lines of what Mrs. Lowder " took up," her interloc
utress could handsomely say yes, since by the same
principle she believed in herself. Whom but Aunt
Maud's niece, pre-eminently, had Aunt Maud taken
up, and who was thus more in the current, with her,
of working and of being worked? " You may ask,"
Kate said, " what in the world _I_ have to give; and
that indeed is just what I'm trying to learn. There
must be something, for her to think she can get it
out of me. She will get it trust her; and then I
shall see what it is; which I beg you to believe I
should never have found out for myself." She de
clined to treat any question of Milly's own " pay
ing " power as discussable; that Milly would pay a
hundred per cent. and even to the end, doubtless,
through the nose was just the beautiful basis on
which they found themselves.

These were fine facilities, pleasantries, ironies, all
these luxuries of gossip and philosophies of London
and of life, and they became quickly, between the
pair, the common form of talk, Milly professing her
self delighted to know that something was to be done
with her. If the most remarkable woman in Eng
land was to do it, so much the better, and if the most
remarkable woman in England had them both in
hand together, why, what could be jollier for each?
When she reflected indeed a little on the oddity of
her wanting two at once, Kate had the natural reply
that it was exactly what showed her sincerity. She
invariably gave way to feeling, and feeling had dis-

[[199]]

p198 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p199w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p200

v?