"Our little home is very pleasant, and we have dear and kind friends here--but I see that we must go." "Have you decided where to go to ?" "No.

That is one of the things I want you to decide for me." "You cannot bear to live in a large town ?" "Better now probably than I did years ago," Mrs.Costello said, with a faint smile.

"I am more used now to a civilized life than I was then." "I think your best security now, as then, would be found in a crowd--or if you dislike that, you might travel from place to place for a time." "Are you strong enough for that, mamma ?" asked Lucia.

"If you are, it is surely the best plan." "It is the best plan," Mrs.Costello answered, "because it would be a sufficient reason for our leaving here.

Only it is a strange time of year to start on such a journey.