d the shining head, and
answered readily: "Yes, Nelly, it will be a proper charity for such a
young Samaritan, and you may learn much if you are in earnest. You
must study how to feed and nurse your little patients, else your pity
will do no good, and your hospital become a prison. I will help you,
and Tony shall be your surgeon."

"O mamma, how good you always are to me! Indeed, I am in truly earnest;
I will learn, I will be kind, and may I go now and begin?"

"You may, but tell me first where will you have your hospital?"

"In my room, mamma; it is so snug and sunny, and I never should forget
it there," said Nelly.

"You must not forget it anywhere. I think that plan will not do. How
would you like to find caterpillars walking in your bed, to hear sick
pussies mewing in the night, to have beetles clinging to your clothes,
or see mice, bugs, and birds tumbling downstairs whenever the door was
open?" said her mother.

Nelly laughed at that thought a minute, then clapped her hands, and
cried: "Let us have the old summer-house! My doves only use the upper
part, and it would be so like Frank in the storybook. Please say yes
again, mamma."

Her mother did say yes, and, snatching up her hat, Nelly ran to find
Tony, the gardener's son, a pleasant lad of twelve, who was Nelly's
favorite playmate. Tony pronounced the plan a "jolly" one, and, leaving
his work, followed his young mistress to the summer-house, for she
could not wait one minute.

"What must we do first?" she asked, as they stood looking in at the
dusty room, full of garden tools, bags of seeds, old flower-pots, and
watering-cans.

"Clear out the rubbish, miss," answered Tony.

"Here it goes, then," and Nelly began bundling everything out in such
haste that she broke two flower-pots, scattered all the squash-seeds,
and brought a pile of rakes and hoes clattering down about her ears.

"Just wait a bit, and let me take the lead, miss. You hand me things,
I'll pile 'em in the barrow and wheel 'em off to the barn; then it will
save time, and be finished up tidy."

Nelly did as he advised, and very soon nothing but dust remained.

"What next?" she asked, not knowing in the least.

"I'll sweep up while you see if Polly can come and scrub the room out.
It ought to be done before you stay here, let alone the patients."

"So it had," said Nelly, looking very wise all of a sudden. "Will says
the wards--that means the rooms, Tony--are scrubbed every day