e say?"

"At first she was rather offended, till he explained how he had got it;
and then she thanked him, of course, but not so very much, I fancy. He
always says old people are grumpy--doesn't 'grogneur' mean grumpy,
grandmother?--that they can't help it, and when his old woman is grumpy
he only laughs a little. But _you're_ not grumpy, grandmother, and you're
old; at least getting rather old."

"Decidedly old, my boy. But why should I be grumpy? And how do you know
I shouldn't be so if I were living up alone in an attic, with no children
to love and cheer me, my poor old hands swollen and twisted with
rheumatism, perhaps, and very little money. Ah, what a sad picture! Poor
old woman, I must try to find out some way of helping her."

"She washes lace for ladies, Prosper says," said Ralph, eagerly. "Perhaps
if you had some lace to wash, grandmother."

"I'll see what I can do," said grandmother. "You get me her name and
address from Prosper. And, Ralph, we might think of something for a
little Christmas present for her, might we not? You must talk to your
friend about it. I suppose his relations are not likely to interest
themselves in his protegee?"

"No," said Ralph. "His aunt is young, and dresses very grandly, and I
don't think she takes much notice of Prosper himself. Oh no, _you_ could
do it much better than any one else, grandmother; find out all about her
and what she would like--in a nice sort of way, you know."

Grandmother drew Ralph to her and kissed him. "My own dear boy," she
said.

Ralph got rather red, but his eyes shone with pleasure nevertheless.
"Grandmother," he said, half shyly, "I've had a lesson about not calling
fellows cads in a hurry, but all the same you won't forget about telling
us the story of Uncle Jack's cad, will you?"

"What a memory you have, Ralph," said grandmother. "You're nearly as bad
for stories as Molly. No, I haven't forgotten. As well as I could
remember, I have written out the little story--I only wish I had had it
in your uncle's own words. But such as it is, I will read it to you all
this evening."

Grandmother went to her Davenport, and took out from one of the drawers
some sheets of ruled paper, which she held up for Ralph to see. On the
outside one he read, in grandmother's neat, clear handwriting, the
words----

CHAPTER X.

--"THAT CAD SAWYER."

"I do not like thee, Doctor Fell,
The reason why I cannot tell."

OLD RHYME.

And