"I never thought about it before, but such an institution could not help being a popular one, and a very useful one too," I confessed.
"Oh, I am so glad, so very glad, that you approve, dear, for I am engaged in that work; and I did not want to write it to you, for somehow it seemed so strange for such a thoughtless, silly girl as I have been to attempt such a serious thing."
"As teaching in a Sunday-school?"
"Yes, in a sort of mission school for little scholars of the lower classes. Miss Mary Pepper and I have at this time nearly two hundred boys and girls of all ages, and some of them are very interesting and lovable, while others are--"
"Like the two gladiators who introduced you to the scene?"
"Yes. I am afraid there are quite a number of that kind; but, Winnie, you must like Miss Mary Pepper. Oh, she is one of the most excellent women I ever knew, so truly, so nobly, so devotedly good. You cannot imagine what a comfort it is to me to be with her--to feel that I am under her influence, and may learn from her to be a little like her."
"Miss Mary Pepper?" I repeated: "then she is a young lady?"
"No--not young: indeed, she is rather elderly."
"An old maid," I remarked, coldly. "She is pretty and sweet, though faded, I suppose."
"Why, no--not to look at: her nature is beautiful, but her manner and figure are rather--rather unprepossessing at first."