CHAPTER X.
THAT week was, on the whole, a pleasant
one. In spite of Edith's not being able to
walk, and at times suffering considerably, she
was yet fully equal to the companionship of
the home circle. The first two days she kept
in bed, after that she was sufficiently well to
lie on a sofa; in the morning in the nursery,
in the afternoon in the drawing-room; and
with Herbert or Grace to amuse her in their
own various ways, she found the time pass
tolerably quickly. Then at tea, Mr. Hamilton
usually returned from his business or pleasure,
and when the meal was over he read some
interesting book, or kept them eager and
listening while he related his bygone adven-
tures. 'Mrs. Hamilton had been intensely
anxious about Edith, and watched and nursed
her with all a mother's tenderness; but even
she was growing satisfied as she saw from day
to day the growing improvement, and marked
the brightening eye and the reviving spirits.
 Clara Lee stood at her dressing-room
window the morning the school was to re-
open, that she might catch the first glimpse
of her friend's arrival. She knew there would
 J