with watching them. He too
wanted to draw and paint, and the older children, who were very fond of
him, were always glad to indulge him by lending him their brushes,
paints, and pencils. But they soon found that he was very wasteful of
their materials, and would use up colors and paper faster than they
could be supplied. At last they thought of a better plan. As Bertie was
too young to draw nicely, they bought him some wonderful picture-books,
all in outline, a box of cheap water-colors, and some brushes. Then
Bertie was happy. He would sit for hours painting the pictures in _Jack
the Giant-killer_, _Mother Goose_, and other story-books for little
folks. When he had finished all his little books his mamma brought out
some old papers which she had saved, and cutting out the nice pictures,
gave them to him to paint. This he did very beautifully. Sometimes he
would make funny mistakes, putting green on the horses, and blue on the
little dogs and pussy-cats, but this did not happen often. In a little
while he had so many nice things painted that his sisters made him a big
scrap-book to keep them in, to look at when he grows up.

Bertie may not become a great artist, but his sisters evidently regard
him as a little genius.

THE FLOWER THAT GREW IN A CELLAR.

It was the evening of flower-day in the Child's Hospital, and the kind
ladies of the Flower Mission had brought many lovely posies to gladden
the eyes and the hearts of the sick children, and the whole place was
bright with their beauty and sweet with their fragrance. Queenly roses,
gay gladioluses, pure white lilies, bunches of star-like daisies and
their soft round white little buds, gaudy marigolds, brown, yellow, and
orange, crimson cock's-combs, branches of honeysuckle vines filled with
honey, rich fairy trumpets, saucy elf-faced pansies, spicy pinks,
hollyhocks in satiny dresses of many colors, bright-eyed verbenas and
sweet-williams, brilliant geranium blossoms, and even great honest
faithful sunflowers--those flowers that love the sun so dearly that they
turn to gaze upon him when he is bidding the earth "good-night"--were
all there, bringing with them Love and Hope and a troop of gentle
spirits.

All day had the sick and maimed little ones rejoiced in their presence;
and now when they were placed in the wee pitchers and vases that stood
on the shelves above each snow-white little bed, and the sunshine faded,
and the stars came out, their loveliness a