"Well, didn't the Squire appear delighted?"
"Yes," said Mr. Kingman, "I think he was; but I doubt if he was as happy as I"—with a loving look at his little daughter—"for mamma had been telling me something."
"And you were glad?" she asked, nestling closer.
"Far more than to have seen you Queen"—kissing her. Then taking a spray of delicate green from a vase near by, "I will crown you myself;" and he tenderly twined it round her head.
But the day was not yet done. A sharp ring was heard soon after at the door, and Susie, on hearing Sadie's breathless "I must see Susie right away," darted into the hall.
"Have you heard?" gasped Sadie, handing her a note.
BESSIE'S PORTRAIT.
"No—what?" questioned Susie, in the same excited tone, grasping the paper, and pulling Sadie into the library. She turned up the light, which fell upon the words:
"Oh, Susie! the portrait has come, and it's Bessie herself! She has come to Maplewood to live. I'm the happiest girl on earth. Bessie says she is, and we owe it all to God through you."