.

The Nursemaid.
Pale, worn, haggard with anxiety, Sydney Westerfield entered the room, and looked once more on the faces which she had resigned herself never to see again.

She appeared to be hardly conscious of the kind reception which did its best to set her at her ease.
"Am I in time ?" were the first words that escaped her on entering the room.

Reassured by the answer, she turned back to the door, eager to hurry upstairs to Kitty's bedside.
Mrs.Linley's gentle hand detained her.
The doctor had left certain instructions, warning the mother to guard against any accident that might remind Kitty of the day on which Sydney had left her.

At the time of that bitter parting, the child had seen her governess in the same walking-dress which she wore now.