good silver watch, a really good one, you know for twenty-five
dollars."

"But a silver watch!" said Anne. "I would not wear anything but a gold
watch."

"How am I going to get a gold watch, I should like to know?" said
Maria. "I think it would be splendid."

"But what do you want of a watch, Maria?" her little sister asked.

"Oh, here is Matilda coming out! Just like her! Not a word about Anne's
dress; and now she says, what do I want with a watch. Why, what other
people want with one; I want to see the time of day."

"I don't think you do," said Matilda. "When do you?"

"Why, I should like to know in school, when it is recess time; and at
home, when it is time to go to school."

"But the bell rings," said Matilda.

"Well, I don't always hear the bell, child."

"But when you don't hear it, I tell you."

"Yes, and it's very tiresome to have you telling me, too. I'd rather
have my own watch. But I don't know what I will have; sometimes I think
I'll just buy summer dresses, and then for once I'd have a plenty; I do
like to have plenty of anything. And there's a necklace and earrings at
Mr. Kurtz's that I want. Such lovely earrings!"

"Well, Matilda, what are you thinking of?" Letitia burst forth. "Such a
face! One would think it was wicked to wear earrings. What is it, you
queer child?"

But Matilda did not say what she was thinking of. The elder ladies came
in, and the party adjourned to the tea-table.

A few hours later, when the girls had gone to their room, Matilda
asked--

"When are you going to look for new scholars, Maria?"

"_What?_" was Maria's energetic and not very graceful response.

"When are you going to look for some new scholars to bring to the
school?"

"The Sunday-School!" said Maria. "I thought you meant the school where
we go every day. I don't know."

"You promised you would try."

"Well, so I will, when I see any I _can_ bring."

"But don't you think you ought to go and look for them?"

"How can I, Tilly? I don't know where to go; and I haven't got time,
besides."

"I think I know where we could go," said Matilda, "and maybe we could
get one, at any rate. Don't you know the Dows' house? on the turnpike
road?--beyond the bridge ever so far?"

"The Dows'!" said Maria. "Yes, I know the Dows' house; but who's there?
Nothing but old folks."

"Yes, there are two children; I have seen them; two or three; but they
don't come to school."

"Then I don't believe they want to,"