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266 seemed to feel just as I do when I hear the sound of James' voice; not that I mean to compare myself to you, or James to Mr. Lloyd, but it is the nature of the feeling—it is the same in the high and the low, the rich and the poor."

"Was that all the ground of your suspicion?" asked Jane; smiling at her friend's boasted sagacity.

"No, not quite all; James has been very impatient for our marriage; and from time to time I have told Mr. Lloyd I wished he would look out for some one to take charge of his house, and I advised him not to get a very young person, for, says I, they are apt to be flighty. I never saw one that was not, but Jane Elton. He smiled and blushed, and asked me what made me think that you was so much above the rest of your sex, and so I told him, and he never seemed to weary with talking about you."

"I am rejoiced," replied Jane, "that your partiality to me reconciles you to the disparity in our ages."

"Oh, that is nothing; that is, in your case it is nothing. Let us see, eleven years. In most cases it would be too much, to be sure; there is just four years between James and I, that is just right, I think; but then, dear Jane, you are so different from other people, you need not go by common rules."

The overflowing of Mary's heart was checked by the entrance of some company. As she parted with Jane, she whispered, "I shall not think of