to open her lips in consolation or extenuation.  She could not trust herself to speak; she would not venture to renew any solicitation.  Forlorn and humbled as she was, she felt that she was in the greatest danger; that it was a tremendous bribe that was offered to her.  She had Peggy’s story ringing in her ears, and thought of Peggy’s insight and Peggy’s courage.  The weak and facile Mr. Brandon was apt to fall in love, or to fancy that he did so, with any woman he came in much contact with, and she was as unsuitable for him, even more unsuitable, than Peggy was.  The discipline of the last ten months had been too severe for her; it had crushed her spirit, and injured her health.  She felt alarmed about her cough, and recently had been thinking more of the blessedness of an early death than the happiness of an early marriage.  She felt herself to be sickly, low-spirited, wanting in energy, no fit companion for any colonist, and especially unfit to be the wife of a man of so little force of character.  His offer appeared to her to be rash and imprudent.  What did he know of her to warrant him in risking his life’s happiness in such a way?  But yet, though it was foolish in him to ask her, and though it would have been very wrong in her to accept of him, she was grateful, so grateful.  How little Walter Brandon could guess how grateful she felt, when, after their journey was over, he took her cold, trembling hand, and placed her in the carriage that was to take them to Dr. Phillips’s.

“You seem afraid of me, Miss Alice,” said he.  “Do not think that I will say another word on the subject, if it is painful to you.  I know better than to persecute a woman with my addresses, if I see she does not like them.  But do you really not like them?”

“No, I do not,” said Elsie, abruptly.  “You will see hundreds of other women who would suit you far better than I could do.”

“If you would only love me, I should be quite satisfied with your suiting me—­but if you cannot, there need be no more said about it.”

Jane was engaged with her pupils when her sister arrived, and Mrs. Phillips, who had not been very regular in her attendance at school lately, stayed in the room this morning in order to see and remark upon Miss Melville’s pretty sister.  She could see little beauty in the sad face, with the weary look about the eyes, and the lines round the mouth, that had been the result of Elsie’s real experience of life.  The figure, Mrs. Phillips confessed to her husband and to Mr. Brandon, was rather good, but wanted development; it was too much of the whipping-post order.  The Misses Phillips said they really thought Jane the better looking of the two girls, for she had such a beautiful expression; while Mr. Phillips said that Elsie had fallen off sadly since he saw her in Edinburgh at the new year.  She had struck him then as being very pretty, but he did not think so now, and, of course, in every other respect but personal