stories were not told in the purest English, they were none the
less interesting to the children for that.

There came, early in February, some pleasant, mild days, which soon made
a ruin of the boys' palace of snow; and though cousin Betty had been in
a dying state for an hour or two the night before, she was so far
revived that morning, that she was easily persuaded by the children to
go over with them to the farm-house, and tell them the story of their
great-grandfather, and his capture by the Indians; which same, though a
very interesting story to the children, might not be so to my readers;
and after changing my mind about it several times, I have concluded to
leave it out, as having nothing to do with the rest of my story.

V

Home Again.

"Deal very, very gently with a young child's tender heart."

With a face beaming with joy, little Agnes took her place in the cutter
by her uncle on Christmas morning, and nodded good-bye to her cousins,
who were crowded at the window to see her off.

"Mind you come back to dinner!" screamed little Grace, knocking with her
knuckles on the window pane.

Agnes nodded again, and they were gone. Many a time during the short
ride did Agnes take out of her little muff the paper in which her
needle-case for her mother was rolled up, to see if it was all safe; and
she never let go for a moment of the basket in which were some toys for
Lewie, which she and her cousins had purchased at the village. As she
drove up the road from the gate to her mother's house, it seemed to her
so long since she had been away, that she expected to see great changes.
She had never been from home so long before, and a great deal had
happened in that fort night.

Mrs. Elwyn was reading again; indeed, she had resumed that very
yellow-covered book, the reading of which Lewie's sickness had
interrupted; so she had not much time for a greeting for Agnes, though
she did allow her to kiss her cheek, and of course laid aside her book,
out of compliment to Mr. Wharton. But little Lewie, who was sitting in
his cradle, surrounded by toys, was in perfect ecstasies at the return
of Agnes.

He stretched his little arms towards her; and as she sprang towards him,
and stooped to kiss him, he threw them around her neck, and clasped his
little hands together, as if determined never to let her go again.

"Sister come! sister come!" he exclaimed over and over again, with the
greatest glee; "sister stay wi