d pulled out a bit of paper with the
above heading, and held it up to him. Papa's eyes began to twinkle and
she felt her cheeks grow red, but good humor was restored. "1. Ask Seth
to sharpen my knife. 2. Find Aunt Mary's old 'Evenings at Home' and read
her the Transmigrations of Indur. 3. Find out what 'hedonism' means in
the dictionary. 4. Sew on papa's buttons."

"Those were all the things I could think of last night," explained Betty
apologetically. "I was so sleepy."

"It strikes me that the most important duty happened to be set down
last," said Mr. Leicester, beginning to laugh. "If you will look after
the buttons, I will tell you the meaning of 'hedonism' and sharpen the
jack-knife, and I am not sure that I won't read the Transmigrations to
Aunt Mary beside, for the sake of old times. I know where those little
old brown books are, too, unless they have been moved from their old
places. I am willing to make a good offer, for I have hardly a button to
my back, you know. And this evening we will have a row, if not a sail.
The sky looks as if the wind were rising, and you can ask Mary Beck to
go with us to-morrow down the river, if you like. I am going to see
young Foster the first time I go down the street. Now good-by until
dinner-time, dear child."

"Good-by, dear papa!" and Betty ran up-stairs two steps at a time. She
had already looked to see if there were plenty of ink in his ink-bottle,
and some water in a tiny vase on his writing-table for the quill pens.
It was almost the only thing she had done that morning, but it was one
of her special cares when they were together. She gathered an armful of
his clothes, and finding that Aunt Mary was in a hospitable frame went
into her room for advice and society, and sat busily sewing by the
favorite cool western window nearly all the morning.

In the evening, when the tide was high, Betty and Mr. Leicester went out
for a little row by themselves, floating under some overhanging
oak-boughs and talking about things that had happened when they were
apart.

Now we come back to where we began this chapter,--the early morning of
the next day, and Serena's and Letty's bustling in the pantry to have a
basket of luncheon ready, so that the boating party need not lose the
tide; the boating party itself at breakfast in the dining-room; Mary
Beck in a transport of delight sitting by her window at the other side
of the street, all ready to rush out the minute she saw Betty app