d a delightful half hour with the captain's widow and her
pets; only Lucy could not be satisfied because Bab was away.

"Too bad you went off riding yesterday," said she as they sat next
morning playing with their dolls. "You never saw that blind canary that
shoots himself, and comes to life and rings a bell."

"But can't I see him sometime, Auntie Lucy?"

"You can, oh, yes, and I'll go with you. But, Bab, you ought to have
heard our talk about the play! Kyzie is going to be as much as a hundred
years old, and I guess Uncle James will be a hundred and fifty. And
they've got a pair of old glasses with sand inside--the same kind that
Adam and Eve used to have."

"Why-ee! Did Adam and Eve wear glasses? 'Tisn't in their pictures; _I_
never saw 'em with glasses on!"

"No, no, I don't mean glasses _wear_! I said glasses with sand inside;
_that's_ what Uncle James has got. Runs out every hour. Sits on the
table."

"Oh, I know what you mean, auntie! You mean an _hour-glass!_ Grandpa
Hale has one and I've seen lots of 'em in France."

Lucy felt humbled. Though pretending to be Bab's aunt, she often found
that her little niece knew more than she knew herself!

"Seems queer about Adam and Eve," said she, hastening to change the
subject; "who do you s'pose took care of 'em when they were little
babies?"

"Why, Auntie Lucy, there wasn't ever any _babiness_ about Adam and Eve!
Don't you remember, they stayed just exactly as they were made!"

"Yes, so they did. I forgot."

Lucy had made another mistake. This was not like a "truly auntie"; still
it did not matter so very much, for Bab never laughed at her and they
loved each other "dearilee."

"You know a great many things, don't you, Bab? And _I_ keep forgetting
'em."

"Oh, I know all about the world and the garden of Eden; _that's_ easy
enough," replied the wise niece.

And then they went back to their dolls.

Half an hour later Kyzie Dunlee was standing in the schoolhouse door
with a group of children about her when Nate Pollard appeared. As he
looked at her he remembered "Jimmy's play," and the parts they were
both to take in it; and the thought of little Kyzie as his poor old
grandmother seemed so funny to Nate that he began to laugh and called
out, "Good morning, grandmother!"

He meant no harm; but Kyzie thought him very disrespectful to accost her
in that way before the children, and she tossed her head without
answering him.

Nate was angry. How polite h