off, but as it is I would rather not have anyone with us."

Mrs. Hastings thought this a rather hard-hearted way of looking at the matter; but as Ella quite agreed with her father, feeling convinced she could not be able to keep from crying if the farewells were too long protracted, there was nothing for it but to yield, and as soon as the cab came to the door the parting was hurried through, and, almost before she had time to realise that she was really going, Ella found herself halfway to the station.

The railway journey was a long and troublesome one, involving several changes. Before midday Ella had recovered her spirits and her appetite, and acted on Kate's advice. "Do not wait for father to suggest lunch," she had said; "you may be sure he will not begin to feel hungry till you are quite ravenous." Remembering this, Ella laughed to herself at Mr. Hastings's surprise when she suggested that she was ready for her lunch, and proceeded to unpack her stores.

"This is the first course, I suppose," she said, as she produced two neat white-paper packages, each with the name of the contents written on it. "This one contains potted meat sandwiches, and these are chicken. They look very nice, too. These sprigs of watercress between the sandwiches are a great improvement."

"Yes, I must confess they are very good ones," assented Mr. Hastings, after trying one of each kind. "I think someone must have been giving the cook a lecture on the art of cutting them. Home-made sandwiches have generally too much butter, so that they are too rich to eat, and the paper they are wrapped in is greasy and disagreeable; but these have just the right quantity, and they are made with suitable bread—not, as I have often had them, of spongy bread, full of holes, through which the butter and meat oozes on to one's fingers."

In addition to these there were, for Ella's benefit, a few sandwiches made with damson jam, from which the stones had been extracted. The next course consisted of some small cakes and a few ripe pears. By way of beverage, Mrs. Hastings had supplied Ella with a flask of cold tea, made weak, and with a squeeze of lemon in it, which she had always found the best possible drink for quenching thirst; when travelling herself she always took either this or lime-juice and water. Finally, knowing that Ella had a good appetite, and would probably get very hungry before reaching her journey's end, her mother had told the cook to fill a small jam pot with lemon jelly, and to provide a teaspoon to eat it with. Ella found this most refreshing, and her lunch altogether was very satisfactory; certainly the supply was rather too bountiful, but that fact did not trouble her much, for she soon noticed a poor, hungry-looking boy on one of the stations, who thankfully accepted all that was left.

In spite of the length of the journey, Ella quite enjoyed the day; her father was so kind and took such good care of her. He insisted on her getting out of the carriage and walking up and down the platform whenever the train stopped long enough, that she might not be tired of sitting still; and when it began to get dark he made her put her feet up on the seat and tucked her up with the rug, and made her so comfortable that, to her own great surprise, she went fast asleep, and only awoke as her father was collecting their books and wraps on nearing their destination.

(To be continued.)

MERLE'S CRUSADE.

By ROSA NOUCHETTE CAREY, Author of "Aunt Diana," "For Lilias," etc.

CHAPTER III.
THE NEW NURSE.