est idea into their heads
that they were bound to obey Mrs. Dolman. Far from this; a sudden and
extreme naughtiness had taken possession of their unruly little
hearts. Even Iris' gentle words had no effect on them. They hated Aunt
Jane; considering her, in their heart of hearts, extremely cruel and
unworthy of affection. Had she not parted them at one blow from their
father, their home, their lovely garden, even from poor Fortune, who
was better than nobody, and, above all, from their darling, precious
pets? They had none of them been broken-hearted children when their
mother died, but they all, even Iris, felt broken-hearted now. But
this fact did not prevent their being extremely naughty and
rebellious, and when Diana felt Orion's hand clutching hers, she
whispered to him in an indignant voice:

"Come 'long, 'Rion, let's have a wun--my legs is so stiff; and, Orion,
I has got the box, and we can open it when we is away by our own two
selves."

"What are you talking about, little children?" questioned Mary Dolman.
"You mean to run away all by yourselves. But you must do nothing of
the sort. This is not the hour for running about in the open air.
There is supper ready for us all in the dining room, but I think mamma
would like you first to go upstairs and have your faces and hands
washed. If you will follow me, I'll show you where to go."

"Thank you, Mary," said Mrs. Dolman, who had overheard her daughter.
"Ann, my dear, what are you staring at me for? Go and help your
cousins. Now, you four children, follow Lucy and Ann to your rooms,
where my servant, Simpson, will attend upon you. Go, children, at
once. If there is any naughtiness, remember I shall have to punish you
severely."

"What do she mean by that?" said Diana, fixing her eyes on Mary's
face. "I never did like aunts. Is she your aunt?"

"No; she is my mother," said Mary, "and you must not speak in that
tone of mamma."

"I'll speak in any tone I p'ease," replied Diana. "Ise not going to be
fwightened. But what do she mean by punish? Who will she punish?"

"She will punish you," replied Mary. "Were you never punished?"

"Never. I don't know what it means. Is it nasty?"

"Oh, isn't it!" said Philip, who came up at that moment. "What a lark
it will be to see you punished, Diana. I wonder when your first time
will come? I expect rather soon. You had best obey mamma, I can tell
you, and papa too; if you don't, you'll just catch it hot."

"Boo!" replied