Was I right?

by Mrs. O. F. Walton

"Oh, I dare say," said Evelyn; "there are some things that I wish for just a minute, and then when they come I do not care for them. If you only saw the number of books on those shelves, the leaves of which have never been out. I wished for them, and ordered them, but when they arrived I had given up wishing for them, and I have never begun to read them."

I thought of the little shelves at home which had held my small library, each volume of which was the prized gift of some friend, and which had been read and re-read, until I know their contents almost by heart.

Before I had been long at Alliston Hall, I came to the conclusion that the enjoyment of this life is much more evenly distributed than many of us think. For where pleasures are many, the enjoyment that they give is comparatively small; whilst where they are few and far between, they cause so much larger an amount of enjoyment, that the lives of those who receive them are quite as full of sunshine and brightness as they would be if their pleasures were more in number.

[CHAPTER VII.]

CONSCIENCE AT WORK.

MY life at Alliston Hall was a very happy one. Day after day went by without any care or anxiety, and every one was so kind to me that I could not feel lonely or homeless any longer.

The more I knew of Evelyn Trafford, the more I loved her. In spite of her light, careless way of talking, there was a great deal of genuine kind feeling in her, and I am sure she did all in her power to make me happy. I never once remember, the whole time I was with her, feeling uncomfortable on account of my position in the house. Both Sir William and Evelyn treated me as if I were one of the family, and I received nothing but kindness from their numerous visitors and friends. Lady Eldridge was the only exception. She, whenever she made her appearance at Alliston Hall, thought it her duty to keep me fully aware who she, Lady Eldridge, was, and who I, May Lindsay, was, and of the immense and immeasurable distance between us.

The guests at Alliston Hall did not pay very long visits, so I had constant change and variety in my life, and heard and saw a great deal more of the outer world than in our quiet country home.