es and brown ribbon shook its head with
distinctive force, while the bits of slippered feet began to dance
wildly up and down the hall.

"Mama'll come," said the judge, warningly, and, sure enough, out came a
lady, with the loveliest face, and a white lace cap on her grey hair.

"Come, dears," she said, in a voice we know well and both flew to her,
for who was dearer to their loving hearts than "Dramma?" "Time for
little birdies to be eating supper, and getting little peepers shut up
tight, before Santa Claus comes," she said, going towards the dining
room, with a little hopper clinging to each hand, and playing peep
around her. Tom was already at the table, pounding with his spoon, and
smiling serenely through the milk that spattered his face from forehead
to chin, and there were two other bowls and spoons and high chairs,
ready and waiting.

"Naughty Louise," said Mrs. Kittie, as she lifted the white-robed morsel
to her chair, and tied on her bib. "Run away from poor sister Pansy, and
make her feel bad."

"All baddy, mama?" inquired Louise, looking over her bowl with repentant
eyes.

"She comed in the front door," said Philip, otherwise the judge, who was
the eldest hopeful of the Barnett household, and was, at present, under
the care of aunt Kathy, as mama Bea had the baby in the sitting-room. "I
thaw her," he went on to explain with care; but was evidently disgusted,
that every one laughed and talked, instead of listening to him; so
paused right there, and ate his bread and milk in silence and with
dignity, not even unbending when Tom and Louise had a skirmish, and
testified their cousinly regard, by throwing their spoons at each other,
and upsetting what milk had been left in their bowls.

"Dear me, what children!" cried Kittie, running for a towel, with a
laugh that sounded as though "such children" were very delightful.

"Thomas, Thomas!" said Mrs. Kat, with an air of grave reproof, such as
she sometimes wasted on her lively son; and Thomas looked up at her,
with roguish eyes, brimful of mischief, and fairly crowed with glee, a
method of expression that he resorted to in gay moments, as it was still
an exertion for him to talk.

When the young people were finally carried off to bed, every one went
along, for the gentlemen were all down town, and what better could the
mothers and aunties do than follow the procession headed by "Dramma,"
and watch the roguish imps get into their snowy little nests? There w