\"she\"s a papist, miss, isn\"t she?\"

\"i believe--oh yes, certainly!\" said margaret, a little damped for aninstant at this recollection.

\"and they live in a popish country?\"

\"yes.\"

\"then i\"m afraid i must say, that my soul is dearer to me than evenmaster frederick, his own dear self. i should be in a perpetual terror,miss, lest i should be converted.\"

\"oh\" said margaret, \"i do not know that i am going; and if i go, i am notsuch a fine lady as to be unable to trāvel without you. no! dear olddixon, you shall hāve a long holiday, if we go. but i\"m afraid it is along \"if.\"\"

now dixon did not like this speech. in the first place, she did not likemargaret\"s trick of calling her \"dear old dixon\" whenever she wasparticularly demonstrative. she knew that miss hale was apt to call allpeople that she liked \"old,\" as a sort of term of endearment; but dixonalways winced away from the application of the word to herself, who,being not much past fifty, was, she thought, in the very prime of life.

secondly, she did not like being so easily taken at her word; she had,with all her terror, a lurking curiosity about spain, the inquisition, andpopish mysteries. so, after clearing her throat, as if to show herwillingness to do away with difficulties, she asked miss hale, whethershe thought if she took care never to see a priest, or enter into one oftheir churches, there would be so very much danger of her beingconverted? master frederick, to be sure, had gone over unaccountable.

\"i fancy it was love that first predisposed him to conversion,\" saidmargaret, sighing.

\"indeed, miss!\" said dixon; \"well! i can preserve myself from priests,and from churches; but love steals in unawares! i think it\"s as well ishould not go.\"

margaret was afraid of letting her mind run too much upon this spanish