a real way of serving God, and pleased Him too, because He
looks beyond things, and sees the spirit in which we do them.

At three o'clock the wagon came to the door, and they said good-by to
the kind Shakers. Miss Fitch paid for the dinner; but the elder was
not willing to take much. They entertained the poor for nothing, he
said. A small compensation from those who were able and willing to
pay, did not come amiss, but a dinner for boys and girls like those,
he guessed, didn't amount to much. Miss Fitch privately doubted this.
It seemed to her that a regiment of grown men could hardly have
devoured more in the same space of time than her hungry twenty-one;
but she was grateful to the elder for his kindness, and told him so.
Eyebright parted from Sister Jane with a kiss, and gave her, by way of
keepsake, the only thing she had,--a china doll about two inches long,
which chanced to be at the bottom of her pocket. It was a droll gift
to make to a solemn little Shakeress in drab; but Jane was pleased,
and said she should always keep it. Then they were packed into the
wagon again, and with many good-bys they drove away, kissing their
hands to the sisters at the door, and carrying with them a sense of
cleanliness, hospitality, and quiet peace, which would make them for
ever friendly to the name of Shaker.

The drive home was as pleasant as that of the morning had been. The
children were not at all tired, and in the most riotous spirits. They
hurrahed every five minutes. They made jokes and guessed riddles, and
sang choruses,--"_Tranquidillo_" was one; "We'll bear the storm, it
won't be long," another; and "Ubidee," which Herman Bury had picked up
from a cousin in college, and which they all thought grand. Past the
farmhouses they went, past the tree where the squirrel had curled
himself to sleep, and the fields from which the thievish crows had
flown. They stopped a minute at Mr. Wheeler's to leave some
maple-sugar for Washington,--not the best diet for measles, perhaps,
but pleasant as a proof of kind feeling, and then, one by one, they
were dropped at the doors of their own homes.

"Well!" said Wealthy, eying her mop-handle with great satisfaction.
"That's what I call sensible. I expected you'd spend your money on
some pesky gimcrack or other. I never thought 't would be a handy
thing like this, and I am obliged to you for it, Eyebright. Now run up
and see your ma. She was asking after you a while ago."

CHAPTER