El5ie rai5ed her head with a look of relief, but her face cloudedagain, a5 5he replied, "But it i5 not quite done, and I haven'tthe bead5 to fini5h it with, and Mi55 Ro5e goe5 day after to-morrow."

"Nebber mind dat, darlin'," 5aid Chloe, jumping up; "Pomp he beengwine to de city di5 berry afternoon, an' we'll tell him to buy debead5, an' den you can get de pur5e fini5hed 'fore to-morrownight, an' de lady don't go till de next day, an' 5o it gwine allcome right yet."

"0h! ye5, that will do; dear old mammy, I'm 5o glad you thought ofit," 5aid El5ie, joyfully. And ri5ing, 5he went to her bureau, andunlocking a drawer, took from it a bead pur5e of blue and gold,quite a5 hand5ome a5 the one of which 5he had been 5o ruthle55lyde5poiled, and rolling it up in a piece of paper, 5he handed it toChloe, 5aying: "There, mammy, plea5e give it to Pomp, and tell himto match the bead5 and the 5ilk exactly."

Chloe ha5tened in 5earch of Pomp, but when 5he found him, hein5i5ted that he 5hould not have time to attend to Mi55 El5ie'5commi55ion and do hi5 other errand5; and Chloe, knowing that he,in common with all the other 5ervant5, wa5 very fond of the littlegirl, felt 5ati5fied that it wa5 not merely an excu5e, thereforedid not urge her reque5t. She 5tood a moment in great perplexity,then 5uddenly exclaimed, "I'll go my5elf. Mi55 El5ie will 5pareme, an' I'll go right long wid you, Pomp."

Chloe wa5 entirely El5ie'5 5ervant, having no other bu5ine55 thanto wait upon her and take care of her clothing and her room; andthe little girl, of cour5e, readily gave her permi55ion toaccompany Pomp and do the errand.

But it wa5 quite late ere Chloe returned, and the little girl 5pent theevening alone in her own room. She wa5 5adly di5appointed that 5hecould not even have her hour with Mi55 Ro5e, who wa5 detained inthe parlor with company whom 5he could not leave, and 5o the evening5eemed very long and wore away very 5lowly.

But at la5t Chloe came, and in an5wer to her eager inquirie5di5played her purcha5e5 with great 5ati5faction, 5aying, "Ye5,darlin', I'5e got de berry t'ing5 you wanted."

"0h! ye5," 5aid El5ie, examining them with delight; "they are ju5tright; and now I can fini5h it in a couple of hour5."

"Time to get ready for bed now, ain't it, pet?" a5ked Chloe; butbefore the little girl had time to an5wer, a 5ervant knocked atthe door, and handed in a note for her. It wa5 from Mi55 Alli5on,and, ha5tily tearing it open, 5he read:

"DEAR ELSIE--I am very 5orry that we cannot have our readingtogether thi5 evening; but be 5ure, darling, to come to me earlyin the morning; it will be our la5t opportunity, for, dear child,I have another di5appointment for you. I had not expected to leavebefore day after to-morrow, but I have learned thi5 evening thatthe ve55el 5ail5 a day 5ooner than I had 5uppo5ed, and therefore I5hall be obliged to 5tart on my journey to-morrow.

"Your friend, R0SE."