigilant. 
 Sometimes she sat for an hour with Miss Hereford, 
 whose love and gratitude toward her grew with the 
 days. The girl s attitude toward life, coupled with 
 the extraordinary transformation she had worked, 
 overcame little by little the English lady s preju 
 dices, until one day Frances met her aunt at their 
 evening dinner with beaming eyes. 
 
 " Miss Hereford has asked me to read to her 
 every day from Science and Health, " she an 
 nounced. " Mr. Burling sent to New York for 
 two copies, one for himself and one for her, and 
 they came to-day. She has asked to come to the 
 lesson to-morrow morning, too." 
 
 " H m. Your cause seems to be booming," re 
 marked Miss Graves. " At the same time, I don t 
 just see how they could hold off, with that boy of 
 theirs clothed and in his right mind." 
 
 " Yet you hold off," said Frances. 
 
 " He is n t my nephew ! " returned Miss Graves, 
 with a sharp look at her niece. 
 
 "It will be such a blessed thing for him, to 
 have them understand a little of Christian Science 
 before they leave America," said the girl mus 
 ingly. 
 
 " I judge he is n t going to rare around and pull 
 down houses and raise Ned when you go way from 
 him now," remarked the housekeeper. 
 
 "No, indeed. He has a different and a safe 
 reliance."
 
 286 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Miss Graves gave an inarticulate ejaculation. 
 " Dudley says he finds it over at Windermere," 
 she ventured. 
 
 Frances looked up inquiringly. " Yes," she re 
 turned. " He finds sympathy there. I told you 
 did n t I ? that Laura Jewett has at last 
 made her mother happy by studying Science seri 
 ously." 
 
 " I ain t a bit surprised," remarked Miss Graves 
 dryly. " She looks smart." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " Why, Sir William Heref ord is n t going to 
 end up in an asylum, after all. Do you suppose 
 she is going to give up the chance of heart to 
 heart talks with him ? Not if that little girl 
 knows herself." 
 
 " Aunt Mira, don t ! " The slender eyebrows 
 drew together. " How wrong your sense is ! " 
 
 " It s real good horse sense, Frances. I Ve 
 lived in this world a while longer than you have. 
 Now, don t look so cut up. It kind of riles me to 
 have that young man take everything he can get 
 from you, then as soon as he s fit to talk to, go 
 off and spend his time with other folks." 
 
 Frances hesitated a moment, and Miss Graves 
 glanced sharply at her deeply flushed cheeks. 
 
 " I m quite certain you would not like it if he 
 did otherwise," returned Frances. 
 
 "No, I should be scared to death," admitted 
 Miss Graves promptly. " He was around here a 
 few minutes yesterday afternoon, as civil and well 
 spoken as anybody, while you were off driving
 
 MORE LIGHT 287 
 
 with Mr. Burling. I m some scared about him." 
 Another sharp look at Frances s downcast eyes. 
 
 " Indeed ? Scared about Mr. Burling ? " 
 
 " Yes. You re only a girl, and as green as any 
 other girl about the ways of earth, for all you 
 know so much about heaven. I m just counting 
 the weeks, Frances Rogers, before I can get you 
 back to Melrose. There s an ocean now between 
 you and these folks, only you can t see it. In the 
 fall you can." 
 
 " Yes ; in the fall I can," returned Frances 
 slowly. "Miss Hereford and I had a business 
 talk this afternoon, Aunt Mira. She told me 
 what she intends paying me for my work here this 
 summer. It is a great deal. It is very hard for 
 me to take it. n 
 
 The girl spoke in detached phrases, as if the 
 fiords came with difficulty. 
 
 " You ve earned every cent of it, I don t care 
 what it is," declared Miss Graves emphatically. 
 
 " Miss Hereford was very, very kind. She met 
 my objections with decided arguments. She had 
 thought it all out, and had it down on paper what 
 the tutoring was worth and what she would have 
 had to pay a physician for the same amount of 
 attention. It will help us, Aunt Mira but it is 
 very hard for me. I have been treated like a 
 guest. They have done so much for me ! " 
 
 Miss Graves saw the furtive touch of the girl s 
 handkerchief to the corner of one of the downcast 
 eyes, and her heart yearned within her at the dis 
 play of weakness in such a quarter.
 
 288 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " But it s good for you, Frances, dear child," 
 she said kindly. " It has been a matter of busi 
 ness from the first, and this action of Miss Here 
 ford s places it right in that light and holds it 
 there. Mr. Hereford is making it evident that he 
 sees it so, and Mr. Burling is only your grateful 
 host, who wants to give you what diversion he 
 can." 
 
 " Of course I understand that ! " returned the 
 girl. 
 
 She and her aunt always had their evenings un 
 disturbed, and Miss Graves appreciated her charm 
 ing companion. Frances talked with her or read 
 to her, sometimes on the subject nearest her heart, 
 and sometimes from one of the latest novels or 
 magazines, with which the house abounded. Miss 
 Graves no longer contended with her niece about 
 her faith, and Frances herself had no means of 
 knowing how much her aunt s mental attitude 
 might have changed toward it until the very even 
 ing following this talk. 
 
 " I Ve got one of my headaches coming on, 
 Frances," said Miss Graves, resignedly. 
 
 " Oh, I m sorry. Can t you give me the orders 
 to-night, so I shall be able to do your work in the 
 morning ? " 
 
 " Yes, I could, but I d rather do my work my 
 self. Do you want to treat me, Frances ? " 
 
 "Indeed, I do!" 
 
 The housekeeper was already pale, and her hand 
 pressed her forehead. 
 
 " Well, if you 11 fix me so s I can get up to-
 
 MORE LIGHT 289 
 
 morrow morning and go on as if nothing had hap 
 pened, I 11 read your book, and I 11 know, if I 
 can t make head nor tail of it, the fault s in me 
 and not in Mrs. Eddy. I don t believe you can, 
 though, child. I m a hard nut." 
 
 " I know I can t," returned the girl 
 
 " What do you want to try for, then ? " asked 
 Miss Graves, disconcerted. 
 
 " Because God can and will, Aunt Mira. Just 
 go to bed now, and be trustful." 
 
 As soon as her aunt had lain down and was 
 safely tucked in, Frances seated herself beside the 
 bed and covered her eyes with her hand. 
 
 " I feel foolish enough to laugh," thought Miss 
 Miranda, looking up covertly at the shadowy fig 
 ure, " but I guess I 11 say my prayers. I ve asked 
 my Father to cure my headaches every night since 
 Frances Rogers came ; and if He does do it for 
 the child s asking, I 11 know there s something 
 wrong with my petitions." 
 
 Miss Graves was of the temperament which 
 sleeps with one eye open. On this occasion the 
 first thing she knew after she closed her eyes upon 
 Frances s still figure and began to say her prayers, 
 was that daylight was shining in at her window. 
 
 "What does this mean?" she thought in be 
 wilderment, sitting up in bed. She looked at her 
 watch. It was half past six. She looked around 
 at her niece. Frances was still sleeping. 
 
 " I have n t done that for twenty years," was her 
 astonished thought, " and what s a good deal more, 
 my head s clear."
 
 290 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 For a few minutes she sat quietly thinking ; then 
 she reached out to the stand near her bed and 
 took her Bible. 
 
 Opening it at random, her eyes fell upon these 
 lines : " Arise, shine, for thy light has come." 
 
 Awe stole over her heart. She let the leaves of 
 the Bible close and looked long at the sunny strip 
 gilding the edges of her window curtain. 
 
 Frances turned and sighed and opened her eyes. 
 " Oh, good-morning, Aunt Mira." 
 
 " That s as true a word as you ever said, child." 
 
 " What ? " 
 
 " It s the best morning I ve known for many 
 a long day. I m going to try to learn how and 
 why. I m going to study your books, Frances ; 
 and I want to ask your pardon for the things I 
 said when you first came here." 
 
 Frances sat up in bed too, and threw her arms 
 around the other s neck. " You will learn so 
 much, Aunt Mira ! You will learn what a small 
 part of it all is the physical healing. We shall 
 be so happy ! " 
 
 Weeks passed away, and the season was draw 
 ing to a close for the young teacher whose duties 
 at home awaited her. She had so long been the 
 pivot upon which the household turned that it was 
 tacitly accepted that when she must leave they 
 would all go. In those last weeks even Dudley 
 softened toward the housekeeper s niece. Her 
 jealousy for the family she adored had been soothed 
 by the fact that Mr. William no longer sought 
 the girl in his leisure moments, and that the
 
 MORE LIGHT 291 
 
 dreaded time had never come when all barriers 
 between the housekeeper s quarters and the family 
 rooms would be broken down. Miss Hereford 
 loved Miss Rogers, to be sure, but the family cer 
 tainly owed her a great deal for Mr. William s 
 improvement, and if they were all taken up with 
 this new-fangled religion of hers, that mattered 
 little. There were only a few weeks left, and then 
 away for old England, and no more America or 
 Americans forever ! 
 
 It was early in August that Maurice Burling 
 sent for Sanders one evening to come to him in his 
 study. As the servant entered the room Burling 
 noted the change in the man s countenance which 
 the summer had made. 
 
 " Well, Sanders," he said, turning around in his 
 chair and facing the other with a smile, " you don t 
 look so down in the mouth as you did three months 
 ago." 
 
 " Thank you, sir. I ve hevery reason for look 
 ing better. If I may say so, Mr. Burling," looking 
 at the debonair countenance before him, " you ave 
 thrown off five to ten years yourself since we came 
 to Waterview." 
 
 " Yes ? Well, that s the way I feel, Sanders. 
 Now I m thinking about home. I dare say you 
 are." 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Have you talked at all with Mr. William about 
 a return to Ardleigh? " 
 
 " No, Mr. Burling. I ve ad no horders, sir, 
 hand e as n t spoke of it."
 
 292 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " That is well." Maurice nodded. " I know it 
 is in his mind. We have referred to it several 
 times. It is time now to engage our passage. I 
 will speak to him. It has been an interesting 
 thing to observe his growing independence of Miss 
 Rogers. Once we could not have made the propo 
 sition to leave her." 
 
 Burling s fine features glowed with deep content. 
 
 " Yes, Mr. Burling, e as a pride now ; but hin 
 my hopinion it does n t mean an hindependence of 
 the princess." 
 
 " You think he will rebel at going back to Eng 
 land ? Oh, no, Sanders. You may not have known, 
 but Mr. William has been growing more generally 
 friendly of late. He attends to business here, but 
 for pleasure he goes to the ladies at Windermere." 
 The speaker s eyes laughed pleasantly into the fixed 
 ones of the servant. 
 
 " Your pardon, Mr. Burling, but I do know ow 
 ho f ten Mr. William goes to Windermere." 
 
 " And Miss Jewett always joins us at golf now. 
 Mr. William, contrary to his old aversion, urges 
 her doing so." 
 
 " I dare say, Mr. Burling. AowAeuer, all that 
 does n t haffect my belief that Mr. William, w ere- 
 hever e is and w athever e s doing, is thinking 
 habout the princess." 
 
 Burling laughed. " Ah, you re romantic, San 
 ders. You wish it to be so." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Burling, once I would ave felt it 
 better for Mr. William not to get well than to 
 make such a match; but now I think that the
 
 MORE LIGHT 293 
 
 greatest blessing that could come to Hardleigh 
 would be hour Hamerican princess; and if she 
 were really the niece of hour queen, I say she 
 could n t be a rarer lady than w at she his ! " 
 
 " Hear, hear ! " said Burling. " Your senti 
 ments do you credit, Sanders, but your judgment 
 about your master has run wild." 
 
 " You think so, Mr. Burling ; but it s little 
 things I go by ; and trust me to know w at s 
 mostly in Mr. William s mind." 
 
 Burling laughed and rose. " What is he doing 
 now ? Studying, I suppose. I 11 go to him for a 
 few minutes. I intend to engage our passage for 
 an early date in September, so you can begin sing 
 ing Home, Sweet Home, Sanders." 
 
 Maurice found his nephew at a desk, surrounded 
 by books, the lights blazing above his head, un 
 dauntedly working in the warmth of the summer 
 evening. 
 
 "Is there any admittance except on business, 
 Billy ? " he asked, pausing at the threshold of the 
 door. 
 
 The young man turned and stretched his arms 
 as he yawned. 
 
 " Yes, come in," he said. " I m about through. 
 The princess gave me such a compliment this 
 morning on my improvement that I ve been work 
 ing double time to-day." 
 
 "What? Neglected Windermere ?" asked Bur 
 ling. " I thought when you left us after golf that 
 you probably went over there to see why Miss 
 Jewett did n t come to play."
 
