342 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



"standing in her own light." It was utterly un- 

 reasonable and childishly sentimental, Osla said, to 

 refuse such an offer for a piece of land and an old 

 ruin that did not bring Ingath so much as the 

 bread that sustained her ! The money offered by Mr. 

 Nemo would do a great deal more than that, and who 

 but a romantic fool would hesitate ! Well ! Miss 

 Injrath had her own ideas of what was dignified and 

 lady-like, and when she found that her sister meant 

 what she said, and that she must share Orgert with 

 the eccentric stranger, or agree to a sale, she yielded — 

 yielded with an aching heart, and a bitter sense of 

 wrong done to her by the companion of her life, the 

 sister who had shared all her struggles, and had known 

 her heart more intimately than any other being. Miss 

 Ingath, writhing under the pain of such a blow, coming 

 from such a hand, forgot that the sister had long since 

 been lost in the mother of many children, whose ever- 

 increasing wants were hourly demanding all that 

 mother's time and thoughts. 



With few words Miss Ingath finally signified that 

 she agreed, but when the necessary papers were signed, 

 the money paid, and a division to be made, she put her 

 two thin, trembling hands behind her back, threw up 

 her proud head, and said — 



"I'll not touch a penny of it. Give it to the 

 chUdren, and never, never speak to me again about 

 that money or this business." 



And now we have arrived at the point from which 

 we started, and will proceed with our narrative. 



