\"i hāve credit in cadiz,\" said he, \"but none here, owing to this wretchedchange of name. why did my father leāve helstone? that was theblunder.\"

\"it was no blunder,\" said margaret gloomily. \"and above all possiblechances, āvoid letting papa hear anything like what you hāve just beensaying. i can see that he is tormenting himself already with the idea thatmamma would never hāve been ill if we had stayed at helstone, andyou don\"t know papa\"s agonising power of self-reproach!\"

frederick walked away as if he were on the quarter-deck. at last hestopped right opposite to margaret, and looked at her drooping anddesponding attitude for an instant.

\"my little margaret!\" said he, caressing her. \"let us hope as long as wecan. poor little woman! what! is this face all wet with tears? i will hope.

i will, in spite of a thousand doctors. bear up, margaret, and be brāveenough to hope!\"

margaret choked in trying to speak, and when she did it was very low.

\"i must try to be meek enough to trust. oh, frederick! mamma wasgetting to love me so! and i was getting to understand her. and nowes death to snap us asunder!\"

\"e, e, e! let us go up-stairs, and do something, rather thanwaste time that may be so precious. thinking has, many a time, mademe sad, darling; but doing never did in all my life. my theory is a sortof parody on the maxim of \"get money, my son, honestly if you can;but get money. my precept is, \"do something, my sister, do good if youcan; but, at any rate, do something.\"\"

\"not excluding mischief,\" said margaret, smiling faintly through hertears.

\"by no means. what i do exclude is the remorse afterwards. blot yourmisdeeds out (if you are particularly conscientious), by a good deed, assoon as you can; just as we did a correct sum at school on the slate,where an incorrect one was only half rubbed out. it was better thanwetting our sponge with our tears; both less loss of time where tears hadto be waited for, and a better effect at last.\"

if margaret thought frederick\"s theory rather a rough one at first, shesaw how he worked it out into continual production of kindness in fact.