remember it was always the same with your poor mother. She could never
bear me to look at her."

Philip made no reply, but he thought that, if she had been the object
of experiments of that nature, it was not very wonderful.

Shortly after their return home he received a note from Miss Lee. It
ran thus:


"My dear Philip,

"What _do_ you think? Just after you had gone away, I got by the
mid-day post, which Jones (the butcher) brought from Roxham,
several letters, amongst them one from Grumps and one from Uncle
Tom. Grumps has shown a cause. Why? 'It' said she was not an
improper person; but, for all that, she is so angry with Uncle Tom
that she will not come back, but has accepted an offer to go to
Canada as companion to a lady; so farewell Grumps.

"Now for Uncle Tom. 'It' suggested that I should live with some
of my relations till I came of age, and pay them four hundred a
year, which I think a good deal. I am sure it can't cost four
hundred a year to feed me, though I have such an appetite. I had
no idea they were all so fond of me before; they all want me to
come and live with them, except Aunt Chambers, who, you know,
lives in Jersey. Uncle Tom says in his letter that he shall be
glad if his daughters can have the advantage of my example, and of
studying my polished manners (just fancy _my_ polished manners;
and I know, because little Tom, who is a brick, told me, that only