WARD GRUMBLES AT OCR INACTION. 201 



devices of green and blue all over the dress ; still 

 the image of her mother a miniature of a minia- 

 ture. 



" Well, these fairy -like creatures got presently 

 domesticated with us all ; but the curious devotion 

 of that mother and child to each other was at once 

 their peculiar distinction. Not that either was self- 

 willed or uncompanionable, far from it, and both 

 were to my mother's side at a whisper, and they 

 would go anywhere or do anything in the cheeriest, 

 bird-like way ; but it was when alone together 

 they seemed happiest. And what rambles they had 

 over the moors and through the woods, only to 

 come back late, tired, and sleepy like children, as 

 children they both were ; although my poor little 

 sister-in-law was religious, pure principled, and had 

 the usual lady-like accomplishments, still she was 

 a baby. 



To the time I left for India, in a week or so, 

 it was always the same ; and you may think how 

 grieved I was not many months afterwards, to get 

 a letter telling me that little Lucy had died sud- 

 denly after their return home. I much feared her 

 mother would not survive it, but she did ; and, as 

 I heard, soon became composed and often even 



