When she did speak, her first delightful ardor of admiration had cooled under the chilling perception of a want of proper harmony between her pearls and herself.

"They are too grand for me," she said sadly; "I ought to be a great lady, with a wardrobe full of magnificent dresses, to wear such pearls as these!" She looked at them again, with the natural longing of her sex and age.

"May I take the necklace upstairs," she asked, with the most charming inconsistency, "and see how it looks when I put it on ?" Mr.Keller smiled and waved his hand.

"You can do what you like with your own necklace, my dear," he said.

"When I have written a line to my sister, perhaps I may follow you, and admire my daughter-in-law in all her grandeur." The physician looked at his watch.