 294 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " No ; I walked awhile and then came home to 
 dig." 
 
 Burling seated himself. "I came in to-night 
 because it suddenly occurred to me that Aunt 
 Eleanor is very particular about her stateroom, 
 and I would better be writing to the steamship 
 company." 
 
 Sir William ceased yawning and looked at his 
 uncle. 
 
 " Oh. Are you setting a time for going ? " 
 
 "Well, I thought I would consult with you 
 about it. The princess s school opens in Sep 
 tember, and I thought it might be less doleful for 
 us to leave her here than to let her leave us here, 
 eh ? Better be at Ardleigh without her than here 
 without her, eh ? " Burling s eyes shone cheer- 
 fully. 
 
 " Yes. It has to be gone through with," replied 
 Sir William slowly. " We must separate for a 
 while. She says I ought to spend this next winter 
 with a tutor. Of course I must. I see that my 
 self ; then next summer " a change like the sun 
 breaking out upon a cloudy landscape irradiated 
 his face "I shall be more worthy of her." 
 
 A cold fear clutched Maurice Burling s heart. 
 " You set some definite time, then, for seeing 
 the princess again ? " he asked when he could 
 speak. 
 
 His nephew smiled into the steady gray eyes. 
 "There would naturally be a definite time," he 
 said, " or I could n t leave her ; and that time 
 would naturally be the very first possible minute. T
 
 MORE LIGHT 295 
 
 Burling kept silence. The surprise was too 
 sudden and overwhelming to admit of speech. 
 
 "This impression may weaken before another 
 summer," he said at last. " You are going to 
 meet a lot of girls at home, Billy." 
 
 The young fellow smiled with infinite contempt, 
 and said nothing. 
 
 " And you are going to learn many things about 
 your position of which now you don t dream. You 
 have not sought Miss Rogers outside your working 
 hours. I thought you did not care." 
 
 " I was not fit. I had not learned enough ; but 
 the man I will become for her sake, and with 
 Divine Love to help me, will be fit." 
 
 The boy looked very young and very hand 
 some as he made this declaration. His uncle 
 regarded him gravely. " I am your guardian, 
 Billy, and I ask you to remember that you are 
 going home to be the head of a splendid estate. 
 You will be drawn into a circle whose lives and 
 habits will all be new to you. You have a house 
 in London, and you will entertain women bril 
 liant, beautiful women who would scarcely thinU 
 they could converse with an American school 
 teacher. Let me advise you not to commit your 
 self to this young girl, whom we respect and 
 and reverence to such an extent that the idea of 
 disappointing or misleading her would be the most 
 painful thing in the world." 
 
 "Mislead her! Disappoint her!" Sir William, 
 smiled upon his companion pityingly. " Why, 
 Maurice," he added simply, after a pause to choose
 
 296 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 his words, " you don t seem to understand. She is 
 my life." 
 
 Burling s teeth set together for an instant. 
 " And what do you think you are to her, Billy ? 
 Have you asked her that ? " 
 
 " No, not yet. I shall wait till the very last, 
 for then she will know that I have done my best. 
 She is so far above me as yet my princess ! The 
 English ladies not speak to her ! Ah, I shall be 
 always looking for those who may be fit for her to 
 speak to. She says that some people over there 
 understand. And it won t seem so very long, for 
 I shall work so hard ! " 
 
 Suddenly the boy stretched out his hand to his 
 companion. "You ve been awfully good to me, 
 Maurice. I ve given you a lot of trouble ! " he 
 said, with a rare burst of affection. 
 
 His uncle lifted a pale face to him. "That s 
 all right, old man. We must begin now talking 
 over home affairs. I wish you would plan to give 
 me an hour a day until we go. There are a good 
 many things that I would like to explain to you 
 before you get there." 
 
 " Aunt Eleanor says the greenhouses are very 
 fine," said Sir William, smiling absently. " She 
 loves flowers so much. I m glad she can have 
 them all winter all she wants." 
 
 " Yes. Aunt Eleanor has missed a good many 
 things." 
 
 " Oh Aunt Eleanor yes ; but I was think- 
 ing of the princess." 
 
 Burling rose abruptly. " Well, I 11 say good
 
 MORE LIGHT 297 
 
 night, Billy, and to-morrow I 11 write to the steam 
 ship company." 
 
 Had Sanders met him as he slowly left the room, 
 the man would scarcely have repeated his declara* 
 tion that the years had slipped from him.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE LAST DAY 
 
 THE next day was rainy. As Miss Graves and 
 Frances rose from lunch, Maurice Burling appeared 
 on their porch and knocked beside the open door. 
 
 Frances answered the summons and joined him 
 on the piazza. 
 
 " Here is the book of poems I spoke of, Miss 
 Rogers. This rainy afternoon I thought you 
 would have time for it." 
 
 The girl s face fell slightly, but she quickly re 
 covered herself. When Burling had described the 
 book to her on the occasion of their last drive, he 
 had suggested that they read it aloud together. 
 
 "Yes, I shall have time," she answered. 
 " Thank you. I was just mourning the rain, like 
 a naughty child. I find I am really a golfiac." 
 
 Burling nodded and looked off on the drenched 
 grass. 
 
 " Into each life some rain must fall, " he said, 
 " but it does seem an especial pity that the golfer 
 can t escape." 
 
 " It would n t be wet at all under these vines," 
 thought Frances. " Why does n t he suggest read 
 ing here ? " 
 
 " How the robins sing ! " she said aloud. " I
 
 THE LAST DAY 299 
 
 visited in the country once where they called it 
 1 hollering ! I like to hear them holler in their 
 shower bath, don t you ? " 
 
 " Yes. Our robins are brave too. Wait till 
 you see the bright-eyed little fellows warbling away 
 in the snow." 
 
 " Ah ! " a light sigh. " I never expect to see 
 England." 
 
 Burling, whose eyes had been fixed on the lofty 
 branch from which the song was pouring, brought 
 his gaze slowly around to her. 
 
 " Indeed ? " he said, with gentle inquiry. " You 
 never expect to see England ? " 
 
 Frances wished she could repress the flush she 
 felt stealing up over cheek and brow. " School- 
 ma ams do go to Europe sometimes," she replied, 
 with a lift of the eyebrows. " I ought to live in 
 hope." 
 
 " By all means, live in hope," replied Burling, 
 with the ghost of his old quizzical manner. "I 
 have an idea that that will be a demonstration easy 
 for you to make. There will be one latchstring 
 always out for you." 
 
 " Oh, thank you." 
 
 " Don t thank me ; not mine I have n t any 
 Billy s." 
 
 " I suspect that is too grand a latchstring for 
 me ever to pull. Miss Hereford has been showing 
 me photographs of the place. What monarchs of 
 trees ! What velvet turf ! What ivy ! What 
 an attractive, spread-out old mansion ! And Billy 
 will go home with eyes to see it ! " Her own were 
 bright as she ceased.
 
 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Burling nodded. " Yet you cannot pull that 
 latchstring?" He put it as a question, and a sad 
 ness seemed to underlie his voice and manner. 
 
 " All good things are possible," she replied, 
 " even England." 
 
 He nodded. " England is a very good thing," 
 he assented. 
 
 " You don t need to stand up. Won t one of 
 these seats tempt you ? " 
 
 " Yes, very much," he answered, in the same 
 quiet voice. " Treat me against yielding, please, 
 for I am due now to have a talk with Sir William 
 Hereford. I am about to break it to him that he 
 has a rent roll and a stable and a few other things 
 that usually interest a man. Do you think he will 
 care? As yet he is such an Arcadian ! " 
 
 " He will care very much later. I hope and 
 believe Billy will be a good Sir William," said 
 Frances simply. 
 
 " The place needs one," responded Burling. 
 " Well au revoir" 
 
 "Thank you very much for the book," said 
 Frances as he went, but afterward she glanced at 
 the little volume listlessly. 
 
 " I wonder what is the matter with him," she 
 thought. " He seemed to have something on his 
 mind ; besides, if he had n t, I m sure he would 
 not have forgotten that he said we would read this 
 together." 
 
 She gave a little unconscious sigh. * Perhaps it 
 is just as well." 
 
 She looked absently toward the still jubilant
 
 THE LAST DAY 301 
 
 robin. " Only one little month," she said to her 
 self. " How it will fly ! " 
 
 It did fly. Maurice Burling took one more trip 
 to New York and was gone a week, in order, as he 
 said, to do some more cabling. While he was gone, 
 Miss Hereford often took Frances driving with 
 her, and after he returned it somehow happened 
 that the right time never came for the girl-guest to 
 drive with him again alone. 
 
 Daily Billy and his uncle were closeted together, 
 while the latter patiently and clearly explained 
 to the young man the responsibilities that awaited 
 him. 
 
 " Your father spent a great deal of money," he 
 said to him one day. " A few years will be neces 
 sary to put your affairs into a wholesome condi 
 tion again, but if you are not extravagant, all will 
 come right." 
 
 " I won t be extravagant until the princess 
 comes," returned Sir William. 
 
 " And then, certainly not," remarked his uncle, 
 " for she would be against it. She would say, Be 
 honest, would n t she ? " 
 
 " Oh, is it a question of honesty ? " 
 
 " Yes. Let me explain again ; " and he did so, 
 laboriously, kindly. 
 
 " Then I ought not to entertain those beautiful 
 ladies who would n t speak to an American school 
 teacher," said Sir William hopefully. 
 
 "Certainly. You can live well on a modest 
 scale." 
 
 " I ve been thinking a good deal about what you
 
 302 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 said, Maurice, and I ve decided that I can t get 
 on without meeting people." 
 
 " Of course not." 
 
 " So the way I shall do is this : When a new 
 lady talks with me I shall say, I love an American 
 school-teacher. You need n t talk to me unless 
 you would talk to her. 
 
 " Well," Burling smiled, " that would have the 
 merit of novelty, at any rate." 
 
 " Then I shall go on to explain that she is a 
 Christian Scientist and that I am one too, and then 
 everything will be understood and I shall not make 
 any friends that the princess won t like when she 
 gets there." 
 
 Burling shook his head as he smiled. " There 
 is one Science teaching you are going to find very 
 useful in the new life, old man. It is that it is 
 often better and more effectual to declare the truth 
 mentally than to voice it. Don t go home with a 
 chip on your shoulder. Don t antagonize people. 
 What was the first lesson in Christian Science that 
 the princess ever gave you?" 
 
 Sir William nodded. " Yes, I know. I re 
 member : Love is the only power. " 
 
 " That s a very good thing to remember," said 
 Maurice ; " also that that Love is n t self-love, but 
 Love spelled with a large L." He smiled kindly 
 at Billy. " You and I are going out to sea figura 
 tively as well as literally, old chap. Our guiding 
 star will be only a memory. We shall have to 
 try to say to each other what we think she would 
 say to us, and to be worthy of her."
 
 THE LAST DAY 303 
 
 " That s it, Maurice." The young fellow wrung 
 the other s hand. " We 11 try to be worthy of her, 
 and then she will come to us again, and we will be 
 together forever and ever, and life will be worth 
 living. For me the next nine months look hard, 
 but if I m to be a man worthy of such a woman, 
 I must prove myself. I can t help envying you, 
 Maurice, because it is easy for you to leave her." 
 He covered his eyes suddenly, unable to speak 
 further. 
 
 Burling pulled toward him the paper covered 
 with figures upon which they had been working, 
 and absently conned its columns. 
 
 .Relentlessly the summer days flitted, flitted. 
 But one day was left before the family at Water- 
 view were to take the train for their steamer. 
 Each event of that day remained always clear in 
 Frances s memory. First there was the full gath 
 ering of the family, including Miss Graves, at the 
 morning lesson in the pagoda. Next followed a 
 long drive, during which Laura Jewett and Frances 
 occupied the back seat of the carriage and Sir 
 William Hereford and his uncle the front seat, 
 the latter driving, as the heir of Ardleigh had not 
 yet cultivated a taste for horses. 
 
 Laura appeared to the best advantage on this 
 occasion, and Frances felt grateful for her sprightly 
 talkativeness, for she herself was working against 
 an unnamed depression. From this excursion they 
 did not return until lunch-time, when, to Dudley s 
 decided disapproval, the table in the dining-room 
 was spread for a company, and for the first time
 
 304 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 the household at Waterview broke bread together^ 
 with Laura Jewett for the guest. Sanders assisted 
 at waiting ; and if he was assiduous in serving his 
 American princess, he was not less attentive to her 
 aunt, who might have been a duchess with her 
 piled-up black hair, her clear-cut profile, and her 
 silken gown. No duchess, perhaps, would have 
 exercised such a vigilant eye upon the courses as 
 they came in ; but the lunch was faultless, and 
 Miss Graves s black eyes were full of satisfaction 
 before the meal was over. 
 
