he plate for a
contribution, at the time when he and Mr. George came in at the church
door. He was walking to and fro, with his plate in his hand, in a
distant portion of the church. Rollo immediately offered to go to him,
and ask how he and Mr. George were to get to the towers. So he left Mr.
George looking at a great painting, and walked off in that direction.

Just before Rollo came to the man, his attention was attracted by a girl
of about twelve or thirteen years of age, who was strolling about the
church at a little distance before him, swinging her bonnet in her hand.
She was very pretty, and her dark eyes shone with a very brilliant, but
somewhat roguish expression. She stopped when she saw Rollo coming, and
eyed him with a mingled look of curiosity and pleasure.

Rollo, observing that this young lady appeared not to be particularly
afraid of him, thought he would accost her.

"Do you speak French?" said he in French, as he was walking slowly by
her. He supposed from her appearance that she was a French girl, and so
he spoke to her in that language.

The girl replied, not in French, but in English,--

"Yes, and English too."

"How did you know that I spoke English?" said Rollo, speaking now in
English himself.

"By your looks," said the girl.

"What is your name?" asked Rollo.

"Tell me your name first," said the girl.

"My name is Rollo," said Rollo.

"And mine," replied the stranger, "is Minnie."

"Do you see that man out there," said Minnie, immediately after telling
her name, "who is gathering the donations? Come and see what a play I
will play him."

Minnie was a French girl, and so, though she had learned English, she
did not speak it quite according to the established usage.

So she walked along towards the contribution man, wearing a very grave
and demure expression of countenance as she went. Rollo kept by her
side. As soon as they came near, the man held out his plate, hoping to
receive a contribution from them. But as the plate already contained
money which had been put in by former contributors, the action was
precisely as if the man were offering money to the children, instead of
asking it of them. So Minnie put forth her hand, and making a courtesy,
took one of the pieces of money that were in the plate, pretending to
suppose that the man meant to give it to her, and said at the same time,
in French,--

"I am very much obliged to you, sir. It is just what I wanted."

The man im