Father doesn't think any the less of you, and never will, and he is never going to forget your own dear mother; but it is all for the best, the way he has decided.

Now, good-night, darling, try to go to sleep, and don't worry about anything." It was not long before Maria did fall asleep.

Her thoughts were in such a whirl that it was almost like intoxication.

She could not seem to fix her mind on anything long enough to hold herself awake.

It was not merely the fact of her father's going to marry again, it was everything which that involved.