so lovable that people
accepted her just as she was, contented to let any small amount of
mystery that seemed to be in her to remain unquestioned.

"The parlour" was one of those well-known rooms which are occasionally
met with in country cottages, the inmates of which are not wealthy. It
was reserved exclusively for the purpose of receiving visitors. The
furniture, though old, threadbare, and dilapidated, was kept
scrupulously clean, and arranged symmetrically. There were a few books
on the table, which were always placed with mathematical exactitude, and
a set of chairs, so placed as to give one mysteriously the impression
that they were not meant to be sat upon. There was also a grate, which
never had a fire in it, and was never without a paper ornament in it,
the pink and white aspect of which caused one involuntarily to shudder.

But the great point, which was meant to afford the highest gratification
to the beholder, was the chimney-piece. This spot was crowded to excess
in every square inch of its area with ornaments, chiefly of earthenware,
miscalled china, and shells. There were great white shells with pink
interiors, and small brown shells with spotted backs. Then there were
china cups and saucers, and china shepherds and shepherdesses,
represented in the act of contemplating the heavens serenely, with their
arms round each other's waists. There were also china dogs and cats,
and a huge china cockatoo as a centre-piece; but there was not a single
spot the size of a sixpence on which the captain could place his pipe or
his tobacco-box!

"We'll get these things cleared away," said Minnie, with a laugh, on
observing the perplexed look with which the captain surveyed the
chimney-piece, while the changes above referred to were being made in
the parlour; "we have no place ready to receive them just now, but I'll
have them all put away to-morrow."

"Thank'ee, lass," said the captain, as he set down the sea-chest and
seated himself thereon; "they're pretty enough to look at, d'ye see, but
they're raither in the way just now, as my second mate once said of the
rocks when we were cruising off the coast of Norway in search of a
pilot."

The ornaments were, however, removed sooner than anyone had anticipated.
The next trip that the captain made was for his hammock (he always
slept in one), which was a long unwieldy bundle, like a gigantic
bolster. He carried it into the parlour on his shoulder, and Minnie
f