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leaving thankfully behind her an atmosphere of condemnation such as she had never imagined.

She was a splendid sailor, and for two or three days enjoyed her first taste of freedom to the full. Then the drawbacks which Aunt Sophia had foretold began to present themselves very forcibly. It was certainly very disagreeable learning to do without a maid. How did people do their hair quickly, and always know where all their things were, and put their clothes on beautifully quite by themselves? She missed the deference of which Lady Trent had always met wite a great deal more than she cared to acknowledge, and several times had to pull herself up short on the point of resenting undue familiarities on the part of fellow-passengers. There was very little she could resent now, she reflected childishly. She was Miss Sidmouth’s companion—that was all. Miss Sidmouth, too, seemed different from that old friend of her mother’s with whom she sometimes spent a week in her Cornish home. She was kind, of course, and at present Pamela owed her everything; but, dear me, how often she mislaid her glasses, her smelling-salts, her keys how difficult it was to satisfy her, no matter how hard one wrestled with unaccustomed difficulties of packing, and scanty, hopelessly straight grey hair.

Now that her effort to get away from London had succeeded, she had leisure to remember what she had left. What fun it had all been Were they missing her, she wondered, at their balls and supper-parties? She supposed not. But how she had loved her pretty frocks and the general atmosphere of flattery and good will which had been hers by right. . . . By right? Ah, no! She hastily turned the key on that store-house of memories; as for the distant future, she did not dare think of it at all—she needed all her strength for the present. She was glad of an interruption at that minute, and smiled a greeting to the man who had paused in front of her chair. He was a Sir Herbert