irls went out with Alice, brought her in backward, so that
she might not see Miss Walker, held her hands, and did everything but
find out the secret.

At last they said: "We give it up, Miss Walker. Do tell us the secret."

"Well," said Miss Walker, "if you really can not guess it, I will tell
you. As a rule, I placed my hand on the shoulder of the girl who spoke
last before Alice quitted the room. But sometimes there were two or
three speakers, and in this case I touched my own shoulders. If no one
spoke, I touched the piano. Any article that may be agreed upon will do
equally well. With this simple understanding, and an intelligent
assistant, a mistake is almost impossible."

SEA-BREEZES.

LETTER No. 3 FROM BESSIE MAYNARD TO HER DOLL.

OLD ORCHARD BEACH, _August, 1880_.

Dear Child,--It is two weeks, I do declare, since I have written you one
word, and what a state you must be in all this time; for I remember
perfectly well how suddenly my letter closed, just at the very smilax of
that awful adventure. But really, Clytie, so many things have happened
since, and every minute is so full of pleasures or catastrophes, that,
as I look back, that one seems almost insignificant.

I suppose you are surprised at my using such large words; but here we
meet a great many "people of culture," as they are called, and they are
all very busy "improving their minds"; and you know Solomon says, "Never
do till to-morrow what you can put off to-day," so I am trying to
improve mine too, while I am under their confluence.

Papa bought me a little pocket dictionary, and I look out all sorts of
words in it, and that is how I get so many big ones that perhaps _you_
don't quite apprehend, but I must use them inasmuch.

Excuse me for scratching out inasmuch, I _should_ have said
nevertheless. When I am not quite sure of a word, I look it out, for I
always have my little dictionary close at hand, and that is a great
conveyance, you know. I am trying to get over my babyish way of talking,
or at least of writing, and hope I may exceed.

[Illustration: HOW WE LOOKED AFTER _IT_ HAPPENED.]

But to go back to my story: where was I? We were crossing over the board
to the island, weren't we? Well, Fan was going ahead, wheeling Jane in
her carriage, then Dora and Snip, and me on behind with Moppet in my
arms. Randolph stood in the water, and watched his chance till we were
all fairly on the board, and then he gave a regular Indian w