something of her character; and there the letter ended.

For a time there was silence, which was broken at last by Eugenia,
whose active mind had already come to a decision. Dora would live
with them, of course--it was best that she should, and there was
no longer need for dismissing Bridget. The five hundred dollars
obviated that necessity, and it was _theirs_, too--theirs by
the way of remuneration for giving Dora a home--theirs to spend as
they pleased. And she still intended to have the _furs_, the
_pearls_, and the _silver forks_, just the same as though the
money had been a special gift to her!

"Suppose _Uncle Nat_ should happen to come home, and Dora
should tell him?" suggested Alice, who did not so readily fall in
with her sister's views.

"He'll never do that in the world," returned Eugenia. "And even if
he should, Dora will have nothing to tell, for she is not supposed
to know of the money. If we feed, clothe, and educate her, it is
all we are required to do."

"But would that be exactly just?" faintly interposed Mrs. Deane,
whose perceptions of right and wrong were not quite so blunted as
those of her daughter, who, in answer to her question, proceeded
to advance many good reasons why Dora, for a time at least, should
be kept in ignorance of the fact that her uncle supported her, and
not her aunt.

"We can manage her better if she thinks she is dependent upon us.
And then, as she grows older, she will not be continually asking