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 bottles of scent and a pair of curling-tongs, and— strangest of all—a bundle of red hair that looked like the front part of a wig, all frizzled up into curls. The room was very untidy, too. Skirts and other articles of clothing were scattered about on the floor, and a hat with a big feather in it was lying on the back of one of the chairs. The cushions on the divan were all creased and crumpled, and a book lay face down on the carpet just where it had been thrown when its owner had done with it.

Ella stood and gazed at all this for some time ; then she heard a step on the stairs, and going to the door saw Belinda, the maid, who had come to help her unpack.

“ Oh, Belinda,” said Ella, “what has happened to my room?”

“It’s not your room any longer, miss,” answered Belinda. “Miss Euphronia took such a fancy to it, because it was pleasant and had an outlook on the garden, that she has turned it into a dressing-room. That’s her table over there, where she titivates herself. She has taken your bedroom, too, and put your things up into the attic.”

“I shall complain to father,” said Ella. “It cannot be his will that I should be so slighted, and he will put matters right.”

“I shouldn’t count too much on that if I were you, miss,” said Belinda. “There’s changes in your father, too. He’s no longer master in his own house, and he’s nagged at day and night. Why, the only peace the poor man can get is to shut himself up in his library, and even then the Baroness,” here Belinda gave a mighty scornful