 Miss Hereford s attention swerved constantly 
 from the business of eating to feast her eyes upon 
 her nephew, quiet and dignified, speaking little, 
 but turning sometimes to his princess, who sat next 
 him, to laugh with her over some sally of Laura s. 
 The girl was the life of a company who needed the 
 light chatter she furnished, for full hearts about 
 that board made expression difficult. 
 
 When luncheon was finished the quartette of 
 golf players drove away to the links ; for kindly 
 Nature seemed in generous mood to have removed 
 the summer heats for this brief farewell season, 
 and had furnished a rain-washed, cooling breeze 
 along with the clear blue vault of heaven. 
 
 The players had continued through the summer 
 to divide as in the first foursome they had played ; 
 but to-day Sir William demurred. 
 
 " This is our last golf," he said. " I think the 
 princess would better play with me to-day." 
 
 Laura s bright eyes noted the color that stole up 
 in Frances s cheeks while her fair head nodded 
 assent.
 
 THE LAST DAY 305 
 
 " Be it so, then," said Burling, " but I m sorry 
 to lose you, Princess," he added, with a smile at 
 Frances. 
 
 " Here, here ! " exclaimed Laura, stamping her 
 foot. " I utterly refuse to be flouted by both of 
 you just because I m not a person of rank ! " 
 
 " Miss Jewett," said Burling gravely, " don t 
 misunderstand my kindness of heart. It pains me 
 in advance to think of the defeat in store for those 
 two kids." 
 
 " Don t you be discouraged, Billy," said Frances. 
 " I somehow think I am going to play well to-day ! " 
 
 " Discouraged ! " he repeated, radiantly scornful. 
 "We 11 show them that we are a great team." 
 
 As a matter of fact, they did win the first game 
 by a series of lucky chances, and though before 
 the afternoon was over they suffered defeat, the 
 glory of that first victory remained bright. 
 
 " Well, you ve had a day of it," said Miss Graves 
 that evening, when her niece came in just in time 
 to dress for dinner. 
 
 " It has been full," replied the girl, with a tired, 
 smiling sigh. 
 
 " Well, hurry, Frances, and change your dress, 
 or the steak will get cold." 
 
 " I mistrust it s kind of hard for her kind of 
 hard," mused the housekeeper when she was alone. 
 " Once we d have welcomed the last day with a 
 flourish of trumpets ; but I declare, everything s 
 turned out so well, I m kind of afraid Frances 
 would just as lief as not this life should go on 
 forever. H m ! If she was any common girl I
 
 306 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 should be some worried some worried ; but 
 Frances obeys Scripture and puts not her faith in 
 princes. Look how she s stood that young sprig 
 kiting off to Windermere all the time. Laura 
 Jewett s a nice girl, though, if her tongue is hung 
 in the middle. I expect his wits are kind of slow 
 and he likes her snap. Frances has n t got a mite 
 of snap. She was real cute and funny, Laura was, 
 at lunch, and her mother s got lots of money, and 
 if they should ever meet Sir William again they 
 could hold up their end. Dear knows, I hope he 
 won t ever come back and try to squeeze into our 
 little corner ! I suppose Frances would n t care if 
 there was just room for two chairs and a Bible and 
 a Science and Health. But she says poverty s 
 just as wrong as sickness. She says poverty re 
 flects on the affluence of God and his ability to 
 provide for his children." Miss Graves smiled 
 at her own thoughts. " Maybe before Sir William 
 gets back we 11 have demonstrated more elbow- 
 room than a seven by nine flat. Who knows? 1 
 ain t saying that anything s impossible. You don t 
 catch me ! " 
 
 When Miss Graves and Frances finally sat down 
 to dinner the former s keen eyes took in certain 
 signs in her niece s face. 
 
 " It has been hard for her," she thought. " I m 
 just as glad as I can be that by noon to-morrow 
 they 11 be gone bag and baggage, nice good folks 
 as they are, and we can begin to stop the princess 
 act and get down to business. She s an awfully 
 young thing to stand it all."
 
 THE LAST DAY 307 
 
 Miss Graves put the tenderest, juiciest bit of 
 tenderloin on a plate and passed it across to 
 the pink-gowned girl opposite, who immediately 
 laughed and passed it back. 
 
 " Our rule," she said warningly. " We re go 
 ing to live together and we re always going to 
 cut the tenderloin in two. That is what I always 
 thought I should do if I ever married. I ve seen 
 wives give their husbands all the tenderloin too 
 much. What are they thinking of ? Is n t it any 
 matter about the husband ? " 
 
 " What a pity, Frances, that you can train only 
 one husband ! " commented Miss Graves dryly, as 
 she took the plate and divided the meat. 
 
 " And perhaps not one," said the girl. 
 
 " I guess t won t be as bad as that. From all 
 I hear, Jim Peabody s just ready to jump at you 
 when you get back." 
 
 " If he does, I shall jump away." 
 
 " Humph ! " Miss Graves began eating her 
 dinner. " I should n t wonder. He don t wear 
 his clothes just the way Mr. Burling does, I sup 
 pose." 
 
 Frances made no answer to this, and the meal 
 progressed rather silently. When it was finished, 
 Miss Graves called the girl s attention to a great 
 golden disk rising behind the distant treetops. 
 " This is n t any indoors night, child," she said. 
 " Let *s have a real luxurious evening on the 
 porch." 
 
 " That is what we 11 do," agreed Frances. She 
 carried at comfortable chairs and cushions, and
 
 308 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 they ensconced themselves, both watching the 
 queen of heaven deliberately, radiantly setting out 
 upon her royal journey. 
 
 " Miss Hereford s just bubbling over with hap 
 piness to-night," said Miss Miranda. " She s got 
 her boy at dinner with her, and to-morrow she sets 
 out with him for the home she loves so much. No 
 wonder that every time I see her now she is delving 
 into the Christian Science book. She says that 
 her nephew told her the other day it made him 
 so happy that she had learned to rejoice. Who 
 would n t rejoice with the blessings that have come 
 to her ? " 
 
 " She has a very childlike, sweet nature," re 
 turned Frances, " and her great gratitude helps on 
 her understanding. She accepts my answers to 
 her puzzles with a patience that is touching. It 
 seems so hard for her to change her thought about 
 some things." 
 
 "Yes, she and I are some sot, as the old woman 
 said ; but we 11 get enough out of it to make us 
 bless the day. I think Science is some like vacci 
 nation, anyway, Frances. Let two people be ex 
 posed to it, and with one it will take and with 
 one it won t. Now I m exposing myself to it with 
 the best will in the world. It does seem to wipe 
 all the dust off the closed Bible and open it up to 
 be the living, active power it was meant to be. I m 
 going on reading, and when we get back I m going 
 to every meeting I can get to ; but don t you be 
 disappointed, Frances, if with me it don t take * 
 completely. I tell you again, I m a hard nut."
 
 THE LAST DAY 309 
 
 Frances smiled at the moon. " If you do all 
 that, Aunt Mira, Science will take care of the rest. 
 It takes out all the hurry to recall what we say so 
 often that we are already living in eternity." 
 
 " It s just as straight as a string, in your head, 
 is n t it ? " said Miss Graves wistfully. " I feel 
 richer every day, Frances, to think that you are 
 my little girl."
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 BY MOONLIGHT 
 
 AFTER dinner that evening Burling and his 
 nephew wandered out upon the broad veranda at 
 the front of the house. Miss Hereford wished to 
 join them, but after sunset she was afraid of the 
 open air. Once she would have announced her 
 reason for remaining indoors ; but now she was 
 ashamed of it, and so contented herself by looking 
 through the windows at the two forms she loved. 
 Burling was stretched in a wicker reclining chair. 
 His nephew was pacing with long strides up and 
 down the piazza. 
 
 " Do you think it too soon for me to go, 
 Maurice ? " he asked at last, pausing suddenly 
 before his uncle s chair." 
 
 " Go where ? " 
 
 " I told you I was not going to speak to the 
 princess until the very last. This is the very last. 
 To-morrow morning everything will be hurried." 
 
 " Ah ! Yes, I ve no doubt they have finished 
 dinner." 
 
 Sir William held out his hand. " Wish me luck, 
 Maurice." 
 
 Burling took it. " My dear boy, I ve never 
 done anything else since you were born."
 
 BY MOONLIGHT 3ll 
 
 " It means almost as much for jou as for me 
 this time, Maurice." 
 
 "Not quite, Billy, not quite; but," solemnly, 
 " as your mother sees us now, I wish you luck ; I 
 wish you yes, old chap I wish you the bless 
 ing of blessings." 
 
 He sank back in his chair, and remained thera 
 motionless in the moonlight until he saw two figures 
 cross the grass slowly toward the pagoda. He 
 watched them, the girl s thin rosy gown trailing 
 its lacy length along the turf, until they disappeared 
 at the entrance to the pavilion ; then he rose with 
 a spring, took two turns up and down the piazza, 
 and went into the house. 
 
 When Sir William reached Miss Graves s porch 
 he smiled with satisfaction at discovering so easily 
 the object of his search. A more sophisticated 
 lover might have feared his lady s seclusion with 
 headache after so full and fatiguing a day ; but 
 not only was this young man unused to connecting 
 a thought of weakness with his princess, but the 
 whole world of women and their vapors and wor 
 ries was a sealed book to him. He had known he 
 should find Frances, but just where or how was 
 not so clear, as their evenings had never been spent 
 together. 
 
 "Isn t it a glorious night?" he asked, ap 
 proaching. 
 
 " About as near perfect as they make em, Mr. 
 William. We ve got another chair here. Won t 
 you sit down ? " Thus Miss Graves in amiable 
 accents, the while she was thinking,
 
 312 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Why could n t he have stayed away this onQ 
 more evening ? It s just the night for a beau, but 
 not this kind. It s dreadful upsetting." 
 
 " I think I won t sit down," replied the visitor, 
 coming up the step. " I want to take the princess 
 away for a little while. Will you forgive me, 
 Miss Graves, if we leave you alone ? " 
 
 " Oh, Billy, I don t feel like walking to-night," 
 said Frances. " What miles we traveled this 
 afternoon ! Won t you sit down ? " 
 
 " Yes ; but in the pagoda. It is beautiful in the 
 pagoda now, for the water is alive with silvery 
 scales, as though schools of goldfish were sporting. 
 You can come that far, can t you, Princess ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed. I will come. Excuse me a 
 minute." 
 
 The girl rose and disappeared into the house. 
 Sir William, for greater convenience in talking to 
 the housekeeper, instantly dropped into the seat 
 she had vacated. 
 
 " Miss Graves, my heart is aching to-night," he 
 began abruptly, " because I must leave her." 
 
 The housekeeper suddenly sat up very straight. 
 
 " You will take great care of her while I am 
 gone ? " 
 
 " I calculate to always take care of my niece, 
 Mr. William." 
 
 " You won t have to always," he said, " only 
 until I am more worthy. She loves you very much, 
 and so I shall, too. You will always be welcome 
 at Ardleigh. Remember, because I would n t be 
 cruel to you and not let you see her."
 
 BY MOONLIGHT 313 
 
 He ceased, for Frances emerged from the door. 
 
 " Every bit of the starch went out of my knees 
 and elbows," said Miss Graves afterward, when in 
 time long yet to come she and her niece talked of 
 this evening. " I did n t know whether to speak 
 or whether to be dumb ; and when I m in doubt 
 on that score, I generally hold my tongue." 
 
 She certainly did on this occasion. She sat 
 limply and watched the young couple move away 
 in the moonlight, and tried to recover the wits which 
 Sir William s low-spoken words had scattered. 
 
 " Does Frances know this, or is it my duty to 
 call after her that there s a volcano going to blow 
 up in that pagoda ? Oh, law ! Will to-morrow 
 noon ever get here ? But then, there s nothing 
 half so sweet in life as love s young dream, and if 
 it s a romance, I must say they both look it ; and 
 she d be Lady Hereford and maybe it s just 
 what she s wishing for, and what made her look 
 so tired around her eyes at dinner. You know 
 well enough, Miranda Graves, you ve been half out 
 of your wits sometimes for fear she would fall in 
 love with him, and he philandering off with another 
 girl. She s just about made him, and I ve read 
 stories about statues falling in love with their 
 sculptor, and things like that, and this wouldn t 
 be half so crazy, and she 11 be a grand titled lady, 
 and Jim Peabody Law ! take a back seat, Jim ! " 
 Sudden tears blinded her eyes. " We 11 go back 
 and sit down together, Jim. I could n t even be 
 her housekeeper over there, and you why, you 
 would n t, so to say, do for her footman."
 
