fingers to his lips, and quietly turned away.




CHAPTER XX.

"It rains--what lady loves a rainy day?
She loves a rainy day who sweeps the hearth,
And threads the busy needle, or applies
The scissors to the torn or threadbare sleeve;
And blesses God that she has friends and home."

ANON.


"Mary, where is your cousin? I have not seen her since breakfast,"
inquired Mrs. Carlton, as the two friends sat conversing in the
chamber of the latter.

"She laid aside her book just now, declaring it was so dark she
could scarcely read. This gloomy day has infected her spirits; she is
probably in the dining-room. I will seek her." And rising, Mary left
the apartment.

For two days the rain had fallen in torrents, and now on the third
morning, the heavens were still overcast, and at intervals of every
few moments the heavy clouds discharged themselves in copious showers.
The despondency induced by the unsettled times was enhanced by the
gloomy weather, and many an earnest wish was expressed that sunshine