And it was some time before she really comprehended her true position.
"Not your child--a guardian--property!--What does it all mean?
Am I really awake, mother ?" "Yes, dear, you are awake.

It is no dream, believe me," was the tender reply of Mrs.Claire.

"But, remember, that all this does not diminish our love for you--does not remove you in the least from our affections.

You are still our child, bound to us by a thousand intertwining chords." But little more passed between them at this interview.

Fanny asked for no more particulars, and Mrs.Claire did not think it necessary to give any further information.