ces, and proud red dahlias, and China astors and hollyhocks
against the wall, and flox all mixed together in a way that shows, as
Mrs. Smith says, that there is no social standing in the country. There
are some poor tea roses that by mistake got planted in a bed of
merrigolds, and they are not doing very well and act unhappy. Each
morning I go over them all and take away the foolish green worms that
always crawl back in the night, although I throw them over the fence.

Then, when all the "chores," as Mr. Smith calls them are done, we shut
the boat-house door and set on the veranda and watch the moon as it goes
down over the tree tops. It shines so beautiful through the pine trees
at the edge of the lake. Everyone is quiet. Even the babies snuggle down
in our arms and stop their chattering. There are two great toads that
live under the front veranda, who come out on the walk and look at each
other as only toads in love can look, and there is a cricket in the
tree down by the lake that calls to a lady cricket who lives over by the
ice house. She answered lovingly for two evenings, but I guess now she
is gone, and he sets in his lonely tree, and calls and calls, and no
soft-voiced cricket says, "Yes, dear." There is a loud-voiced cricket
that sets near the boat-house door, and says, "Come to me, come to me,"
and I fear my lady cricket has gone to him.

Then we take our little lamps and go to bed, and I have the baby near me
if I want to speak to him. I use to have to read till I couldn't keep my
eyes open any longer, but now sleep seems to come to me just like a
friend. Some way I feel that this is the right life, and if I only could
live it long enough, I might become a woman after all.

_Nan_.

VII

_Dear Kate_:

I have had the grandest week. It is Billy's birthday, and I come out to
stay two days with him and have stayed on and on and won't go back until
next Monday. I brought out both the kids a white pique suit and white
shoes and stockings, and they look awful cunning. I always buy something
for Paul, because it seems kind of selfish to give to Billy and not to
the other one. I don't think the Smiths have much money. He was a
teacher in a school in England, and his health broke down and he come to
America because he thought he could do better here, but I don't think
every thing is going just as he thought it would. His brother is in
Australia, and is doing fine, and I guess they wish that they had gon