"Do you remember the farmer we went to see?" she continued, "What was his name?—the man with the honest face?"
"Mark Brace?" replied the duchess.
"Yes," said Lady Estelle; "Mark Brace. Do you remember him, and that simple, gentle wife of his, and the two children, one as brown as a berry, and the other as fair as a lily, with hair of shining gold?"
"I remember them very well," replied her grace. "Indeed I could never forget that child; she was the most beautiful little creature I ever beheld; but she gave promise of being one of the worst."
"Oh, mamma, do not say such a thing!" cried Lady Estelle, with more animation than was usual with her.
"Why not, my dear?" said the duchess, calmly. "Great beauty and great wickedness so often go together."
"But it seems such a cruel thing to say of a child—a little child."
"Well, perhaps it does seem rather hard; but then, 'the child gives promise of the man,' and if ever child was precocious in vanity and ambition, that child was. You forget her."
"Yes," said Lady Estelle. "It is so long since, I forget her; but you are generally merciful in your judgments, mamma. It seems strange to hear you speak harshly of a child."
The duchess made no reply. The subject seemed to have no particular interest for her, whereas the beautiful point-lace she was making had great claims on her attention. After a few minutes Lady Estelle continued: