if thee is not tired, I will give thee a little job with me in the kitchen," said the old lady, with a kindly directness which left no room for awkwardness on the newcomer's part.

10. Up went Christie, and, after a hasty look about a room as plain and white and still as a nun's cell, she whisked on a working apron and ran down again, feeling as she fancied the children in the fairy tale did, when they first arrived at the house of the little old woman who lived in the woods.

11. The kitchen was tidy with that immaculate order of which Shakers and Quakers alone seem to possess the secret, a fragrant, shining cleanliness, that made even black kettles ornamental, and dish-pans objects of interest. Nothing burned, or boiled over, though the stove was full of dinner-pots and skillets.

12. There was neither litter nor hurry, though the baking of cakes and pies was going on; and, when Mrs. Sterling put a pan of apples and a knife into her new assistant's hands, saying, in a tone that made the request a favor, "Will thee kindly pare these for me?" Christie wondered what would happen, if she should drop a seed upon the floor, or fail to cut the apples into four exact quarters.

13. "I never can suit this dear, prim soul," she thought, as her eye went from puss, sedately perched on one mat, to the dog, dozing on another, and neither offering to stir from their own dominions.

14. Mrs. Sterling saw the shadow that crept into Christie's face, and led the chat to cheerful things, not saying much herself, but beguiling the other to talk, and listening with an interest that made it easy to continue.

15. "Thee likes house work, I think," said Mrs. Sterling, as she watched her hang a towel to dry, and rinse

16. "Oh, yes, I've lived out, and I did not find it hard. I was second girl, so I can set a table in style. Shall I try, now?" she asked, as the old lady went into a little dining-room, with fresh napkins in her hand.

. 17. "Yes, but we have no style here. I will show thee once, and hereafter it will be thy work, as thy feet are younger than mine." A nice old-fashioned table was soon spread, and Christie kept smiling at the contrast between this and Mrs. Stuart's. Chubby little pitchers appeared; delicate old glass; queer china and tiny teaspoons; linen as smooth as satin, and a quaint tankard that might have come over in the Mayflower.

18. "Perhaps thee had better step out and call my son David; sometimes he does not hear the bell, when he is busy. Thee will find my garden-hood and shawl behind the door," said Mrs. Sterling.

19. Christie demurely tied on the little pumpkin hood, wrapped the gray shawl about her, and set out to find her "master," as she took a fancy to call the unknown David.

She peeped here and there, but saw no one, either in the barn or garden, except a workman near the conservatory, scraping the mould off his boots.

"This David is among the flowers, I fancy. I'll just ask, and not bolt in, as he doesn't know me."

"Where is Mr. Sterling?" added Christie, aloud, as she quietly approached.

20. The man looked up, and a smile came into his eyes, as he glanced from the old hood to the young face, inside; then he took off his hat and held out his hand, saying, with just his mother's simple directness, "I am David; and this is Christie Devon, I know. How do you do?"

21. "Yes, dinner 's ready," was all that she could reply; for the discovery that this was the "master," nearly took away her breath. Then, assuming her gravest air, she roturned to the house to help give the last touches to

22. Ten minutes later, she received another surprise; for David appeared, washed, brushed, and in a suit of gray, a handsome gentleman, quite unlike the workman in the yard. Christie gave one look, met a pair of keen, yet kind eyes, with a suppressed laugh in them, and dropped her own to be no more lifted, till dinner was done.

23. It was a very quiet meal, for no one said much, and it was evidently the custom of the house to eat silently, only now and then saying a few friendly words to show that the hearts were social, if the tongues were not.

On the present occasion, this suited Christie; and she ate her dinner without making any more discoveries, except that the earth-stained hands were very clean now, and skillfully supplied her wants before she could make them known.

24. As they arose from the table, Mrs. Sterling said,— "Davy, does thee want any help this afternoon?" 25. “I shall be very glad of some, in about an hour, if thee can spare it, mother."

26. "I can, dear.”

27. "Do you care for flowers?" asked David, turning to Christie. "If you don't, this will be a very trying place for you."

28. "I used to love them dearly; but I have not had any for so long, I hardly remember how they look," answered Christie, with a sigh.

29. "Come to the conservatory in an hour, and I will give you an opportunity to renew your acquaintance with them," he said, with a nod and a smile, as he went away, beginning to whistle like a boy, when the door was shut behind him.

30. Christie helped clear the table and put everything in prim order, and then Mrs. Sterling said, “Now, my

33. Presently, a voice at her elbow said, "You look as if you saw something beside pansies there."

34. David spoke so quietly that it did not startle her, and she answered before she had time to feel ashamed of her fancy,

"I do, for I always see a little face, when I look at this flower. Sometimes it is a sad one, sometimes it's merry, often roguish, but always a dear little face; and, when I see so many together, it's like a flock of children all nodding and smiling at me, at once."

35. "So it is!" and David nodded and smiled, himself, as he pointed to a heap of gay flowers on the table.

"These are to be made into little bouquets for a party to-night. It is pretty work, and better fitted for a woman's fingers, than a man's. This is all you have to do you may use your own taste as to colors."

36. While he spoke, David laid a red and white carnation on a tiny spray of smilax, tied them together, twisted a bit of silver foil about the stems, and laid it before Christie as a sample.

37. "Yes; I can do that, and shall like it very much," she said, burying her nose in the mass of sweetness before her, and feeling as if her new situation grew more pleasant every minute.

38. "Make a few, and I'll be back directly, when I have attended to another order;" and he went away, thinking Christie's face was very like the pansies about which they had been talking, one of the sombre ones with a bright touch of gold, deep down in the heart; for, thin and pale as the face was, it lighted up at a kind word, and all the sadness vanished out of the anxious eyes, when the frank laugh came.— Louisa M. Alcott.

IT

VII. HIGH COURT OF INQUIRY.

T must have been three weeks or a month after I entered Mr. Bird's school that, on a rainy holiday, as I was walking through one of the halls alone, I was met by two boys, who ordered me, peremptorily, to "halt." Both had staves in their hands, taller than themselves, and one of them addressed me with the words,

"Arthur Bonnicastle, you are arrested in the name of The High Society of Inquiry, and ordered to appear before that august tribunal, to answer for your sins and misdemeanors. Right about face!"

2. Marching between the two officials, I was led directly to my own room, which I was surprised to find quite full of boys, all of whom were grave and silent.

“W, havo secured the offender,” said one of my cap