JUNE 113 



you ; I want to be friends. I am of age, and my 

 own mistress, and I have been longing for it just 

 that I might come to you. You won't send me 

 away ? " 



There was a suspicious break in the fresh young 

 voice, and I kissed her, and I am sure that Jim 

 would have liked to kiss her too. The feud was at 

 an end from that moment, and even the intolerable 

 mother, when we went home that morning with 

 Magdalen, tried to pretend that it had never existed. 

 The years have passed since then, and Magdalen is 

 older by more than a thousand days, but is no less 

 winning than she was on that morn of reconcilia- 

 tion. Hardly a day passes that she does not come 

 to us, or we to her, and I have known her secret 

 long ago, though she has never told it. But Jim, 

 being a man, is stupid at seeing, or, if he sees, he 

 keeps his counsel well. I do not know that I have 

 much hope in the matter. Magdalen is proud, but 

 Jim's pride is to hers like a mountain to a road 

 grit ; and even if he cared, which I doubt, he 

 would not let her know. There would be too much 

 involved in it for him. 



June 29. We are keeping the young cineraria 

 plants in a cold frame on the north side of a hedge, 

 and a veil of tiffany is laid near to shade them 

 when the sun is high in the heavens. Cinerarias 

 will not do their best if they have much warmth at 

 any stage of their growth except the last. It cost 

 me several packets of seed and three seasons' ex- 

 perience before I could impress this fact upon 

 Sterculus, but he talks now as if I were a babe 

 and he my instructor in cineraria growing, 

 i 



