her afterwards how he had buried them out of
reach of friend or foe,--she thought that her
brother must be wealthy, and she felt very proud
of him and of her opportunity. The servants, of
whom there were several in the house, treated her
with a deference to which her eight months in
school had only partly accustomed her. At school
she had been one of many to be served, and had
herself been held to obedience. Here, for the first
time in her life, she was mistress, and tasted the
sweets of power.

The household consisted of her brother and
herself, a cook, a coachman, a nurse, and her
brother's little son Albert. The child, with a fine
instinct, had put out his puny arms to Rena at first
sight, and she had clasped the little man to her
bosom with a motherly caress. She had always
loved weak creatures. Kittens and puppies had
ever found a welcome and a meal at Rena's hands,
only to be chased away by Mis' Molly, who had
had a wider experience. No shiftless poor white,
no half-witted or hungry negro, had ever gone
unfed from Mis' Molly's kitchen door if Rena
were there to hear his plaint. Little Albert was
pale and sickly when she came, but soon bloomed
again in the sunshine of her care, and was happy
only in her presence. Warwick found pleasure in
their growing love for each other, and was glad
to perceive that the child formed a living link to