of regret sincerely reciprocated by himself. He proposed to leave
the town immediately; and one of the objects of his visit was to
bid me good-by.

"The next place I live in," he said, "will be more than a hundred
miles away. At that distance I may hope to keep events concealed
which must be known only to ourselves. So far as I can see, there
are no risks of discovery lurking in this place. My servants
(only two in number) have both been born here, and have both told
my wife that they have no wish to go away. As to the person who
introduced herself to me by the name of Miss Chance, she was
traced to the railway station yesterday afternoon, and took
her ticket for London."

I congratulated the Minister on the good fortune which had
befriended him, so far.

"You will understand how carefully I have provided against being
deceived," he continued, "when I tell you what my plans are. The
persons among whom my future lot is cast--and the child herself,
of course--must never suspect that the new member of my family
is other than my own daughter. This is deceit, I admit; but it is
deceit that injures no one. I hope you see the necessity for it,
as I do."

There could be no doubt of the necessity.

If the child was described as adopted, there would be curiosity
about the circumstances, and inquiries relating to the parents.
Prevaricating replies lead to suspicion, and suspicion to