 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Arrived at the pagoda, Frances s escort seated 
 her in the hammock, with pillows at her back, and 
 took a chair close by. There were the schools of 
 sporting goldfish in the Sound and a faint summer 
 breeze stirring in the treetops. The silence was 
 unbroken imtil finally Sir William spoke. 
 
 " I don t like to think of strangers in our pagoda, 
 Princess." 
 
 " There will be none until another year," she 
 answered. 
 
 " There have been many beautiful evenings this 
 summer when I might have been out here with 
 you. I have so often wished it. Sometimes I 
 have thrown the books together and risen to find 
 you ; but I always said to myself : Shall I make 
 her talk to an ignorant fellow ? So I closed my 
 teeth and went at the arithmetic again and the 
 history the things known to schoolboys half my 
 age." 
 
 " It showed strength of character in you, Billy. 
 I admire it." 
 
 " In the afternoons I have gone oftener than you 
 think to the Jewetts . I asked them not to tell 
 you about it, but I want you to know now. I have 
 gone there because they were kind enough to help 
 me with the affairs of the day all over the world. 
 The magazines, the papers that inform one, 
 Miss Jewett had so many. She is very bright, 
 and she seemed to like to read with me and talk 
 things over so I should not be so ignorant. And 
 she understands now. She reads the book, and her 
 mother often talked to us both about Divine Love,
 
 BY MOONLIGHT 315 
 
 and helped us to realize what were the most im 
 portant things to know. I was very happy at the 
 Jewetts , for they love you and understood how I 
 wanted to be fit to be with you." 
 
 " That was good," said Frances, beginning to be 
 vaguely uneasy. Surely he realized that this was 
 the last of their being together. " When you go 
 home you will find Scientists, and wherever you 
 find them they will be like brothers and sisters to 
 you, for their faith is always the same and will 
 make you always feel at home. I shall think of 
 you every morning and every evening, Billy, and 
 you know that space cannot divide thought." 
 
 " That is the best thing to help the long winter 
 to pass," he replied, " and we shall be reading the 
 same lesson every morning. Let us do it at the 
 same hour." 
 
 " We will ; and when you waken every morning, 
 say over the Ninety-first Psalm. It will give you 
 a good start for the day s work." 
 
 " Do you do that, Princess ? " 
 
 Yes." 
 
 " Then I will." 
 
 Sir William slipped his hand into his pocket 
 and took out two velvet boxes. " Here, Princess, 
 are two remembering rings." 
 
 He opened one of the boxes, and there flashed in 
 the moonlight a diamond embedded in a gold band 
 of the same width. Setting it aside, he opened the 
 other. It was a hoop of sapphires. 
 
 He smiled at her. " You have n t the blue gown 
 on, I m sorry you put on Maurice s gown instead 
 of mine."
 
 316 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Frances started, and her eyes dilated at sight of 
 the rings. " Why do you call it Maurice s ? " 
 
 * I asked him once why you ever wore anything 
 but the blue dress, and he said he liked the pink 
 better." 
 
 Frances s glance lingered a moment on the rose 
 and white stripes, and then flew back to the open 
 ring boxes. " What have you done, Billy ? " she 
 asked. 
 
 " I made you take off one ring I gave you. 
 Now I give you one that you must wear forever." 
 
 ""It is far too handsome for me," she said, draw 
 ing back as he tried to take her hand. 
 
 " Princess, as if anything could be too handsome 
 for you ! They are only very shining little blue 
 stones. The other is for me, and you are to put 
 it on for me. We will say again what you taught 
 me then, and what I have found so true, Love 
 is the only Power. " 
 
 " I don t think it would be right for me to take 
 that beautiful ring from you, Billy." 
 
 " But I don t want it," he answered simply. 
 " It is too small for me. Besides, everything that 
 I have will always be yours." 
 
 " No, no ! Don t say that ! You will be born 
 into a great world when you go home. You have 
 no idea what charming and delightful people you 
 are going to meet. You will think of me as a dear 
 friend always. As yet you scarcely know any one 
 but me." 
 
 " That is what Maurice says, and it is very stu 
 pid," replied Sir William gently. " I call you
 
 BY MOONLIGHT 317 
 
 Princess now, but when I am far away and cannot 
 see you, it will be Queen. Maurice told me some 
 thing very pretty when we were talking about 
 your pink gown. It was poetry something about 
 your looking like the 
 
 Queen rose of the rosebud garden of girls. 
 Oh, my queen, my princess, how can I face nine 
 months nine months ! " He took her hand and 
 bowed his forehead upon it. It was only for an 
 instant. 
 
 " I won t be a coward," he said suddenly, sitting 
 up. " What a small part of eternity is nine 
 months ! I prefer it. I wish to do it ; and I will 
 make myself such that you need never be ashamed 
 of me. When I come back to get you I shall not 
 need to apologize for myself." 
 
 " To get me ! " Frances echoed the words faintly, 
 still only half believing that she understood his 
 meaning. 
 
 " Yes ; to carry you to Ardleigh your home 
 and mine." 
 
 " Billy, you don t mean you can t mean 
 that you wish to marry me ! " 
 
 " Why, Princess, have I ever had another thought 
 since I had any thoughts at all ? " 
 
 She waited an instant, and her heart fluttered 
 anxiously. 
 
 " I never once have thought of it, Billy," she 
 said very gently. 
 
 " That is strange ; but you will think of it now." 
 
 She made no effort to take away the hand he 
 held. Even her ringers closed upon his as she spoke.
 
 318 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " We must do in this just as in every other 
 problem. We have come to a hard place on the 
 hillside again ; but the Shepherd will show us how 
 to go if we listen for his voice." 
 
 "But don t you love me, Princess? " asked the 
 young fellow, with acute surprise. 
 
 " Indeed I do, Billy, but not in the way to wish 
 to marry you." 
 
 He looked at her during a long silence. " There 
 is a lot of your life that I don t know about," he 
 said at last. " Is there any one you do love in 
 that way?" 
 
 She blushed like a rose. " You must n t ask 
 me that, Billy," she returned hastily, " for I have 
 never asked myself." 
 
 " Love me, Princess ! " he burst forth. " I am 
 working for you I am waiting for you. I need 
 you more than any one else does." 
 
 " Billy," she began again gently, " I could pro 
 mise you that I shall never marry any one, only 
 that such a promise would be wrong and foolish. 
 I am confident that I shall not. Your welfare, 
 your success, is of tremendous importance to me. 
 I hold myself at your service. You can count 
 upon me. You know we both want the same thing, 
 to listen for the Shepherd s voice, and to follow 
 and rejoice all the rugged way." 
 
 " You may miss me more than you think when 
 I m gone," said Sir William brokenly. 
 
 " I shall miss you sadly." 
 
 " And if the Shepherd leads you to love me 
 more, then I may come to you ? "
 
 BY MOONLIGHT 319 
 
 "Yes, Billy. We will both listen and both 
 follow, and we shall write to each other, and have 
 so much pleasure in our friendship." 
 
 " Then it won t be of any use for me to study 
 any more, will it ? " he said simply. 
 
 " Oh, it will ! " she replied earnestly. " All 
 your friends " 
 
 " I don t care for them." 
 
 " How about Sir William Hereford ? Have you 
 no pride in him no respect for him ? " 
 
 " Maurice says I know a good deal more of 
 books now than many of my fox-hunting ances 
 tors." 
 
 " Ah, but you don t belong to that day and gen 
 eration. You are my friend. I wish to be proud 
 of you from all standpoints." 
 
 " I suppose I should be rather a cad to give up." 
 
 " I know you 11 go on, Billy. You know too 
 much of divine Science to sink back and be selfish 
 and despondent, even if all things in life do not 
 go to your liking. Divine Love will surely meet 
 every need that you have. If it is really a need 
 of me, I shall be forthcoming ; but we by no 
 means can always tell what our real needs are, and 
 we can always look to Him to teach us." 
 
 Sir William drew a long sigh. " I must love 
 you enough now to leave you and not make you 
 any more trouble I see it ; but if I d known you 
 felt like this I should n t have stayed at the Jew- 
 etts so much when I might have been with you." 
 His dejected eyes fell to the ring. " I think you 
 need that to remember me by now."
 
 320 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " No, indeed, Billy. Nothing will ever make 
 me forget you for a single day." 
 
 Her tone brought a bright look to his face. "I 
 shall come to you next summer," he said. 
 
 " Very well ; I shall always be glad to see you." 
 
 " And you may change your mind. Meanwhile 
 I am your best friend, as you are mine, and 
 whenever you look at this ring you will think of 
 me and of the blue summer days we have spent 
 together here in the pagoda." He slipped the ring 
 on the third finger of the hand he held. " Do not 
 take it off until I have gone. Now put on mine 
 and give me a good wish, Princess." 
 
 " May it be a silent one ? " 
 
 " Yes, if you like, my dearest." 
 
 She put on the ring, that flashed in the moon 
 light. 
 
 " When that wish of mine comes true, Billy," 
 she said, smiling into his wistful eyes, " we shall 
 both be very happy." 
 
 " That is what I want, my Princess," he an 
 swered. 
 
 As soon as Frances came in to go to bed that 
 night, her aunt s searching eyes at once found the 
 splendid ring she wore. 
 
 " Oh, child ! " she said, suddenly sitting down. 
 " You ve done it, then ! Just give me a minute, 
 Frances. I ve been holding my breath for the 
 last hour." 
 
 " This ring is only a parting friendly gift. Yon 
 need n t be excited, Aunt Mira."
 
 BY MOONLIGHT 321 
 
 " He told me he was going to ask you. If you 
 don t want I should talk about it, though, I won t." 
 
 " He did ask me ; but what does he know yet of 
 life or people ? " 
 
 " You said no ! " ejaculated Miss Graves, over 
 whelmed. 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " Well, Frances Rogers, you re a cool one. I 
 surmised you wanted him, child." 
 
 " You surmised wrong." 
 
 " What you have given up, Frances Rogers ! " 
 
 The girl turned heavy eyes upon her gazing 
 companion. " Forgive me for being awfully tired 
 to-night, Aunt Mira. I can t talk." 
 
 " And you shan t, little girl. You shan t be hec 
 tored," responded Miss Miranda with quick sym 
 pathy. She rose and began to undress, and no 
 further word passed between them save a good 
 night. 
 
 But Miss Graves could not sleep. Long after 
 her bedfellow was still she lay thinking of her. To 
 be young and pretty and receive proposals from 
 English lords in the moonlight, to refuse them 
 but to accept shining sapphires in friendship, and 
 then walk off to teach urchins in a public school 
 all this seemed quite exciting and perplexing to 
 Miss Miranda. She had gained her niece, but she 
 had lost telling Lucy Smith and Mrs. Peabody 
 about Ardleigh a pastime which in anticipation 
 had made the last hour fly swiftly. 
 
 At last, when her thoughts had long run riot, to 
 her surprise and consternation a heavy sob broke
 
 322 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 from her quiet bedfellow beside her. Miss Graves 
 could feel the blood rush to her own face. Was 
 it possible that Frances was awake and crying? 
 Would it be best to take any notice? The sobs came 
 oftener, became uncontrollable. " Oh, Frances ! " 
 she said at last timidly. 
 
 The girl turned over toward her and threw an 
 arm around her aunt. Miss Miranda could feel 
 the cold stones of the ring against her cheek. 
 
 " Yes, I m cry-crying. B-Billy is so de-dear. I 
 wi-wish it could have been B-Billy ! " 
 
 Miss Graves patted the hand with a soothing 
 rhythm. 
 
 " I wonder if all girls are just so ? " she re 
 flected. " Seems s if I was n t, I would n t have 
 that widower that asked me, of course. I did n t 
 like him ; but, pity s sake ! if a creature like Sir 
 William had made love to me, I believe I d have 
 been too dazzled to say no. I guess most girls 
 would. They d have taken him with what brains 
 he had and prayed the Lord to give him more." 
 
 " Maybe t will be him some day, dear," she said 
 comfortingly. " Don t you think he s going to 
 make a real smart man, after all ? " 
 
 " Y-yes," Frances did. 
 
 " Then it will all come right, and after a while 
 he 11 ask you again, and you 11 answer him differ 
 ent/ 
 
 " No, never never ! " was all Miss Graves 
 could gather from the incoherent statements sobbed 
 into her ear. 
 
