ou can sweep up, major," said Uncle Benny, cheerfully pointing me to
the broom.

"Sail away to Galilee,
Sail away to Galilee--"

he sang, walking so proudly with the infant that his gait was most
innocently jaunty and affected.

Vesty laughed and shook her head at me, but I had the broom and was
hobbling about at work with it, pleased to find that Uncle Benny had
rather neglected this humble office for the more important one of
minding the baby.

He next set me to washing the dishes and turning the churn; he would
not trust me with the child, and wisely. That he held in his own
strong arms, but he sat down beside me after my work was done and
gently commiserated me.

"Nature has not done so much for you as she has for some, you know," he
said.

"No, indeed," I murmured.

At that he took off his blue necktie and held it toward me, with a tear
of pity in his eye.

I took it and tied it simply around my neck above the collar.

"It improves you--some," he said, but his look only too plainly
indicated that there was still much to be desired.

We were sitting thus on the doorstep, Uncle Benny with the baby, and I
peeling the potatoes, with his blue ribbon tied around my neck, when I
heard a half-familiar little scream and laugh, and, looking up, beheld
a fashionable company.

"We hailed Gurdon, off Reef Island, and he said we might come and see
the son and heir--hurrah!"

Notely spoke in his gay voice, but the look he gave Vesty's
child--Vesty's sweet self in that form--leaped with a passionate pain.

There was a small, brilliant-looking woman beside him, with
eye-glasses. "O you divine infant!" she exclaimed, regarding the
child. "Where is the Madonna?"

Now, I was purposely gathering up the potato peelings very slowly from
the doorway, so that the "Madonna" might have time to take down a
certain blue sack from the bedpost at hand, and put it on, and give
those little finger-touches to the hair that women covet; so I stumbled
over the peelings and got mixed up with them, until even Uncle Benny
felt called upon to apologize for me.

"He looks some better," he said dubiously, touching his neck: "but," he
continued, in a very soft and confidential tone, "Nature has not done
so much for him as she has for some, you know."

All the party had the air of having just had a very merry luncheon on
board the yacht.

By the side of Notely's bride was one of the handsomest young athletes,
almost as handsom