33 THIRD EVENING.

tionary always came to hand instead of the French
grammar; and when she was to read a chapter, she
usually got hold of Robinson Crusoe, or the World
Displayed, instead cf the Testament.

Julict’s mamma was almost tired of teaching her,
so she sent her to make a visit to an old lady in the
country, a very good woman, but rather strict with
young folk. Here she was shut up in a room above
stairs by herself after breakfast every day, till she had
quite finished the tasks set her. This house was one
of the very few that are still haunted by fairies.
One of these, whose name was Disorder, took a plea-
sure in plaguing poor Juliet. She was a frightful
figure to look at; being crooked and squint-eyed, with
her hair hanging about her face, and her dress put on
all awry, and full of rents and tatters. She prevailed
on the old lady to let her set Juliet her tasks; so one
morning she came up with a work-bag full of threads
of silk of all sorts of colours, mixed and entangled to-
gether, and a flower, very nicely worked, to copy. It
was a pansy, and the gradual melting of its hues into
one another was imitated with great accuracy and
beauty. “ Here, Miss,” said she, “my mistress hag
sent you a piece of work to do, and she insists upon
having it done before you come down to dinner. You
will find all the materials in this bag.”

Juliet took the flower and the bag, and turned out
all the silks upon the table. She slowly pulled out a
ved, and a purple, and a blue, and a yellow, and at;
length fixed upon one to begin working with. After
taking two or three stitches, and looking at her model,
she found another shade was wanted. ‘This was to be
hunted out from the bunch, and a long while it took
her to find it. It was soon necessary to change it
for another. Juliet saw that, in going on at this rate,
16 would take days instead of hours to work the
flower, so she laid down the needle and fell a-crying.
After this had continued some time, she was startled
ai the sound of some one stamping on the floor;