r gentle way, whether her eager young sister quite
understood herself, but all she said was:

'Come in and let me tie your hair, Betty dear.'

'Isn't it tidy?' said Betty, with a pull at her loose locks; then, as
she stopped beside the looking-glass, and caught sight of herself in
contrast to Angelica's graceful figure, looking taller and slimmer in
the straight black dress, with the soft muslin about her slender throat
and the dark abundant curls falling smoothly on her shoulders, she
exclaimed in dismay,

'Oh, Angel dear, I'm so sorry! I dressed in the dark.'

'I know, Betty dear. Sit down and let me do your hair,' said the elder
sister, getting the ribbon off with as little pulling of the tangled
curls as possible.

'You see,' she said very gently and diffidently, as she set to work to
put Betty in order, 'I've been thinking a great deal about this dear
little boy of ours, and, Betty, it makes me feel so young.'

'Does it?' said Betty, twisting her head round so as to look into her
sister's face; 'why, Angel dear, it makes me feel old!'

'Yes, I know what you mean. I mean it makes me feel silly and
inexperienced when I ought to be wise. You see, Betty, I think we
ought both to consider that we haven't got Bernard's little boy to
please ourselves with him, and pet him, and give him everything he
wants. He won't be a plaything for us--we have to make a man of him,
and as he hasn't any one else to look to, we mustn't let him just take
us for playfellows, he must look upon us as----'

'As his maiden aunts,' said Betty, emphatically; 'yes, Angel, I quite
see that.'

'You see,' Angelica went on, 'I expect when we get the dear little
thing to ourselves we shall find it much easier to romp with him and
pet him and all that, and so we might if there were any one else older
and wiser for him to look up to; but it wouldn't do for a little boy
only to have playfellows, there must be some one for him to respect.'

'And as there isn't any one else, it must be us,' said Betty,
decidedly, 'for he won't have any one else belonging to him to respect
except Cousin Crayshaw about once a fortnight, which isn't very often,
and so we shall have to be instead of a father and mother and uncles
and aunts and grandmothers and everybody that little boys have to
respect all rolled into one.'

'And not think at all about pleasing ourselves with him as if he were a
kitten,' said Angel, gravely; 'you see things so quickly, Betty