Jane wiped up the milk, and the baby was crying more hopelessly than ever.

"I might have known," sighed poor Inexperience. "Never mind my dress now, Jane; warm some more as soon as possible, and sweeten it well. I'm sorry for the cup; it was my sister Lizzie's. She drank out of it for twenty years, and never cracked it. But it's of no use mourning. Oh baby, baby, hush!" and once more rising, she began to pace up and down, singing "Little Jack Horner," which was one of the few nursery-rhymes she could recall from the long-ago time when she had tended Mark. Before her breath was quite gone, the new breakfast was ready. It proved acceptable, and was eagerly eaten. The wailings ceased, the tears dried on the plump cheeks, and Miss Linden experienced real delight in ministering to the child's comfort at last. Hardly was the final drop sipped, when the bold blue eyes began to grow heavy, and the curly head to nestle towards her shoulder.

"He is sleepy, Jane!" she cried, in a happy undertone. "Pull down the curtains, give Nanny that book of Natural History, and shut the door softly."

"The child may tear it, Miss," remonstrated Jane, jealous for "Mr. Mark's property.

"I will take care of that; this dear little creature must not be roused," said the mistress, decidedly, feeling all a mother's sense of the supreme importance of "baby's nap" over all other considerations. Jane sniffed, obeyed, and retired. Nanny, well trained to the above-named doctrine, was as still as a mouse over her book. And now slowly the pink lids dropped over the dreamy eyes, gently the little fingers unclasped their hold on the porringer, softly the weary head sank down upon the waiting arm, and again Miss Linden experienced almost a mother's tender joy as the rosy little tyrant subsided trustfully into unconsciousness upon her breast. With a sigh of mental satisfaction and physical relief, she leaned back in her chair, rock

ing softly and singing low, "Hush, my babe, lie still and slumber." It had not been on her lips, or in her mind for many years; but it came unbidden now, and surprised her as much as did the tears that had gathered in her eyes, as she watched the helpless little one she held.

For half an hour she sat dreamily rocking and singing. Jane peeped in twice, and could hardly believe her eyes and ears. At last Nanny closed her book with a sudden clap, and, forgetting her caution, yawned aloud. The charm was broken. With a violent start the sleeping cherub was transformed into an injured, sobbing boy, and rocking and trotting, singing and patting, had all to be recommenced, taxing Miss Hope's strength and patience to their very extent. Hush, my babe," was useless now. "Mary had a little lamb," was received with yells of impatience. "Jack Horner,"

Sleep, baby, sleep," "Gayly the Troubadour," ""Baa-baa black sheep," and "Araby's Daughter" were all essayed without any apparent soothing effect; but suddenly, in the midst of the "Last Rose of Summer," baby's cries changed to a little accompaniment of cooing and crooning, the eyelids fell—rosestruggled and fell again, the cooing tapered off softly into silence, and my lord again slumbered, this time so soundly that Miss Hope ventured to lay him on the sofa, behind a barricade of chairs, draw a long delicious breath, and stretch her cramped arms freely. Having darkened the room still more, picked up the rejected toys, and arranged the disordered furniture, she stepped to the door to look after Nanny, who had gone out to play after waking her brother. A melancholy sight met the lady's eyes. Six stately stalks of pure white Japan lilies, which she and Mark had watched through days of slowly-opening buds, had been rudely uprooted, and were replanted in a large mound of gravel, which had heaped up on the lower door-stone. Round the base of the pile were set the tops of a dozen of Mark's choicest balsams and

fuchsias. Nanny was nowhere to be seen. Hope felt as if at that moment she could hardly bear to see her. Her flowers were her children. She and her brother had spent many hours over them, and for this! Her cheeks burned with displeasure; but after a momentary struggle she turned and went along the entry to the kitchen. Jane was paring apples.

"Take your work into the other room, Jane, so that you can watch the baby, while I go and find Nanny. I thought she was with you." So saying, she stepped out the back-door-a most fortunate circumstance. Near it stood a half-barrel to catch the rain-water from the eaves; and just visible over its edge were Nanny's little kicking legs. A scream and a spring, and the child was rescued from what would soon have proved a fatal position. There were ten inches of water in the barrel, and her arms could not long have supported her weight. In one she held fast a tin-cup, in trying to fill which she had lost her balance.

"I was on'y dettin' water for my dardin," she sobbed, clinging to her friend. "I made a 'plendid dardin for Fweddy to see when he wates up; tome and see," and she pulled Miss Linden round the house, and pointed in triumph to the funeral pile of the lilies. Her recent danger softened the lady's heart, and she only said,

"It is very pretty, Nanny; but next time you must ask leave before you pull Mr. Linden's flowers. See, your sleeves are wet and your hands are dirty. Come up in my room, and I will make you nice again."

