s set upon the stove to
brew, and carefully placed behind the stove pipe that no accidental touch
of the elbow might bring it to destruction. Plates, knives, and teacups
came rattling forth from the closet; the butter was brought from the place
where it had been placed to keep it cool, and a corn-cake was soon smoking
on the table, and sending up its seducing odour into the room over-head to
which Charlie had been recently banished, causing to that unfortunate young
gentleman great physical discomfort.

"Now, mother," said the bustling Caddy, "it's all ready. Come now and sit
down whilst the cake is hot--do put up the sewing, Esther, and come!"

Neither Esther nor her mother needed much pressing, and they were
accordingly soon seated round the table on which their repast was spread.

"Put away a slice of this cake for father," said Mrs. Ellis, "for he won't
be home until late; he is obliged to attend a vestry meeting to-night."

Mrs. Ellis sat for some time sipping the fragrant and refreshing tea. When
the contents of two or three cups one after another had disappeared, and
sundry slices of corn-bread had been deposited where much corn-bread had
been deposited before, she began to think about Charlie, and to imagine
that perhaps she had been rather hasty in sending him to bed without his
supper.

"What had Charlie to-day in his dinner-basket to take to school with him?"
she inquired of Caddy.

"Why, mother, I put in enough for a wolf; three or four slices of bread,
with as many more of corn-beef, some cheese, one of those little pies, and
all that bread-pudding which was left at dinner yesterday--he must have had
enough."

"But, mother, you know he always gives away the best part of his dinner,"
interposed Esther. "He supplies two or three boys with food. There is that
dirty Kinch that he is so fond of, who never takes any dinner with him, and
depends entirely upon Charlie. He must be hungry; do let him come down and
get his tea, mother?"

Notwithstanding the observations of Caroline that Esther was just
persuading her mother to spoil the boy, that he would be worse than ever,
and many other similar predictions. Esther and the tea combined won a
signal triumph, and Charlie was called down from the room above, where he
had been exchanging telegraphic communications with the before-mentioned
Kinch, in hopes of receiving a commutation of sentence.

Charlie was soon seated at the table with an ample allowance of co