 " What does she want to hold her hot potato
 
 BY MOONLIGHT 323 
 
 squeal for ? " thought Miss Miranda. " Why 
 can t she leave him if she s bound she won t 
 take him ? I don t ever remember of being that 
 way." 
 
 But she continued her rhythmical patting, and 
 at last Fr*jftces fell asleep.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 BON VOYAGE 
 
 " Do I look very very sorry ? " asked 
 Frances the next morning, standing before her 
 aunt for inspection, with a rather doleful little 
 smile. 
 
 She had resisted the alluring freshness of a pink 
 and white shirtwaist which lay in her drawer, and 
 donned the favorite blue gown, whose rumpled 
 condition had made her discard it the evening be 
 fore. 
 
 " No, dear. When folks are twenty they can 
 cry all night and only look the fresher, like an 
 April day." 
 
 " You re very comforting." 
 
 Frances dreaded the morning s ordeal more than 
 words could express. How was she to be uncon 
 scious with Billy s sapphires gleaming on her fin 
 ger? Yet how could she deal him an unnecessary 
 blow by taking the ring off ? 
 
 One reflection consoled her. Sir William s 
 countenance would contradict the seeming fact 
 conveyed by his gift. Vain expectation ! The 
 usual quiet dignity of the young man s behavior 
 proved unaltered this morning. If he looked a 
 little pale, that was natural under the circum-
 
 BON VOYAGE 325 
 
 stances, and the minute Frances came in sight such 
 a look of dumb affection waked in his eyes that 
 she blushed from very dread of doing so. 
 
 The travelers were all on the broad piazza to 
 gether, dressed and equipped for the start. Mau 
 rice Burling was giving some additional directions 
 to the coachman as to the disposition of the con 
 tents of the stable. 
 
 Sir William was standing beside Frances, his 
 teeth set and his face pale, when Sanders ap 
 proached her. 
 
 " Your ighness," he said, low and respectfully, 
 " when I hopened the package you sent me yester 
 day the moment was one of the appiest of my 
 life." He paused, obliged to wink back tears, for 
 which his master loved him. " To think you 
 should give me your own Science and Ealth and 
 your book of songs the very ones I ve seen in 
 your ands hall summer ! They 11 make " he 
 gulped " they 11 make a good man of me or 
 hever you come to Hardleigh. Good-by, your 
 ighness." 
 
 " Good-by, Sanders." Her blush faded as she 
 listened, and saw the tender-hearted fellow eye her 
 ring. 
 
 But the color rose again as Miss Hereford, ad 
 vancing, looked at the jewels on the hand she 
 took. She led Frances to the piazza rail. 
 
 " My child," said the little lady, regarding the 
 girl with loving eyes, " there is so much more in 
 my heart for you than I can ever put into words I 
 You must know all I would say. I am old to
 
 326 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 change my thought, Frances, and very slow , but 
 I believe that to acquaint one s self with your God 
 is to be at peace, and I am trying. He only knows 
 when we shall meet again ; but you will write to 
 me, dear. We have grown too near together ever 
 to be really parted ; and when the time is ripe for 
 you to come to Ardleigh, remember how wide its 
 gates will swing to usher in the most welcome 
 guest who ever came to us ! " 
 
 Frances bowed her head to receive the kiss fol 
 lowing this, and then Burling, hat in hand, ap 
 proached with business-like haste. 
 
 " How tired he looks ! " was the girl s quick 
 thought, surprised by the weary lines about the 
 eyes that smiled at her. 
 
 " Time, tide, and Long Island trains wait for no 
 man," he declared. 
 
 " If only Miss Hereford would go away ! " 
 thought Frances, a little pulse beating in her 
 throat. " No, he did n t buy this ring for Billy. 
 He never saw it before." 
 
 " Time certainly does n t wait on Long Island," 
 she answered. " The summer has sped." 
 
 " I m glad you can say so. It seems rather 
 trite for Aunt Eleanor and me to give you any 
 more verbal thanks, Miss Rogers. I dare say she 
 has been trying to," a kind glance down at Miss 
 Hereford, " but I assure you, actions shall speak 
 louder than words when you come to us." 
 
 " It s the last time I shall hear his voice, the 
 last time," she was saying to herself repeatedly, 
 while she made some response. Then she gave her
 
 BON VOYAGE 327 
 
 cold hand to his offered one, and he turned back to 
 the carriages. 
 
 Now Miss Hereford also moved away, for her 
 nephew approached, pale, misty eyed. 
 
 " We re going, Princess," he said hoarsely, 
 taking the hand Maurice had just relinquished. 
 "Your little hand is cold, Princess, Princess," he 
 added tenderly. " It is n t quite easy for you, is it, 
 dear ? I feel as if something was breaking inside 
 me. Yes, yes, Maurice, I m coming. Oh, good- 
 by, darling ! " He stooped and kissed her im 
 petuously, and the big drops rained from his eyes. 
 
 A minute more, and the carriages whirled down 
 the driveway. 
 
 " Wave, wave, Frances ! " exhorted Miss Graves- 
 " They re waving." 
 
 " Who ? " inquired the girl, keeping her posi 
 tion behind a pillar. 
 
 " Oh, all of them. Some of them, anyway. 
 Miss Hereford is. I 11 wave for you." She 
 snatched Frances s much-squeezed and rumpled 
 handkerchief and kept both fluttering until the 
 carriages had turned the corner and disappeared. 
 
 " Well ! " exclaimed Miss Miranda with a long 
 breath. " That chapter s ended." She seated her 
 self in one of the wicker chairs and fanned herself. 
 " I m afraid you missed seeing Dudley s face 
 when she clapped eyes on your ring, Frances. It 
 was as good as a play. I don t think she 11 quite 
 sense things till she gets on board the steamer." 
 
 The housekeeper s keen eyes remained fixed on 
 the blue figure drooping by the pillar.
 
 328 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Now, don t you take it to heart cause that 
 nice boy kissed you. T was a mercy and a won 
 der that was the worst explosion we had. I wish 
 he d wanted to kiss me. I could have hugged 
 him well the poor big child! Now, Frances, 
 now!" 
 
 She placed the girl s poor little handkerchief 
 back in her hand. 
 
 "Just a minute, Aunt Mira. Just a minute. 
 It s all wrong and untrue and unreal every 
 feeling that I m having ! " 
 
 " Yes, dear, but you d be a statue instead of a 
 girl if you were n t sort of rattled and broken up," 
 responded Miss Miranda gently. " Now they ve 
 gone, and they can t hang on to you any longer, 
 and we have n t one sprig of royalty in the family. 
 We re just plain folks, a school-teacher and her 
 maiden aunt. We re going to shut up this house 
 good and proper, and we re going to say good- 
 by to the Jewetts " 
 
 " A long good-by," put in Frances. " Laura 
 told me yesterday that her mother has decided to 
 take her to Italy for the winter." 
 
 " All right, Frances, all right. Can t scare us," 
 responded Miss Miranda brightly, though inwardly 
 she regretted this loss from her niece s life. " We 11 
 say good-by to the Jewetts, set sail for Melrose, 
 and while you re seeing about your school busi 
 ness I 11 find us a flat and fix it up. My, does n t 
 it seem a long time ago that you first suggested 
 it, and said we d go off and be a family ! Well, 
 well " the speaker s eyes rested on the splendid
 
 BON VOYAGE 329 
 
 jewels glowing velvety blue on her niece s hand 
 " that is a superb ring, Frances Rogers." 
 
 " I can t bear it ! " exclaimed the girl, pulling 
 it off with a sudden motion. " Poor Billy ! " she 
 added brokenly, and slipped it back again. 
 
 " Aunt Mira, I seem to be all mortal mind this 
 morning. I must work. Give me an hour, and 
 I will be ready for anything. I must help Billy 
 and I must help myself. Then we will put this 
 business through quickly. I want to get away 
 from here. I grudge every minute now that keeps 
 us from home." 
 
 "I, too, Frances. The grass shan t grow under 
 our feet, you d better believe." 
 
 It did not, indeed, and one day soon afterward 
 aunt and niece took the same morning train which 
 had borne away the English family. 
 
 " I don t know about you," said Miss Graves v 
 when their bags were in the rack and themselves 
 ensconced in their seats, " but I ve got a claim of 
 fatigue in my step-things. If I did n t know better, 
 I should say the calves of my legs had a cramp 
 apiece." 
 
 Frances laughed. " I have a claim of fatigue, 
 too ; but I know that with me it comes more from 
 a worry than from the running around I ve done." 
 
 " What s your worry, little one ? Kind of 
 afraid of your new scholars ? " 
 
 " No, it is n t that. You remember the day I 
 told you of my business conference with Miss 
 Hereford, and that she had induced me to accept 
 more money than I thought fair ? "
 
 330 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Well, the very day after that Mr. Bur-ling s 
 manner to me changed." 
 
 " Oh, pshaw, child ! " 
 
 " Yes, it did. The thought gnaws at me all 
 the time that he thinks I have been mercenary." 
 
 " Well, supposing the great Mogul did think so 
 what then ? " 
 
 " It would take out all my pleasure in it. It 
 does." 
 
 " Oh, pshaw ! That s what it is to be twenty 
 instead of fifty ! That would never worry me a 
 cent s worth ; but I 11 tell you I m sure you re 
 mistaken. I m as sure as I sit here that they d 
 have given you Ardleigh itself for what you did 
 for them." 
 
 Frances sighed unconsciously and looked out on 
 the flying landscape. 
 
 " Well, well," said Miss Miranda in a different 
 tone, " it s a good thing you mentioned Mr. Bur 
 ling, too. He gave me something for you. I d 
 clean forgotten it." 
 
 "What was it? What?" 
 
 " T was a letter. I was n t to give it to you 
 until he sailed ; and by the time he sailed we were 
 up to our ears cleaning house. Now, where did I 
 put that letter ? " musingly. 
 
 " Aunt Mira ! It s in your bag, of course." 
 The girl rose and with a hand that shook reached 
 for the bag. 
 
 " I m sure I hope so. If I d only thought, I 
 might have given it to you days ago just as well
 
 BON VOYAGE 331 
 
 as not, H m, h m," pulling over the contents 
 of the tmg, " I hope I did n t leave it in my top 
 drawer/ 
 
 " Aunt Mira ! " 
 
 " No, sir," reflectively ; "I remember thinking 
 that this bag was going with me and I d better 
 put it here so s to be sure not to forget. Do 
 keep your hands away, Frances, while I look. A 
 body would think you had the St. Vitus dance. 
 If I had put it in my top drawer I d have come 
 across it in packing, and t would have been better 
 after all, for now it seems just as if I must have 
 pushed it out somehow when I put the things in." 
 
 " This outside pocket you have n t looked 
 there ! " 
 
 " That s so and, well, here t is at last ! " 
 
 Frances caught the thick envelope from her 
 aunt s slow hand. " You don t suppose he has 
 written about the money ? " she asked, her voice 
 unsteady. 
 
 " Why, do quiet down, child ! You ve thought 
 about that till you re morbid." 
 
 Miss Graves leaned back and watched her com 
 panion as she broke the seal and unfolded the 
 sheets of paper. The eager young eyes traveled 
 down the page. She had not finished one when 
 hands and paper dropped into her lap, and she 
 grew so pale that Miss Graves started. 
 
 "Well, what s the man at?" inquired Miss 
 Miranda sharply. " It s a mighty good thing for 
 him he has sailed if " here her niece turned 
 slowly around toward her with a smile.
 
 332 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " That smile," declared Miss Graves later, " I 
 shall never forget. It was n t meant for me, and 
 I knew then it was n t. Her eyes were looking at 
 something miles beyond the back of my head. I 
 asked again what was going on, and she never 
 said a word, but went back to her letter." 
 
 Miss Miranda continued to watch the face, rosy 
 enough now, as Frances read page after page. 
 Her curiosity grew with the minutes. 
 
 " It s the history of his life, I guess, by the 
 length," she remarked. 
 
 No answer. 
 
 When the girl had finished the last word, the 
 sheets gently dropped to her lap, and she turned 
 her eyes toward the window. 
 
 " Kind of warm in the car, don t you think," 
 ventured Miss Graves. 
 
 No answer. 
 
 " It s a wonder to me they don t open more 
 ventilators." 
 
 For reply Frances took up the letter and com 
 menced again at the beginning. 
 
 " Well," thought Miss Miranda, " evidently 
 three s a crowd. I m dog-tired. I guess I 11 go 
 to sleep." 
 
 She slipped down in the seat, put a small shawl 
 at the back of her neck, and was soon unconscious. 
 