Innumerable questions followed the introduction to the upper rooms: "What is this?" "Is this yours? "Please, may I look at that?" "May I hold it in my hands?" etc., etc., until Miss Linden felt her brain begin to whirl. At last, however, both she and the little girl were freshened and in costume for dinner; and, going down, found the baby just awakening, rubbing his dimpled knuckles into his eyes, and yawning and stretching in the most luxuri

ous manner. Jane returned to her own domains, with the airs of a paroled prisoner; and her mistress realized that she must not summon her from the mysteries of dinner preparation, but rely wholly on her own resources for the amusement of the children until that meal should be fairly over. Fortunately, King Fred was in high good humor, and made himself very happy, toddling about the room with his sister and the kittens, while Miss Linden prepared him some more bread and milk, with which he then allowed her to feed him

only once, with a sportive fling of both arms, knocking spoon and contents against her silken sleeve. "French chalk, benzine, or ether," thought the patient lady, "if only he will be good till Mark comes." Next came dinner for herself and Nanny, a meal rather confused and disorderly, as she afterwards related to her brother.

The

"I was not sure what Nanny ought to eat, and had to refuse her various things that she wanted. Baby wouldn't let Jane touch him, so I had to keep jumping up to attend to him. front-door must be closed, or he would run out-in fact, all the other doors too. Once he tumbled against the table, and made a big lump on his head, and it took me nearly ten minutes to pacify him. He pulled one of my work-table drawers entirely out before I knew he was near it; and the whole contents poured out upon the floor, and had to be picked up in a hurry by all of us; and I am not quite sure that he did not swallow one button in spite of our care. When dessert came he was so tired of amusing himself, that I had to hold him in my lap, and let him play with the sugar-tongs, while I ate my pudding-Nanny ate her sauce clear; and I was very thankful when it was over, and I could give myself up to the children."

When Mr. Linden came home, at four, he was met by a succession of surprises. From a distance he saw the front-door was closed, a most unusual circumstance in summer. As he drew nearer, the sand-mound, bedecked with his cher

ished flowers, made him groan aloud. Entering, he missed his umbrella from the stand, and the scarlet lamb's-wool mat from the floor. Peeping into the sitting-room, he saw his sister's worktable minus all its drawers, which were piled up on one end of the mantelpiece. On the other end stood his own cuspidor. His favorite crimson easy-chair, its "tidy" gone, was strewn with crumbs of moist "cooky," and the floor was scattered all over with cats and cows and nameless beasts, cut out of white letter-paper from his desk. A confused sound of shouting and laughter led him on to the parlor, where, to his utter amazement, he found his dignified sister sitting on the floor, the missing "tidy" on her head, and her whole attention given to rolling two large colored marble peaches over the carpet to Baby Fred. He sat enthroned on the lamb's-wool mat, under the canopy of the open umbrella, yelling with surprise and delight whenever the cold balls rolled against his chubby bare legs. In the bay-window kneeled Nanny, building a wonderful castle with his own much-prized minerals and shells, of which she had entirely emptied the corner cabinet. Corals and nautili, fragments of spar, and crystal and agate, fossil fish and petrified ferns, rare and curling ganoids,-they were all mere stones" to the busy little architect; and she had reared her edifice to almost her own height, and was just putting a carved Swiss "chalet " on top of all, when Mr. Linden's "Heavens and earth!" startled them all.

"Oh, Mark," cried Miss Hope, starting up, and blushing guiltily, "I didn't know it was so late. I meant to have every thing in order before you came. I had to give them whatever they wanted, for they cried to go home."

She looked so young and so careless as she came forward with her cheeks flushed, her hair rumpled into little curly ends, under the forgotten "tidy," the baby in her arms clinging to her neck, half disposed to cry at sight of the stranger, that Mark kissed her in

voluntarily, and said,

"Never mind, sis" (he had not called her so for years); "let Jane tidy up, and I will take you and the tots to drive. I stopped at Mrs. Oxford's just now, and found the poor fellow had recovered his consciousness, and fallen asleep, and his brave little wife was asleep beside him, all worn out with anxiety and the effort she had made to control herself."

"Oh, that is good news!" cried Hope; "and I should enjoy a drive of all things. I have not been out to-day, for the children couldn't go. Do you suppose their girl could find their hats and things without disturbing any one?"

"I'll go and see."

He soon returned with all the necessary wraps, helped Hope to dress the children; and soon they were all four packed into the buggy, Nanny on a cricket in front, and the baby in Hope's lap.

What a blessed rest it was to that faithful little woman! How glad she was to let Mark answer Nanny's unwearied flow of questions, to lean back, and relax the strained attention and watch-care she had exercised all day. How she blushed and laughed when they met a carriage full of city acquaintances, who stared in amazement at the children! The baby was perfectly good, and soon fell asleep, and at last Nanny did the same.

