"Mr. Thornton has had the impertinence to say that if Margaret Burns is such a fool as to wish to stay with me, she is welcome."

Kate smiled, and said, "If I wished to go down with her I might."

"Daisy is not going down, but up," replied Cornelius, taking me by the hand and leading me to the studio; as we entered it he said—

"Daisy, you knocked at the door yesterday, and stood on the threshold: I won't have that again."

"Very well, Cornelius; shall I arrange the portfolios?"

"If you like."

I looked over them for awhile, then could not help observing—

"Cornelius, they look just as I left them."

"Perhaps they are: one cannot be always looking at those old things."

I put by the portfolio and looked around me. In a corner I perceived Medora; I knew enough of painting to see at a glance that it had scarcely been touched since I had left home. Cornelius was very apt to begin pictures, and leave them by for some other fancy: Medora had thus replaced the Stolen Child, but I looked in vain for the successor of Medora.