 Frances read on. She did not cease until she 
 had read the letter through three times. Then she 
 looked at Miss Graves. Her mouth was open, and 
 a delicate snore rose and fell in rhythm. " Poor 
 Aunt Mira ! " thought the girl, with a rush of com-
 
 BON VOYAGE 333 
 
 passion. Then she loosened the high collar and 
 cravat of her blouse, and unfastened from her neck 
 a long, slender gold chain which she had worn from 
 childhood. Removing her glove, she took off the 
 sapphire ring, and, slipping it upon the chain, 
 clasped the latter about her neck again and fastened 
 her blouse over it. Then, leaning her elbow on the 
 window sill, she covered her eyes with her hand, 
 and withdrew, to gaze with bounding pulses upon 
 the new earth blossoming to her mental vision. 
 This was the letter : 
 
 You have just crossed the grass to the pagoda with 
 Billy. Quickly, before you can say " Yes " to him 
 before you belong to any one I am going to tell 
 you that I love you, Frances. I love you ! I love 
 you ! I cannot write it often enough ! I could 
 not say it often enough had I gained the sweet 
 opportunity. This is the first love letter of my 
 life, and I would crowd into it all the fullness of a 
 heart that loves but once. When I was a boy like 
 Billy, I cared for a girl as he cares for you. She 
 died my little sweetheart before ever I had 
 reason to write to her ; and now I know what that 
 flame was compared to this which I offer, glowing 
 and holy, at your altar. 
 
 Yet youth seeks youth, and you will perhaps 
 better understand Billy s fervor than you would 
 mine. You are his princess. To me you are like 
 the arbutus of your own New England woods, 
 brave, hardy, pure, fragrant, winning your way 
 against and through obstacles by force of very
 
 334 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 gentleness. That day when I returned from New 
 York and you came out to me in the pink and 
 white gown, I knew that I loved my arbutus flower 
 forever and forever. I believed I might succeed, 
 too, in winning her. There were times when we 
 were alone that that more than self-possession in 
 your sweet eyes seemed to falter and stir me to 
 adoring hope. For a few weeks I lived in para 
 dise. Then came the fruit of the tree of knowledge. 
 Billy frankly told me his love. With every word 
 that fell from his lips he asked me to lay down my 
 life. 
 
 So that is why I sit here in my study with your 
 sweet face printed on my heart, while you are per 
 haps at this very moment giving yours in the pa 
 goda. I believe you will not regret it. The boy 
 will make a fine man, and you will be a lady who 
 will shine when your time comes to adorn that long 
 line of Lady Herefords in the portrait gallery at 
 Ardleigh. The Hereford diamonds will become 
 you ; but when I see you in that dazzling array I 
 shall think of the pink gown that once clothed my 
 arbutus flower ; and that day when I meet Lady 
 Hereford will be long hence, for I must be changed 
 before I can look upon you again. 
 
 I have made the crowning sacrifice for Billy s 
 life and reason, and I shall know your approval. 
 You have pointed me a way that I shall go ; and 
 I ask you not to write me or attempt in your good 
 ness to answer this. No word of yours now can 
 be to me what my memories are ; so good-night, 
 my darling. Blessing came with you ; may bless-
 
 BON VOYAGE 335 
 
 ing go with you wherever your dainty feet tread. 
 Billy s book of life is unsullied. You can write 
 upon it whatever you will. There are many stained 
 pages in mine, but, my beloved one, there shall 
 never be another ; there can never be another 
 for I have known you, and in my heart a purifying 
 incense will rise forever : it is the fragrance of the 
 arbutus flower.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 FRANCES S CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 Miss GRAVES had a good nap. They were only 
 a half hour out from Long Island City when she 
 awoke sufficiently to remain awake. 
 
 " Well, I must have dropped off," she remarked, 
 struggling slowly to an upright posture. " Have I 
 slept long ? " 
 
 " Yes no I really don t know," replied her 
 niece. " Let me look at my watch. Why, yes, 
 we have only a little while." 
 
 " How are things ? " went on Miss Miranda, 
 straightening her bonnet. " Has the world kind 
 of settled down again ? " 
 
 "It is still whirling, I suppose," returned the 
 girl, with a little laugh. 
 
 " H m ! I see you re chirked up, my dear. 
 What s the news ? You seemed to be learning 
 your letter by heart last time I looked at you. 
 Let s hear if you ve got it perfect." 
 
 " It was a a confidential letter, Aunt Mira. 
 He wanted to tell me a a circumstance of his 
 life." 
 
 " Circumstance ! I thought it was the whole 
 story. I m sorry," glancing at the fresh face 
 curiously, " that you have to blush so for him."
 
 FRANCES S CORRESPONDENCE 337 
 
 " Some time some time I can tell you, Aunt 
 Mira." 
 
 " You can, eh ? " said Miss Graves a little un 
 easily. " I hope it is n t that kind of a circum 
 stance that s going to affect our flat." 
 
 " No no, indeed," the girl hastened to assure 
 her. 
 
 " Don t look so happy you scare a person out of 
 her wits, then, or you 11 make me wish I had left 
 that letter in the top drawer." 
 
 " If you had, Aunt Mira ! " 
 
 "Well, if I had?" 
 
 "Why I should still be worrying about that 
 money matter." 
 
 " He says that was all right, does he ? " 
 
 " He just the same as says so. We re nearly 
 there, Aunt Mira." 
 
 Miss Graves s " faculty " now came into play 
 again, and before many weeks had passed that 
 modest castle in the air, an apartment for two, had 
 settled to earth, and aunt and niece were settled 
 in it. 
 
 The chief interest of the winter to the pair was 
 Frances s correspondence. The girl kept her glori 
 fying secret locked in her own heart ; but even Miss 
 Miranda found the affairs of Lucy Smith and Mrs. 
 Peabody rather prosy compared to the letters that 
 still connected the little flat with the gay doings 
 of the Jewetts in Florence and the quiet household 
 at Ardleigh. 
 
 Miss Graves bravely dealt her old friends the
 
 338 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 shock of stating her interest and sympathy in her 
 niece s faith. Indeed, Mrs. Peabody and Mrs. 
 Smith held many a conclave over the affairs of the 
 reunited pair. They agreed that no hen with one 
 chicken was ever prouder or busier than Miranda ; 
 and as they were very fond of Frances, and noted 
 her increased charm and happiness, they also 
 agreed that few hens had so much excuse for 
 pride. 
 
 Into the inner life of aunt and niece they never 
 penetrated. It was only characteristic of Miranda 
 that her answers to inquiries about their sum 
 mer should be non-committal, commonplace, and 
 vaguely general. 
 
 " How I could make Lucy Smith s eyes bulge 
 out ! " she used sometimes to say to herself while 
 busy with the household work, while Frances was 
 at school ; " but Frances would n t like it, so I 11 
 keep mum." 
 
 The young men who had known Frances most 
 of her life and of late years had been developing 
 increasingly romantic inclinations toward her, re 
 turned eagerly to their allegiance. Miss Graves 
 listened to the conversations which went on some 
 times in the little parlor, and often laughed over 
 the memory of them while Frances was at school and 
 she herself at work in her spotless kitchen. 
 
 " I declare, I do feel some nights as if I must 
 put those poor fellows out of their misery ! " she 
 would say to herself. " I feel like telling em not 
 to waste their time. It s no use for such as them 
 to try to make an impression on an Anglomaniac I "
 
 FRANCES S CORRESPONDENCE 339 
 
 Frances s letters to Ardleigh were her chief 
 care. For a time Sir William s impassioned 
 epistles reached her every few days ; but after a 
 while, under the influence of the careful and help 
 ful letters she sent him at regular periods, he 
 quieted to more coherent and calm responses. 
 
 Miss Hereford s missives were the ones she 
 opened and read with most eagerness, and Miss 
 Graves noted with much relief that the letter of the 
 train, which for a time she had been tempted to 
 wish had been mislaid, never had a successor. 
 
 In one of Miss Hereford s early communications 
 she told of Mr. Burling s success in finding the 
 right person to appreciate the situation sympa 
 thetically and act as resident tutor to Sir William. 
 
 " The young man assures me it is nothing but a 
 pleasure to teach Billy," she wrote, " as the latter s 
 eagerness to learn does not wane. Mr. Deane has 
 a very desirable refinement as well as much learn 
 ing, and be sure it was not long before Billy had 
 told him of you. You would have been pleased 
 with the frankness with which Mr. Burling told 
 the tutor of the help Billy had received in Science. 
 Indeed, it was necessary to explain, for let me tell 
 you, dear child, in place of the family prayers to 
 which the servants at Ardleigh have been accus 
 tomed for generations, they must all file in every 
 morning now to hear Sir William read the day s 
 lesson from the Bible and Science and Health. 
 I can see that those who were here long before he 
 was born consider it a form of madness ; but it is
 
 340 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 touching to see the love in their eyes as they watch 
 him while he reads, so earnestly and unconsciously. 
 I fancy they are hearing a good deal about the new 
 faith from Sanders. I know Billy had to request 
 him not to play Shepherd, show me how to go 
 on his accordion in the servants hall. The dear 
 boy can t sing it now, with you so far away. 
 
 " Mr. Burling and I sometimes speak of those 
 afternoon teas at Waterview, when you used to 
 make such kind effort to answer our questions. 
 Dear child, I m afraid we perplexed you very 
 often, we were so slow at the new tongue. Divine 
 Love helps us now, through the added responsibil 
 ity we feel to know the truth for our boy s sake. 
 I can scarcely bear to tell you of the sad scene I 
 had with my dear rector. He was really pale with 
 shock when he discovered our change, but I as 
 sured him that Sir William would do nothing to 
 pull down established customs outside his own 
 household, and he had to be satisfied with that. 
 
 " After he was gone I cried a little, but I felt so 
 happy that I had stood by what I had proved to 
 be good. Mr. Burling helped me wonderfully, of 
 course. He was present when the rector called, 
 and in that cool, assured, courteous way of his 
 silenced the poor man when he wanted to revile. 
 Ah, well, Mr. Burling made him understand our 
 position ; and when he cited the change in Billy 
 and asked the rector to explain it reasonably, our 
 dear old friend mumbled a good deal and soon 
 went away. I am going to have him and his wife 
 to dinner next week.
 
 FRANCES S CORRESPONDENCE 341 
 
 " Billy lets me read your charming letters. He 
 lives on them. I am glad you and Miss Graves 
 are so well and happy." 
 
 A good deal of prayerful study went into every 
 one of those epistles that Frances wrote Sir Wil 
 liam. She was so desirous to imply always the 
 steady, unchanging regard she felt for him, the 
 interest, the helpfulness, and to make it quite dis 
 tinct that there was nothing more. 
 
 Miss Hereford might have read between the 
 lines of those letters, lines written in a distinct 
 and legible hand, clean-cut and reliable as the 
 writer herself. However, the English spinster 
 considered them simply as models of what a maid 
 should say to a man situated as these two were, 
 and waited the springtime with her nephew, re 
 joicing in the increase of manliness and assurance 
 which was daily manifested in him. 
 
 With spring the Jewetts left Italy and went to 
 England. A cordial invitation met them in Lon 
 don to come at once to Ardleigh. They accepted 
 with alacrity, and ten days after that which saw 
 them driving through the grounds to the old 
 manor, Frances Rogers came home from school 
 and walked into her little parlor. It felt genial 
 after the raw air without, and on the table she 
 quickly espied a small glass of trailing arbutus. 
 Miss Graves, entering by another door, was just 
 in time to see her niece spring forward and fall on 
 her knees before the little table, with her face 
 close to the blossoms.
 
 342 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " I calculated you d be pleased to see em this 
 early," said Miss Miranda, with a smile that broad 
 ened slowly as low ejaculations broke from the girl. 
 
 " The earlier the better the earlier the better," 
 exclaimed Frances softly, and as she rose her aunt 
 was amazed to see that she smiled through tears. 
 
 " What in the world, child " began Miss 
 Graves, and paused because she was clasped in 
 her niece s arms. 
 
 " I have said all along that everything would 
 come right when the arbutus came, everything 
 everything ! " 
 
 " Frances Rogers, what s the matter with you ? " 
 Miss Graves pushed the other off at arm s length, 
 her astonished eyes meeting those that laughed like 
 sunlight in the rain. " Have you got too tired, 
 child ? " She gave her a little shake. " Christian 
 Scientists have n t any business to get run down in 
 the spring." Another shake. " How would you 
 like to take some malt extract, Frances Rogers ? 
 Don t you know there ain t any fatigue in mind ? " 
 
 " Oh, don t shake me any more, Aunt Mira ! " 
 laughed the girl, wiping her eyes. " I was so glad 
 to see the arbutus. It was so sweet of you so 
 sioeet of you to get them. I ve been wondering 
 if it would be any use to go out into the woods 
 and look for some Saturday, but now," her breath 
 caught, " now it is all right" 
 
 " Well, I should think so," said Miss Graves 
 suspiciously. " What is there to come right, I 
 should like to know ? Everything seems just about 
 as it should be to me."
 
