"She is never at church." "No; she is but delicate and weakly, and never leaves the house.

I think her maid told me she never left her room now." The Buxton family, root and branch, formed the _piece de resistance_ in the conversation between Mrs.Browne and her children for the next week.

As the day drew near, Maggie almost wished to stay at home, so impressed was she with the awfulness of the visit.

Edward felt bold in the idea of a new suit of clothes, which had been ordered for the occasion, and for school afterwards.

Mrs.Browne remembered having heard the rector say, "A woman never looked so lady-like as when she wore black satin," and kept her spirits up with that observation; but when she saw how worn it was at the elbows, she felt rather depressed, and unequal to visiting.