When they reached home it was nearly six o'clock; and rousing the little ones made them fretful and restless. Hope hurried into the kitchen to get bread and milk for Freddy, while Mr. Linden marched up and down the sitting-room with him, bravely enduring many an impatient clutch at his hair and moustache. Nanny subsided into low whimpering for "papa and mamma," and refused to be diverted. The poor child was really wearied out by a day of unusual excitement, as well as fretful at having been wakened from her sleep. Her mournful persistent sobbing was harder to bear than even Freddy's exasperated yells, which grew. louder every moment. The kitchen

VOL. II.-38.

fire was low and the milk long in get ting warm; and when at last, with Aushed face, Miss Linden appeared with it, she found her brother almost beside himself with vexation at his own failure as a nurse and alarm at the violence of the baby's cries.

"Take him quick, Hope!" he gasped. "I've tried walking and trotting and rocking, and singing and whistling and scolding and coaxing. I'm afraid it will be swearing next. I'm all in a perspiration; and I believe he has made a bald place on my head. Just hear him! You don't think he's in a fit, do you?" inquired the distressed bachelor, sinking into a chair, and fanning himself with a newspaper.

The sight of the bread and milk seemed only to enrage the child still further, and he repelled it with arms, legs, and voice.

"He must be hungry," said Miss Linden. "See if you can feed him while I hold his hands."

Her brother accordingly kneeled upon the carpet before her, and, holding the porringer in one hand, solemnly dipped out a large morsel of the softened bread, and tried his best to guide the spoon into the little roaring mouth, while Hope clasped the struggling hands and feet as firmly as she dared, and tried to make audible her assurances that he was a poor tired lammie, and he should have his good supper."

At that moment the door was thrown open, and in ran little Mrs. Oxford, still in her morning wrapper, her girlish face quite haggard with anxiety. In an instant she had snatched her baby from between its well-meaning tormentors, and was cooing and crying over it-the brave self-control she had exercised throughout the day now all broken down.

"Mother's blessed own, own comfort," she murmured, almost devouring him with kisses; and the little rebel's cries were hushed at once. He clung to her in happy silence, only now and then catching his breath in a pathetic little sob, the ebbing wave of his storm of passion. Nanny flung herself upon

her mother, and was happy too, with a share of the embracing arms and show. ered caresses. For a brief space Mr. and Miss Linden were, and felt themselves, forgotten outsiders, wondering specta tors of a rapture which puzzled and saddened them. Only for a moment, however; the pretty wild-rose face came up from bending over its buds, all dewy and sparkling after its sun-shower of happy tears.

"Dear, kind Miss Linden! How can I ever thank you enough for taking care of my darlings all this long, fearful day! And your brother, too! What should I ever have done without such kind neighbors! I had to be with my husband, you know; and Bridget never could be trusted with children; but I know they have been safe and happy with you. And now Frederick is out of danger, I can take care of them and him too. Oh! you don't know how I've missed them, and their sweet little ways! It seems a whole month since I saw them! I began to feel as if I were a childless widow. Oh, it was terrible! I know now how to pity those poor things who haven't any children-oh, I beg your pardon-I didn't mean-but you must see, after a whole day with them, how charming they are, and how lonely it is without them." And she clasped and kissed them, as if fearing a new separation. Her hearers had no suitable reply ready; but she did not wait for it.

"You must come over often and see them, if you find you miss them. I shall never forget how good you were. Now, I must take them home, and put them to-bed, the dear little tired things. You didn't think I could spare them all night, did you?"

"Oh, no!" said Miss Hope, very earnestly.

"I know I couldn't sleep without hearing their soft breathing beside me. Good-night, dear Miss Linden," and holding up her baby's and then her own artless face to be kissed, she allowed Mr. Linden to carry drowsy Nanny, and hurried away before him, through the fading daylight, to her own house.

Miss Hope sat on the door-stone, and looked after them with a strange mingling of relief and regret. She was unfeignedly glad to be set free from the day's new responsibilities, and yetwas there not a longing envy in the sigh she drew, as she remembered the mother's rapture? She recalled the dinted bell, the ruined brush, the broken cup, the interrupted dinner, the disordered rooms, the uprooted flowers, the greased dress and carpet, the whole day passed without reading or gardening or music. All these things had tried her orderly spirit severely; and yet, and Fet

When her brother returned, and sat down on the step beside her, there was no fretfulness or complaining in the face she lifted towards him. Weary it was, very weary, but he thought he had ever seen her look more beamingly sweet, more womanly, and gentle. Neither spoke for a long time. twilight deepened and the stars-came out. Both thought their own thoughts, happy in being near each other, content

The

without communication. It was often so with them. At last, however, when the darkness made it easier to speak from the inner self, when, in the hush of the night, the barriers between heart and heart were melted away, Mark suddenly said,

66

Speak out, little woman; tell me the question you've been puzzling over all this time." And Hope replied,

"I was remembering how I half despised Mrs. Oxford yesterday, for being so absorbed in her housekeeping and nursery cares, and how she seemed to think lightly of my gardening and German and reading; and now I have spent to-day in her way; and somehow I feel better satisfied with myself than I sometimes do when I have disposed of my time according to my taste. I feel as if—”

"Yes, Hope-____"

[What Hope said is the moral of our little sketch. Curiously enough it is needless to repeat it. For once the lesson must inevitably be clear to every one who needs it.]