things to Mr. Franklin, at the piano that evening, about the people he
had lived among, and the principles he had adopted in foreign parts. The
next day, for the first time, nothing was done towards the decoration
of the door. I suspect some imprudence of Mr. Franklin's on the
Continent--with a woman or a debt at the bottom of it--had followed
him to England. But that is all guesswork. In this case, not only Mr.
Franklin, but my lady too, for a wonder, left me in the dark.

On the seventeenth, to all appearance, the cloud passed away again. They
returned to their decorating work on the door, and seemed to be as good
friends as ever. If Penelope was to be believed, Mr. Franklin had seized
the opportunity of the reconciliation to make an offer to Miss Rachel,
and had neither been accepted nor refused. My girl was sure (from signs
and tokens which I need not trouble you with) that her young mistress
had fought Mr. Franklin off by declining to believe that he was in
earnest, and had then secretly regretted treating him in that way
afterwards. Though Penelope was admitted to more familiarity with her
young mistress than maids generally are--for the two had been almost
brought up together as children--still I knew Miss Rachel's reserved
character too well to believe that she would show her mind to anybody in
this way. What my daughter told me, on the present occasion, was, as I
suspected, more what she wished than what she really knew.

On the nineteenth another event happened. We had the doctor in the house
professionally. He was summoned to prescribe for a person whom I have
had occasion to present to you in these pages--our second housemaid,
Rosanna Spearman.

This poor girl--who had puzzled me, as you know already, at the
Shivering Sand--puzzled me more than once again, in the interval time of