 FRANCES S CORRESPONDENCE 343 
 
 " But I love the spring, I love the spring," re 
 sponded the girl. " Don t you ? The arbutus and 
 the bluebird, the sweetest, bravest things in nature, 
 they hurry so to tell us that winter, the winter of 
 our discontent, is over ! " 
 
 " Winter of our discontent ! " repeated Miss 
 Graves, aggrieved. " It s been the most con 
 tented winter of my life." 
 
 " Has n t it been a happy winter ! " agreed the 
 girl with light-hearted inconsistency. She drew 
 her aunt down upon the little sofa beside her. 
 " Here is a letter I just found in the box from 
 Laura. It is postmarked Darrington, so they are 
 at Ardleigh." 
 
 " I did n t know they expected to go there." 
 
 " Neither did I. Let us see what she says." 
 Frances opened the letter and read ; at first aloud, 
 then her lips closed, and holding the sheet so her 
 aunt could see, they both scanned its lines silently. 
 
 MY DEAR FRANCES, Aren t you amazed to 
 find us here? I am. I feel guilty, too, every 
 minute, for seeing this beautiful, romantic, pictur 
 esque place before you do. I m glad, though, 
 that you should hear from some one who has not 
 seen him all winter how improved and charming 
 Sir William is. The warmth of his welcome 
 touched and delighted us. In fact, both he and 
 his aunt are as kind as if we were near and dear 
 relatives. Even Dudley seems to approve our 
 coming. She likes my gowns and hats, which she 
 declares are " chick." Of course we realize that
 
 344 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 Sir William and Miss Hereford consider us a 
 link with you, and we shine by reflected light. 
 Sir William has taken me on many a delightful 
 tramp already. He is relaxing the constant work 
 and study, and his aunt says I have come just in 
 time to help him play. 
 
 All our conversational roads are very apt to 
 lead to Rome or, rather, the princess. It re 
 minds me of last summer at Windermere, when I 
 delved into " Harper s Weekly " and half a dozen 
 magazines with him, so he might inform his mind 
 for the sake of the princess. He never left me any 
 illusions in his calls at Windermere. He is so 
 different now, so easily master of himself and his 
 house. 
 
 What a domain awaits your highness ! I feel 
 ridiculously and inappropriately modern every 
 where I go, and yet completely enchanted all the 
 time. Oh, I 11 be so good, Lady Hereford, if 
 you 11 let me come sometimes and play in your 
 front yard ! 
 
 Was n t I good last summer not to say anything 
 when I knew oh, just everything ? But I was 
 a little jealous of you, Frances. You were the 
 principal girl, and that is what I always liked to 
 be. I d rather own it, because I m trying just as 
 hard as I can to grow up to that higher plane 
 where you and mother are, and I know honesty 
 comes first. I m not jealous now, and I long for 
 you to come and see where you are going to be so 
 happy. It s the strangest thing, but I can t pic 
 ture you here. I try to, and you just gently slip
 
 FRANCES S CORRESPONDENCE 345 
 
 away to Waterview, or Windermere, or Boston 
 every time. Another reason for you to invite me 
 when you do come. 
 
 Wait till you see the portrait gallery ! There 
 were some pretty Lady Herefords, and Sir Wil 
 liam s mother you d know at once was Mr. Bur- 
 ling s sister ; but some of them are frumps, just 
 between you and me. 
 
 To my great disappointment, Mr. Burling is 
 n t here. I believe he s in London. Miss Here 
 ford says he s stood right by Sir William all 
 winter, helping him in all ways as devotedly as 
 ever : but now that the young man s chrysalis state 
 is passed, Mr. Burling told his aunt he was n t 
 going to remain to see Billy torn in pieces by 
 match-making mammas who are ignorant that he 
 will look at nothing lower than royalty. I can 
 hear him say it, can t you ? 
 
 When she had read the last word of the letter, 
 Miss Graves lifted her eyes covertly to her niece s 
 face. The sun had gone under a cloud. 
 
 " Frances," she said, as the girl folded the letter, 
 " it s like pulling teeth to lose you, but is that 
 what you meant about the springtime ? " 
 
 " No perhaps I was dreaming." 
 
 " Now, don t you feel bad because Laura s got 
 there first. She 11 continue to be last, just as she 
 always has been." 
 
 " Oh, how I wish she might be first and remain 
 first ! " ejaculated Frances with fervor. 
 
 " What ? you have n t changed your mind, then ? "
 
 346 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " What has happened to change my mind ? " 
 Frances rose, and her aunt was impressed with 
 the difference in her walk and mien as she again 
 approached the table where stood the arbutus. 
 Her hand hovered lovingly over the delicate, hardy 
 wild things. 
 
 " I want some of these, Aunt Mira." 
 " Take them all. They re all yours." 
 " I want some to press. Did you ever press wild 
 flowers, Aunt Mira ? Were you ever a sentimen 
 tal girl?" 
 
 " I don t know as I was. I know I never kept 
 folks guessing the way you do. I spoke out just 
 what was in my mind. I should say a girl who 
 could resist all the pictures in that letter was about 
 as unsentimental as they come." 
 
 Frances smiled at the pink blossoms she held, 
 and went out of the room. 
 
 Two weeks after the reception of Laura Jewett s 
 letter there came one from Sir William Hereford, 
 and Frances did not ask Miss Graves to look over 
 her shoulder while she read it. 
 It ran thus : 
 
 MY PRINCESS, I declined to take your last 
 word at Waterview, as you know ; and you, like 
 an angel, have never since written one discourag 
 ing word, and still I read every one of your let 
 ters over again last night, and you have not said 
 one more encouraging than those with which from 
 the first you gently drew me out of darkness into 
 light.
 
 FRANCES S CORRESPONDENCE 347 
 
 Has any change in my favor been going on in 
 your mind ? Has that ring which I hope in any 
 case you will wear always for my sake come to 
 mean any more to you than it did on the evening 
 when you so reluctantly allowed me to place it on 
 your finger ? I pleaded my cause that night with 
 a great deal of egotism. I was a creature of one 
 Idea. You, wise and dear guiding star of my life, 
 were half frightened for me and by me. I realize 
 that now. Also, I think I see in your good letters 
 that you have not swerved from the position you 
 took then. 
 
 Miss Jewett, as you know, is here. I long to 
 have you see her again since she has grown to un 
 derstand. Mr. Deane, my tutor, is a fine fellow. 
 He read me the other day a very picturesque poem. 
 He says it is very old, and I should think it is just 
 about as old as mortal mind ; but some lines in it 
 can be turned to mean a great deal to us. They 
 are these : 
 
 " The Sovereign Alchemist that in a trice 
 Life s leaden metal into gold transmutes." 
 
 That is what happened to me, and that is what 
 has happened to Miss Laura, and so we have a 
 great deal to talk about. She has the right look 
 in her bright eyes now ; and although she is just 
 as amusing as ever, she can be as seriously sweet 
 as you are, my princess. I want you to see her 
 again. 
 
 I told you I should come for you in the spring, 
 and you said I might if Divine Love had led you 
 to me. What is the truth about it ? I do not want
 
 348 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 pity or sacrifice, and you would not give them to 
 me if I did. Dear Princess, best friend that ever 
 a man had, the time has come for you to give me 
 a definite answer, and you can do so fearlessly at 
 last. Do not keep me in suspense. Cable me one 
 word, " Yes " or " No." 
 
 Frances lifted radiant eyes from the finished 
 letter. 
 
 " Dear Billy ! he has felt the truth. He wants 
 me to say No ! " 
 
 With a rejoicing heart she put on her hat and 
 jacket, and went out to renounce all claim to shine 
 in the portrait gallery at Ardleigh.
 
 CHAPTER XXVHI 
 
 BY CABLE 
 
 IT was at this time that her niece s absent- 
 mindedness began to afflict Miss Graves. 
 
 "You ought to be treated for it," said Miss 
 Miranda one day. " You behave as if you were 
 in love, Frances Eogers." 
 
 " Excuse me. Have you been speaking to me, 
 Aunt Mira? I was just calculating the days, 
 thinking that I shall probably find another letter 
 from Laura Jewett when I get home from school 
 this afternoon." 
 
 " Well, your thoughts seem to have been so 
 satisfactory the last week, it s a pity you have n t 
 talked more of them out. Every time I ve looked 
 at you you ve seemed just bubbling over with 
 something most too good to keep. My talk s 
 been like one end of a telephone conversation long 
 enough. I m getting tired of it." 
 
 " Well, I will tell you," replied Frances. " About 
 ten days ago I received a letter from Sir William 
 that I did n t show you. In it he asked me again, 
 and finally, whether I would marry him, and asked 
 me to cable a definite reply." 
 
 " I want to know ! " Miss Graves stood at close 
 attention.
 
 350 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " I did so. I cabled * No ! " Frances s dimple 
 played hide and seek as she viewed her aunt s 
 countenance. 
 
 " Proud of it, are you ? " returned Miss Graves 
 accusingly. "You were n t so hard-hearted the 
 night before he left Waterview." 
 
 " No, for then he had n t learned that he wanted 
 me to refuse him. Oh, Aunt Mira, I ve felt as 
 light as a feather ever since that letter came ! Is n t 
 it refreshing when duty and inclination jump the 
 same way ? " 
 
 " What makes you so sure he s changed ? " 
 
 Frances laughed softly. " Well, I am sure. I 
 expect to have a proof to show you before long. 
 You be guessing what it is while I m at school." 
 
 In vain Miss Graves guessed rather dismally 
 all the afternoon. Of course, she did not wish 
 to part with Frances ; but she had schooled her 
 thought to it, and it would have been a grand as 
 well as a good match. She was not altogether 
 pleased that her niece had taken such an irrevoca 
 ble step. 
 
 At the accustomed time she heard Frances s light 
 tread on the stair. The girl s eyes and cheeks 
 were bright as she rushed into the room. 
 
 " Here it is ! " she cried, waving an open letter. 
 " I stopped downstairs to read it. It is as sweet as 
 it is short." 
 
 Miss Graves adjusted her glasses and took the 
 offered sheet. 
 
 DAELING, darling PKINCESS, Thank you so
 
 BY CABLE 351 
 
 much for not loving him ! I m too happy to 
 write now. 
 
 LAURA. 
 
 P. S. He won t let me call him Billy. Is that 
 ground for jealousy ? L. 
 
 " Did n t I say everything would come right 
 when the arbutus bloomed ? " asked Frances, as 
 Miss Graves looked up blankly. 
 
 Pier aunt sat down to glance again over the few 
 lines. 
 
 " Well, Frances Rogers ! " At last she looked 
 up. " I ve known for a long time that you did n t 
 have common sense. Bear the heat and burden of 
 the day with that that enigma, and then as soon 
 as he becomes normal and somebody to be proud 
 of, hand him over to that girl who never did a 
 thing to deserve it ! I m glad you like this flat 
 and half a dozen feet of back porch better than a 
 palace and a park." 
 
 " Why, 1 did n t know you wanted to get rid of 
 me," said Frances, trying to look injured, and una 
 ble to do anything but ripple into little bursts of 
 laughter. 
 
 " Oh, giggle, do ! " exclaimed Miss Graves. 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! " laughed the girl, with an infectious 
 merriment that would not be gainsaid. 
 
 Miss Miranda smiled reluctantly. " I don t un 
 derstand you, Frances," she declared, rising. "I 
 suppose I never shall." 
 
 " Yes, you will, dear," replied the girl, growing 
 serious. " The moment when I read that letter
 
 352 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 was only second in happiness to one other that I 
 shall tell you of some day when I am at liberty 
 to do so." 
 
 " Well, she s smart, Laura Jewett is. I always 
 said so," remarked Miss Miranda, going to the 
 kitchen. 
 
 "I ll be out in time to set the table, Aunt 
 Mira," said Frances, and then she went into her 
 own room and closed the door softly behind her. 
 
 " The time has come," she whispered. 
 
 With glad eyes and lips she took a heavy book 
 from her table, arid opening it, there fell out some 
 pressed sprays of arbutus. These she folded in a 
 blank sheet of paper and slipped it into an enve 
 lope, which she sealed and addressed to Maurice 
 Burling. Hastening out and running downstairs, 
 she mailed the wordless message, and was back 
 again before her aunt had remarked her absence. 
 
