Still Mrs. Freeman maintained, as was her wont, that there must be two sides to the story; and after vainly endeavouring to imagine what the other side could be, she fell asleep, and was undisturbed until morning.

All seemed quiet the next day, and Mrs. Freeman had somewhat recovered from the alarm of the previous night, when she was again visited by her friend, Mrs. Morris.  As usual, she had confidential communications to make, and particularly wished the advice of Mrs. Freeman in a matter which she declared weighed heavily upon her mind; and being assured that they should be undisturbed, began at once to impart the weighty secret.

“You remember Mrs. Dawson, who went with her husband to Europe, a year or two ago?”

“Certainly I do,” was the reply.  “I was well acquainted with her.”

“Do you recollect a girl who had lived with her for several years?  I think her name was Mary Berkly.”

“Quite well.  Mrs. Dawson placed great confidence in her, and wished to take her abroad, but Mary was engaged to an honest carpenter, in good business, and wisely preferred a comfortable house in her own country.”

“She had other reasons, I suspect,” replied Mrs. Morris, mysteriously, “but you will hear.  This Mary Berkly, or as she is now called, Mary White, lives not far from my present residence.  Her husband is comfortably off, and his wife is not obliged to work, excepting in her own family, but still she will occasionally, as a favour, do up a few muslins for particular persons.  You know she was famous for her skill in those things.  The other day, having a few pieces which I was particularly anxious to have look nice, I called upon her to see if she would wash them for me.  She was not at home, but her little niece, who lives with her, a child of four years old, said that Aunt Mary would be in directly, and asked me to walk into the parlour.  I did so, and the little thing stood by my side chattering away like a magpie.  In reply to my questions as to whether she liked to live with her aunt, what she amused herself with, &c., &c., she entered into a long account of her various playthings, and ended by saying that she would show me a beautiful new doll which her good uncle had given her, if I would please to unlock the door of a closet near where I was sitting, as she could not turn the key.

“To please the child I unlocked the door.  She threw it wide open, and to my astonishment I saw that it was filled with valuable silver plate, china, and other articles of similar kind, some of which I particularly remembered having seen at Mrs. Dawson’s.”

“Perhaps she gave them to Mary,” suggested Mrs. Freeman.  “She was quite attached to her.”

“Impossible!” exclaimed Mrs. Morris.  “Valuable silver plate is not often given to servants.  But I have not yet finished.  Just as the child had found the doll Mrs. White entered, and on seeing the closet-door open, said sternly to the child,