"I should indeed like to go to school," was the audible conclusion of my musings.

"Well，well! who knows what may happen?" said Mr. Lloyd，as he got up. "The child ought to have change of air and scene," he added，speaking to himself; "nerves not in a good state."

Bessie now returned; at the same moment the carriage was heard rolling up the gravel-walk.

"Is that your mistress，nurse?" asked Mr. Lloyd. "I should like to speak to her before I go."

Bessie invited him to walk into the breakfast-room，and led the way out. In the interview which followed between him and Mrs. Reed，I presume，from after-occurrences，that the apothecary ventured to remend my being sent to school; and the remendation was no doubt readily enough adopted; for as Abbot said，in discussing the subject with Bessie when both sat sewing in the nursery one night，after I was in bed，and，as they thought，asleep，"Missis was，she dared say，glad enough to get rid of such a tiresome，ill-conditioned child，who always looked as if she were watching everybody，and scheming plots underhand." Abbot，I think，gave me credit for being a sort of infantine Guy Fawkes.

On that same occasion I learned，for the first time，from Miss Abbot"s munications to Bessie，that my father had been a poor clergyman; that my mother had married him against the wishes of her friends，who considered the match beneath her; that my grandfather Reed was so irritated at her disobedience，he cut her off without a shilling; that after my mother and father had been married a year，the latter caught the typhus fever while visiting among the poor of a large manufacturing town where his curacy was situated，and where that disease was then prevalent: that my mother took the infection from him，and both died within a month of each other.

Bessie，when she heard this narrative，sighed and said，"poor Miss Jane is to be pitied too，Abbot."