ed over the table, while three or four drops of it
were standing on the forehead and nose of the distressed woman, who was
vainly trying to take the spoon from the little hand clenching it so
firmly.

Mrs. Crawford had had a busy and exciting day with her charge, who,
active and restless, and playful, kept her on the alert and made her
forget in part how lame she was. As she could not put her foot to the
floor without great pain, and as she must move about, she adopted the
expedient of placing her knee on a chair to the back of which she held,
while she hobbled around the room, followed by the child, who, delighted
with this novel method of locomotion, put her knee in a low chair, and
holding to Mrs. Crawford's skirts, limped after her, imitating her
perfectly, even to the groans she sometimes uttered when a twinge
sharper than usual ran up her swollen limb. It was fun for the child,
but almost death to the woman, who, when she could endure it no longer,
sank into a chair, and tried by speaking sharply, to make the little
girl understand that she must keep quiet. But when she scolded, baby
scolded back, in a language wholly unintelligible, shaking her curly
head, and sometimes stamping her foot by way of emphasizing her words.

When Mrs. Crawford laughed the child laughed, and when once a pang
severer than usual wrung the tears from her eyes, baby looked at her
compassionately a moment, while her little face puckered itself into
wrinkles as if she too were going to cry; then, putting up her soft hand
she wiped the tears from Mrs. Crawford's cheeks, and, climbing into her
lap, became as quiet as a kitten. But a touch sufficed to start her up,
for she was full of fun and frolic, and her laughing blue eyes, which
were of that wide-open kind which see everything, were brimming over
with mischief. Once or twice she called out 'Mahnee,' and going to the
window, stood on tip-toe looking out, to see if she were coming. But on
the whole she seemed happy and content, exploring every nook and corner
of the kitchen and examining curiously every article of furniture as if
it were quite new to her.

Once when Mrs. Crawford was talking earnestly to her, trying to make her
understand, she stood for a moment watching and imitating the motion of
the lady's lips and the expression of her face; then going up to her she
began to examine her mouth and her teeth, as if she would know what
manner of machinery it was which produced sounds so