never
lived? Let us go back to the essay and see how little it is that he
really says about them. Here it is:

ALICE

JOHN

1. _Here Alice put out one of her dear mother's looks, too tender
to be upbraiding._

She thought it very sad that any one should pull down the beautiful
mantelpiece in the great hall, but she would not find fault with
him--she was too gentle, too tender for that!

1. _Here John smiled as much as to say, "that would be foolish
indeed."_

John is quite the boy--wise enough to see how ridiculous it was
to put a fine, rich old carved chimney among a lot of gilt
gimcracks--and rather anxious to show his wisdom.

2. _Here little Alice spread her hands._

Don't you think she knew her Psaltery by heart, and a great part of
the Testament besides? "Of course it is very _wonderful_ that
grandma knew so much--but then, I know it too."

2. _Here John expanded all his eyebrows and tried to look
courageous._

The tale of the ghostly infants has frightened John a little, but
he does not like to admit any timidity there with his father and
sister, so he straightens up, expands his eyebrows and looks very
brave and manly.

3. _Here Alice's little right foot played an involuntary movement,
till, upon my looking grave, it desisted._

The mere suggestion of a dance sets the little foot in motion, and
you and I know that Alice is a lively girl who would be as proud of
being the best dancer in the country as she was of knowing as much
Scripture as her grandmother knew. But how quickly she stops when
her father looks grave! We do not think that he objects to Alice
dancing, but he knows that he is going to tell her the sad part of
the story, and that the dancing accompaniment of Alice's little
right foot would be very much out of place.

Later, Alice joined with John in wishing for the grapes, but she
was equally willing to give them up when it seemed childish to take
them.

3. _Here John slyly deposited back upon the plate a bunch of
grapes which, not unobserved by Alice, he had meditated
dividing with her; and both seemed willing to relinquish them
for the present as irrelevant._

While the father has been t