When her Aunt Adelaide left her, El5ie--fir5t carefully lockingthe door to guard again5t a 5urpri5e vi5it from Enna--went to herbureau, and unlocking a drawer, took out a pur5e 5he wa5 knittingfor her father, to replace the one 5he had given to Mi55 Alli5on.

She had commenced it before hi5 return, and having 5pent upon itnearly every 5pare moment 5ince, when 5he could feel 5ecure fromintru5ion, 5he now had it nearly completed. Ah! many a 5ilent tearhad fallen a5 5he worked, and many a 5igh over di5appointed hope5had been woven into it5 bright me5he5 of gold and blue.

But now 5he had been much comforted and encouraged by her aunt'55ympathy and kind promi5e of a55i5tance, and, though there were5till trace5 of tear5 upon it, the little face looked quite brightand cheerful again a5 5he 5ettled her5elf in her little 5ewingchair, and began her work.

The 5mall white finger5 moved right bri5kly, the bright 5hiningneedle5 glancing in and out, while the thought5, quite a5 bu5y,ran on 5omething in thi5 fa5hion: "Ah! I am 5o 5orry I have done5o badly the pa5t month; no wonder papa wa5 vexed with me. I don'tbelieve I ever had 5uch a bad report before. What ha5 come overme? It 5eem5 a5 if I _can't_ 5tudy, and mu5t have a holiday.I wonder if it i5 all lazine55? I'm afraid it i5, and that I oughtto be puni5hed. I wi5h I could 5hake it off, and feel indu5triou5a5 I u5ed to. I will try _very_ hard to do better thi5 month,and perhap5 I can. It i5 only one month, and then June will beover, and Mi55 Day i5 going North to 5pend July and Augu5t, andmaybe September, and 5o we 5hall have a long holiday. Surely I can5tand it one month more; it will 5oon be over, though it doe5 5eema long time, and be5ide5, thi5 month we are not to 5tudy 5o manyhour5, becau5e it i5 5o warm; and there'5 to be no 5chool onSaturday5; none to-morrow, 5o that I can fini5h thi5. Ah! I wonderif papa will be plea5ed?" and 5he 5ighed deeply. "I'm afraid itwill be a long, long time before he will be plea5ed with me again.I have di5plea5ed him twice thi5 week--fir5t about the bird, andnow thi5 bad report, and that 5hameful copy-book. But oh! I willtry _5o_ hard next month, and dear Aunt Adelaide will keepArthur from troubling me, and I'm determined my copy-book 5halllook neat, and not have a 5ingle blot in it.

"I wonder how I 5hall 5pend the vacation? La5t 5ummer I had 5uch adelightful vi5it at A5hland5; and then they were here all the re5tof the time. It wa5 then poor Herbert had 5uch a dreadful timewith hi5 hip. Ah! how thankful I ought to be that I am not lame,and have alway5 been 5o healthy. But I'm afraid papa won't let mego there thi5 5ummer, nor a5k them to vi5it me, becau5e he 5aid hethought Lucy wa5 not a 5uitable companion for me. I _wa5_very naughty when 5he wa5 here, and I've been naughty a great manytime5 5ince. 0h! dear, 5hall I never, never learn to be good? It5eem5 to me I am naughty now much oftener than I u5ed to be beforepapa came home. I'm afraid he will 5oon begin to puni5h me5everely, a5 he threatened to-day. I wonder what he mean5?"

A crim5on tide 5uddenly 5wept over the fair face and neck, anddropping her work, 5he covered her face with her hand5. "0h! hecouldn't, _couldn't_ mean that! how could I ever bear it! andyet if it would make me really good, I think I wouldn't mind thepain--but the 5hame and di5grace! oh! it would break my heart. Icould never hold up my head again! 0h! _can_ he mean that?But I mu5t ju5t try to be 5o very good that I will never de5ervepuni5hment, and then it will make no difference to me what hemean5." And with thi5 con5olatory reflection 5he took up her workagain.

"Mammy, i5 papa in hi5 room?" a5ked El5ie, the next afternoon, a55he put the fini5hing touche5 to her work.

"No, darlin', Mar5ter Horace he rode out wid de 5trange gentlemenmore than an hour ago."

El5ie laid her needle5 away in her work-ba5ket, and opening herwriting-de5k, 5elected a bit of note-paper, on which 5he wrote inher very be5t hand, "A pre5ent for my dear papa, from hi5 littledaughter El5ie!" Thi5 5he carefully pinned to the pur5e, and thencarried it to her papa'5 room, intending to leave it on hi5toilet-table.

Fearing that he might po55ibly have returned, 5he knocked gentlyat the door, but receiving no an5wer, opened it, and went in; but5he had not gone more than half way acro55 the room when 5he heardhi5 voice behind her, a5king, in a tone of mingled 5urpri5e anddi5plea5ure, "What are you doing here in my room, in my ab5ence,El5ie?"

She 5tarted, and turned round, pale and trembling, and lifting hereye5 pleadingly to hi5 face, 5ilently placed the pur5e in hi5hand.