"What has come over you, then, Getty, that you have been sing-singing all the time, up stairs and down, for these two days—hey?" said Becky to her niece, on the afternoon of the second day after the visit of the cousins Vrail.
"Oh! nothing, aunty," said Gertrude, hesitating. "I often sing like that; do not I?"
"Not often, I hope. I have counted these stitches three times, and every time your ring-te-iddlety has made me forget how many there are."
The dame's tone was severe; and as Getty spied the old scowl taking shape on her forehead, she retreated to her own room to sing away the remainder of the evening by herself. On the morrow, also, her heart seemed equally light, and snatches of old songs were escaping all day from her lips, making every room and closet vocal with melody, as she flitted through them on various household duties. Now and then a growl responded to some of these chirpings, silencing them for a while only to break forth in some other quarter of the house, more cheerily than ever. As evening drew nigh, her merriment gradually subsided, and she withdrew to her own apartment in a more thoughtful and pensive mood—not long, however, to remain unsought. Her heart beat quickly, when, listening, she heard the voice of a visitor below, and far quicker, when a servant-girl came up and informed her that Mr. Vrail was in the parlor, and wished to see her.
Startled but not surprised, with a fluttering heart and a flushed face, she flew to the glass to add the last touch to the simple adornments of her person, and, although far from being vain, she could not forbear contemplating a moment, with complacency, the sweet picture reflected by the faithful mirror.
She waited a little while for her agitation to subside; for, with that rapid breath and heightened color, and with something very like a tear glistening in her eye, she was unwilling to meet her visitor; but, while she waited, she received another and a more urgent summons.
"You had better come down, Miss Gertrude," said the girl, who seemed to guess that her young mistress was expecting a not unwel-
