me, won’t you, my dear?’ Mrs. Dawes felt the hand trembling on her shoulder, and saw the real distress of Miss Browning’s mind, so it was not difficult to her to grant the requested forgiveness.  Then Miss Browning went home, and said but few words to Phoebe, who indeed saw well enough that her sister had heard the reports confirmed, and needed no further explanation of the cause of scarcely-tasted dinner, and short replies, and saddened looks.  Presently Miss Browning sate down and wrote a short note.  Then she rang the bell, and told the little maiden who answered it to take it to Mr. Gibson, and if he was out to see that it was given to him as soon as ever he came home.  And then she went and put on her Sunday cap; and Miss Phoebe knew that her sister had written to ask Mr. Gibson to come and be told of the rumours affecting his daughter.  Miss Browning was sadly disturbed at the information she had received, and the task that lay before her; she was miserably uncomfortable to herself and irritable to Miss Phoebe, and the netting-cotton she was using kept continually snapping and breaking from the jerks of her nervous hands.  When the knock at the door was heard,—­the well-known doctor’s knock,—­ Miss Browning took off her spectacles, and dropped them on the carpet, breaking them as she did so; and then she bade Miss Phoebe leave the room, as if her presence had cast the evil-eye, and caused the misfortune.  She wanted to look natural, and was distressed at forgetting whether she usually received him sitting or standing.

‘Well!’ said he, coming in cheerfully, and rubbing his cold hands as he went straight to the fire, ’and what is the matter with us?  It’s Phoebe, I suppose.  I hope none of those old spasms?  But, after all, a dose or two will set that to rights.’

‘Oh!  Mr. Gibson, I wish it was Phoebe, or me either!’ said Miss Browning, trembling more and more.

He sate down by her patiently, when he saw her agitation, and took her hand in a kind, friendly manner.

’Don’t hurry yourself,—­take your time.  I daresay it’s not so bad as you fancy; but we’ll see about it.  There’s a great deal of help in the world, much as we abuse it.’

‘Mr. Gibson,’ said she, ’it’s your Molly I’m so grieved about.  It’s out now, and God help us both, and the poor child too, for I’m sure she’s been led astray, and not gone wrong by her own free will!’

‘Molly!’ said he, fighting against her words.  ’What’s my little Molly been doing or saying?’

’Oh!  Mr. Gibson, I don’t know how to tell you.  I never would have named it, if I had not been convinced, sorely, sorely against my will.’

‘At any rate, you can let me hear what you have heard,’ said he, putting his elbow on the table, and screening his eyes with his hand.  ‘Not that I am a bit afraid of anything you can hear about my girl,’ continued he.  ’Only in this little nest of gossip it’s as well to know what people are talking about.’