id Aunt Amanda, "there's some of that fruit-cake from last
Christmas still in the--"

"Right you are!" cried Toby, jumping up and going out into the kitchen.

Freddie ate the fruit-cake, sitting on a hassock at Aunt Amanda's feet,
while Toby went on with his letter, but in the midst of it Toby went out
again, and finally came back with a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade.

"Don't you go and spill it on the carpet," said he, as he sat down to
his writing.

"No, sir," said Freddie.

Aunt Amanda looked at him, as he sat so seriously on his hassock at her
feet, munching his fruit-cake and sipping his lemonade; and she pulled
out her pocket-handkerchief and blew her nose again, very loud. She
appeared to have a cold. Toby paid no attention to her; his head was
lying sidewise on his left arm on the table, and he was squinting at the
sheet of paper, and every time his pen came down he closed his mouth
tight, and every time his pen went up he opened his mouth wide. Freddie
and Aunt Amanda had plenty of time to talk. Under the softening
influence of fruit-cake and lemonade Freddie found his tongue.

"What's a Churchwarden?" he said suddenly into the lemonade-glass, which
was just under his nose.

"Bless the baby!" said Aunt Amanda.

"It's a long clay pipe, young man," said Toby, chewing the end of his
pen-holder, "like you've seen in the case out there in the shop."

"That ain't what he means," said Aunt Amanda. "You mean a man, don't
you, Freddie?"

"Yes'm," said Freddie, looking at the cake just going into his mouth.

"It's a man," said Aunt Amanda, "it's a man that belongs to a church,
and he stands guard over the church property, and sees to the repairs,
and beats little boys with a cane when they make a noise during service,
and takes care nobody don't run away with the collection money, and----"

"How do you spell 'respectfully'?" said Toby, scratching his head with
the pen. "Yours respectfully."

"R-e--" began Aunt Amanda, "s-p-e-c-k--no, that ain't right,--r-e-s--"

"There's one over at that church," said Freddie, pointing towards the
window, "and he smokes one, too."

"One what, Freddie?" said Aunt Amanda.

"A Churchwarden. There's a Churchwarden sits out on the pavement and he
smokes a Churchwarden, he does." Freddie was rather proud that he had
mastered that difficult word, and he liked to hear himself say it.

"Oh," said Toby, "I reckon he means the sextant over there. Well, 'Yours
respectfully.' I