After  breakfast  he  went  upstairs  and  put  on  a  light  loose
frock,  instead  of  that  which  he  commonly  wore,  which  was
a  close-fitting  and  rather  stylish  one.  On  his  way  to  school
he  met  Alminy  Cutterr,  who  happened  to  be  walking  in  the
other  direction.  "  Good  morning,  Miss  Cutter,"  he  said ;  for
she  and  another  young  lady  had  been  introduced  to  him,  on
a  former  occasion,  in  the  usual  phrase  of  polite  society  in
presenting  ladies  to  gentlemen, — "  Mr.  Langdon,  let  me  make
y'  acquainted  with  Miss  Cutterr; — let  me  make  y'  ac
quainted  with  Miss  Braowne."  So  he  said,  "  Good-morn
ing  " ;  to  which  she  replied,  "  Good-mornin',  Mr.  Langdon.
Haow's  your  haalth  ? "  The  answer  to  this  question  ought
naturally  to  have  been  the  end  of  the  talk;  but  Alminy
Cutterr  lingered  and  looked  as  if  she  had  something  more
on  her  mind.
A  young  fellow  does  not  require  a  great  experience  to
read  a  simple  country-girl's  face  as  if  it  were  a  signboard.
Alminy  was  a  good  soul,  with  red  cheeks  and  bright  eyes,
kind-hearted  as  she  could  be,  and  it  was  out  of  the  question
for  her  to  hide  her  thoughts  or  feelings  like  a  fine  lady.
Her  bright  eyes  were  moist  and  her  red  cheeks  paler  than
their  wont,  as  she  said,  with  her  lips  quivering, — "  Oh,  Mr.
Langdon,  them  boys  '11  be  the  death  of  ye,  if  ye  don't  take
caar !  "

"  Why,  what's  the  matter,  my  dear  ? "  said  Mr.  Bernard.
