remembrance of that maternal love and tenderness which she used
sometimes to try to imagine, although she had never experienced it.

Her mother's maid, a faithful and devoted woman, dismissed soon
after the death of her mistress, chancing to be in the neighbourhood
some twelve years later, called at the manor, in the hope of finding
some in the household who remembered her.

After tea, Fraulein and Miss Jebb being out of the way, she was
spirited up into the schoolroom to see Miss Jane, her heart full of
memories of the "sweet babe" upon whom she and her dear lady had
lavished so much love and care.

She found awaiting her a tall, plain girl with a frank, boyish
manner and a rather disconcerting way as she afterwards remarked, of
"taking stock of a body the while one was a-talking," which at first
checked the flow of good Sarah's reminiscences, poured forth so
freely in the housekeeper's room below, and reduced her to looking
tearfully around the room, remarking that she remembered choosing
the blessed wall-paper with her dear lady now gone, whose joy had
been so great when the dear babe first took notice and reached up
for the roses. "And I can show you, miss, if you care to know it
just which bunch of roses it were."

But before Sarah's visit was over, Jane had heard many undreamed-of-
things; amongst others, that her mother used to kiss her little
hands, "ah, many a time she, did, miss; called them little rose-
petals, and covered them with kisses."

The child, utterly unused to any demonstrations of affection, looked