because that was her real name, but
the children and everybody always called her Eyebright. "I. Bright" it
had been written in the report of her first week at Miss Fitch's
school, when she was a little thing not more than six years old. The
droll name struck some one's fancy and from that day she was always
called Eyebright because of that, and because her eyes were bright.
They were gray eyes, large and clear, set in a wide, low forehead,
from which a thick mop of hazel-brown hair, with a wavy kink all
through it, was combed back, and tied behind with a brown ribbon. Her
nose turned up a little; her mouth was rather wide, but it was a
smiling, good-tempered mouth; the cheeks were pink and wholesome, and
altogether, though not particularly pretty, Eyebright was a
pleasant-looking little girl in the eyes of the people who loved her,
and they were a good many.

[Illustration: To her there was a great charm in all that goes to the
making of pictures.--PAGE 7.]

The companion with whom she was walking was Bessie Mather, her most
intimate friend just then. Bessie was the daughter of a
portrait-painter, who didn't have many portraits to paint, so he was
apt to be discouraged, and his family to feel rather poor. Eyebright
was not old enough to perceive the inconveniences of being poor. To
her there was a great charm in all that goes to the making of
pictures. She loved the shining paint-tubes, the palette set with its
ring of many-colored dots, and the white canvases; even the smell of
oil was pleasant to her, and she often wished that her father, too,
had been a painter. When, as once in a great while happened, Bessie
asked her to tea, she went with a sort of awe over her mind, and
returned in a rapture, to tell her mother that they had had biscuits
and apple-sauce for supper, and hadn't done any thing in particular;
but she had enjoyed it so much, and it had been so interesting! Mrs.
Bright never could understand why biscuits and apple-sauce, which
never created any enthusiasm in Eyebright at home, should be so
delightful at Bessie Mather's, neither could Eyebright explain it, but
so it was. This portrait-painting father was one of Bessie's chief
attractions in Eyebright's eyes, but apart from that, she was
sweet-tempered, pliable, and affectionate, and--a strong bond in
friendship sometimes--she liked to follow and Eyebright to lead; she
preferred to listen and Eyebright to talk; so they suited each other
exactly. Bessie