Gwen had been astonishing them by a piece of news that she had been keeping to herself for a long time, and this was that she had at last listened to Clement Arkwright, and was engaged to him.
'They say that if one wedding comes off in a family, others are sure to follow,' she said, by way of excusing herself; 'and he has been bothering my life out lately. I never seem to go up to town without tumbling across him somewhere. I think I have no spirit left to resist him as I used to do. But one thing I have told him, and that is that he will have to wait till I have cleared off more of my debts.'
'You have no debts,' said Agatha; 'it is nonsense to talk like that.'
'I shall never lift up my head and breathe freely till I have at any rate returned Walter his money,' said Gwen very emphatically.
'Ay, my dear,' put in Nannie affectionately; 'we'd rather your head weren't lifted just yet. 'Tis apt to rear itself a little too high, and 'tis the bowed head that gets the blessing of the Lord.'
'Nannie,' said Elfie impulsively, 'say our verses to us again, will you? Do you remember when you gave them to us? Put your hands on our heads as you used to do when we were little children, and we will receive them again as your blessing.'
And this Nannie did; and as she repeated the beautiful words, each sister confessed in the depths of her heart what a blessing they had been to her.
'Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.'
'Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.'
'Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.'