 On the first Saturday after this Frances lured 
 Miss Miranda into Boston on a shopping expedi 
 tion, having convinced Miss Graves that it was 
 time for them to see about their summer ward 
 robes. Again she heightened her reputation for 
 eccentricity by purchasing all her cotton gowns 
 for the season of one color. They were all pink, 
 or pink and white. 
 
 " What are you thinking of, Frances ? " said 
 Miss Miranda desperately, when the fourth dress 
 had been purchased. " You Ve always worn blue 
 before, and it s your best color. Is it possible 
 that just because that poor boy last summer liked 
 blue so much, you won t wear it this year ? You re
 
 BY CABLE 
 
 just queer enough for that; but let me tell you 
 you re biting off your own nose. Do you realize 
 you won t have a single blue dress? Yours are just 
 worn out." 
 
 " Sh ! " said Frances, in smiling embarrassment. 
 " The clerks are n t interested. I m out of my 
 teens now I must wear pink while I can. I can 
 wear blue when I m quite old, can t I ? " 
 
 " I thought you were n t ever going to be quite 
 old," remarked Miss Miranda dryly. 
 
 " Of course yes ; but I can t. I want to wear 
 pink and white this summer. I might have on a 
 blue dress when I yes, when I did n t did n t 
 like to, you know." 
 
 Miss Miranda sniffed. " I d forgotten girls 
 were quite so silly," she said. "Now I want to 
 look for some black grenadine, and don t you 
 get side-tracked on pink cheesecloth if you can 
 help it." 
 
 Summer vacation at last. No answer had come 
 to Frances s mute message. Doubtless it had fol 
 lowed Burling about if he were traveling ; still she 
 teased herself with a crowd of uncomfortable sur 
 mises, not the least uncomfortable being that it 
 might have been lost in the mail or the blossoms so 
 defaced that by the time he saw them they would 
 convey no idea. 
 
 The friends who had asked her to Intervale the 
 season before invited her once more. The invita 
 tion included Miss Graves, but that lady de 
 murred.
 
 354 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " I should be a cat in a strange garret. I don t 
 know them. You go right along, Frances." 
 
 " I refuse to leave you alone here," was the firm 
 reply. 
 
 " Then I 11 have Lucy Smith come up. She 11 
 be tickled. She can go down and make up her 
 roomers beds every morning, and we 11 have a fine 
 time. I can get a splendid draught through this 
 flat nights, and daytimes we 11 go on excursions." 
 
 Upon this cheerful representation Frances 
 packed her trunk and departed for the mountains ; 
 and thus it was that one rainy day when Miss 
 Graves could not go forth, a blow fell upon her. 
 
 She and Mrs. Smith, in white dressing-sacks 
 and petticoats, were sitting near a dripping win 
 dow, mending and talking in a state of high spir 
 its which the heated humidity could not dampen, 
 when a messenger boy knocked, and through the 
 partially opened door a cable message addressed 
 to Frances was slipped into Miss Graves s hand. 
 
 She tore it open, expecting more of what she 
 termed Laura Jewett s gush. 
 
 One word met her at first amazed, then horrified 
 vision : 
 
 " Coming." 
 
 For a minute she gazed paralyzed at the un 
 signed threat, then threw up her hands. 
 
 " Lucy Smith ! " she cried desperately, " he s 
 coming ! " 
 
 "Who?" 
 
 "The lord!" 
 
 " Who, Miranda Graves 1 "
 
 BY CABLE 355 
 
 " Oh, it s a long story," groaned Miss Miranda, 
 " but I knew she was too confident. There s been 
 an English nobleman wanting to marry Frances 
 for a year," went on Miss Graves, not unmindful, 
 even in her extremity, of the splendor of this an 
 nouncement and the good excuse for making it. 
 " She did n t care for him, and she does n t, though 
 he s been writing all winter. He is n t like most 
 titles. He has good habits and he s rich you 
 ought to see the pictures of his castle and every 
 thing ; but Frances has got the real Rogers obsti 
 nacy, and she s taken against the idea, and she 
 thought she d settled it for good and all." She 
 gazed at the paper again. " I guess I can send 
 Frances Rogers a telegram as short and sharp as 
 this one. Mine 11 just say, Going. That young 
 fellow s a regular Samson. He s a raving beauty, 
 but he s got the temper of Cain. Do you suppose 
 I m going to meekly stay here and let him come 
 and pull this flat down around my ears because 
 Frances is gone ? She won t have him, even if he 
 massacres us all, and so I can tell him. What am 
 I going to do, Lucy Smith ? " 
 
 Mrs. Smith, whose gray hair was slowly rising 
 under this amazing mingling of magnificence and 
 terror, glanced fearfully toward the door and spoke 
 falter in gly : 
 
 " Let s go down to my house, Miranda." 
 
 " Pshaw ! He can t get here for six days, Lucy. 
 Don t look so scared. I m going to make Frances 
 come home that s what I 11 do ; and I 11 have 
 in a policeman, too. You see if I don t."
 
 356 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Is he so desperate ? " inquired Mrs. Smith in 
 a quavering voice. 
 
 "Distracted about her. Clean distracted. I 
 never meant to tell you a word, Lucy, because 
 what was the use ; and don t you breathe it." 
 
 Mrs. Smith looked incapable of breathing any 
 thing as she sat looking up at Miss Miranda tower 
 ing darkly above her. 
 
 " I 11 write this instant, Lucy Smith. Just ex 
 cuse me." 
 
 The reply to Miss Graves s wild and imperious 
 appeal came promptly, and read as follows : 
 
 " That message was from Mr. Burling. Please 
 send him up here when he comes." 
 
 The surprise of this disclosure was scarcely an 
 anti-climax. 
 
 " It s the young man s uncle," Miss Graves ex 
 plained to her guest, " and I m just as much afraid 
 of him another way. He s evidently coming to 
 plead for his nephew, and I do feel for Frances, I 
 must say. Poor, poor girl ! Mr. Burling is used 
 to being obeyed, I can tell you. If he don t get 
 what he s coming for, I guess it 11 be a first fail 
 ure. Poor Frances ! I don t know but I m glad 
 she s going to fight it out up there." 
 
 Miss Graves concocted what she deemed a clever 
 device to avoid seeing the Englishman. On the 
 sixth morning after receiving the cable message, 
 she posted up outside the locked door of the flat a 
 letter sealed and addressed to Mr. Burling, ex 
 plaining that she had been called away on that 
 special day, and that he would find Miss Rogers s
 
 BY CABLE 357 
 
 address inclosed. Then she went to Mrs. Smith s 
 and remained until late in the evening. On the 
 third day the device worked. When she returned, 
 the letter was gone. 
 
 " Now," she thought, with a deep sigh, " poor 
 Frances will have to deal with him." 
 
 Among the hills Maurice found her. He had 
 never before been in this picturesque region, and 
 never had its charms fallen upon eyes which re 
 ceived them more as a matter of course. As he 
 drove from the station to the house he sought, lofty 
 hills and undulating vale but meant to him the 
 setting for one figure. Of course the turf was fresh 
 with a spi inglike green. She had trodden it. 
 Of course the air was pure. She had breathed it. 
 The mountains stood in her presence. 
 
 The house where Frances was staying was set 
 back on a gentle slope. A clump of tall trees rose 
 on the lawn, and as Burling alighted from his 
 carriage he caught the gleam of a rosy gown amid 
 the sturdy trunks. 
 
 Frances was sitting beside a tea-table with a 
 group of ladies, one of whom was quicker than 
 she to discover the stranger advancing across the 
 lawn. 
 
 " Who is the elegant creature ? " she asked 
 softly, but with vivid interest, as Maurice came 
 toward them. 
 
 " It is Mr. Burling," said Frances, moving to 
 meet him. 
 
 Rose and white she was as their hands clasped* 
 She introduced him to the others of the group.
 
 358 THE EIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " You choose a rather unusual season to cross 
 to America," said Mrs. Deering, Frances s hos 
 tess. 
 
 "Yes, I came on business," he replied. " The 
 men with whom I am interested were obliged to 
 come now." 
 
 " What a charming manner and voice ! " thought 
 Mrs. Deering. Then she recollected that there 
 had also been something out of the ordinary in 
 Frances s manner and voice when the girl had 
 announced to her hostess that this Englishman was 
 imminent ; so after she had given him a cup of tea 
 and there had been a little general conversation, 
 the hostess came to the rescue. 
 
 "I was just about to take these young ladies to 
 see my roses," she remarked. "Frances knows 
 them by heart. We shall hope to meet you again 
 at supper, Mr. Burling ; " and Mrs. Deering led 
 her reluctant flock away. 
 
 Left alone, these two patient waiters looked at 
 each other in silence. 
 
 They were in an outdoor world which seemed 
 to Burling to consist of eyes. He joined Frances 
 on a rustic seat. 
 
 " The message was like you," he said. " It 
 reached me on the day I cabled. They were rather 
 travel-worn little flowers when I saw them." He 
 opened a locket on his fob and showed the faint 
 blossoms beneath the glass. 
 
 " This trip had just been decided upon. That 
 is why I did not come alone." 
 
 Her eyes spoke to him without need of words.
 
 BY CABLE 359 
 
 " When did it begin with you, darling ? When 
 you read my letter ? " 
 
 " Long, long before." 
 
 " How wonderful ! " he said in an awed voice. 
 
 " How natural," she responded. 
 
 Silence. 
 
 " I am on my way to Wyoming. How would 
 you like to spend a year in Wyoming, Frances ? " 
 
 Her smile and dimple were exquisitely eloquent 
 of her indifference as to where that year was 
 spent. 
 
 " Oh, don t look that way, dear," he pleaded, 
 " until we can get somewhere alone ! " 
 
 " I wish we were in Wyoming now," she said. 
 
 " So do I. The ranch is very wide. Lord Lenox 
 and Sir Edmund Fairfax, the principal owners, 
 came over with me. They want me to take charge 
 of things out there for a year. I had written them 
 that I would do so when I learned of Billy s en 
 gagement, and came home full of dreams. There 
 the arbutus found me, for tired of travel, it had 
 come back to Ardleigh. Then I told my friends 
 that I should have to postpone my decision until 
 I learned the tastes of a lady in America." 
 
 " Oh, did you tell them about it ? " 
 
 " Tell them ! I told the dolphins and the stars. 
 It s a wonder I did n t tell the deck steward. 
 Lenox says I leaked ecstasy disgustingly all the 
 way over. He wants to see you ; so does Fair 
 fax." 
 
 "I don t want to see them." A little cringe. 
 " I m afraid of Lords and Sirs."
 
 360 THE RIGHT PRINCESS 
 
 " Only for their sakes, I should think." 
 
 " It seems such a pity that anybody should know 
 before Aunt Mira." 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " gently. " Aunt Mira. She posted 
 up a letter for me on her coldly closed door." 
 
 Frances smiled. " I m glad if there was any 
 thing cold in Melrose. Poor Aunt Mira ! She 
 was afraid to see you, I know." 
 
 " Why, pray ? She always had me in excellent 
 subjection." 
 
 " I think she thought she feared that you 
 had come on account of of Billy." 
 
 Burling looked into his beloved s eyes until hers 
 dropped. " He never had a chance, then the 
 lad?" 
 
 She shook her head slightly. 
 
 " You belong to me, Frances ! " A pause. 
 " How good you were to wear this gown my 
 arbutus flower ! " 
 
 "You belong to me, Maurice. I shall always 
 wear what you like." 
 
 More silence ; adequately eloquent, fully satis 
 factory to the silent ones. 
 
 Burling was first to speak. 
 
 " And I know what you are thinking, my dar 
 ling, that we both belong to Another. 
 
 " Ah ! " with a glance over his shoulder, " there 
 is somebody coming this way. Really, Frances, 
 you know, there are limits. Can t you take me 
 to walk somewhere?" 
 
 " Do you like ferns ? " asked the girl demurely. 
 
 " I adore ferns when they know enough to
 
 BY CABLE 361 
 
 grow in some dark and secluded dell far from the 
 madding summer cottager." 
 
 They rose and strolled back past the house and 
 down a decline which led toward a thick growth 
 of firs. 
 
 " See all those Christmas trees," said Frances. 
 " Don t you like the odor of them ? There was 
 plenty of arbutus here in the spring." 
 
 " There is plenty now," answered Burling, look- 
 ing down into her softly beaming eyes. 
 
 Their hands met and clasped, and they passed 
 within the wood.
 
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