you think i\"m an old woman whose ideas are bounded by milton, andwhose own crow is the whitest ever seen.\"

\"no,\" said margaret, with some spirit. \"it may be true, that i was thinkingi had hardly heard mr. thornton\"s name before i came to milton. butsince i hāve e here, i hāve heard enough to make me respect andadmire him, and to feel how much justice and truth there is in what youhāve said of him.\"

\"who spoke to you of him?\" asked mrs. thornton, a little mollified, yetjealous lest any one else\"s words should not hāve done him full justice.

margaret hesitated before she replied. she did not like this authoritativequestioning. mr. hale came in, as he thought, to the rescue.

\"it was what mr. thornton said himself, that made us know the kind ofman he was. was it not, margaret?\"

mrs. thornton drew herself up, and said-\"

my son is not the one to tell of his own doings. may i again ask you,miss hale, from whose account you formed your fāvourable opinion ofhim? a mother is curious and greedy of mendation of her children,you know.\"

margaret replied, \"it was as much from what mr. thornton withheld ofthat which we had been told of his previous life by mr. bell,--it wasmore that than what he said, that made us all feel what reason you hāveto be proud of him.\"

\"mr. bell! what can he know of john? he, living a lazy life in a drowsycollege. but i\"m obliged to you, miss hale. many a missy young ladywould hāve shrunk from giving an old woman the pleasure of hearingthat her son was well spoken of.\"

\"why?\" asked margaret, looking straight at mrs. thornton, inbewilderment.

\"why! because i suppose they might hāve consciences that told themhow surely they were making the old mother into an advocate for them,in case they had any plans on the son\"s heart.\"

she smiled a grim smile, for she had been pleased by margaret\"sfrankness; and perhaps she felt that she had been asking questions toomuch as if she had a right to catechise. margaret laughed outright at thenotion presented to her; laughed so merrily that it grated on mrs.

thornton\"s ear, as if the words that called forth that laugh, must hāvebeen utterly and entirely ludicrous.

margaret stopped her merriment as soon as she saw mrs. thornton\"sannoyed look.

\"i beg your pardon, madam. but i really am very much obliged to you

for exonerating me from making any plans on mr. thornton\"s heart.\"

\"young ladies hāve, before now,\" said mrs. thornton, stiffly.

\"i hope miss thornton is well,\" put in mr. hale, desirous of changing thecurrent of the conversation.

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