s, and puckered up their mouths--so as
to keep all the little laughs in. They couldn't keep their eyes from
sparkling; but as that could be done without making a noise--it was
rather a help, as it showed how delighted they expected to be--and gave
the little mother such a happy look, that they came very near all
rushing upon her to kiss her; but they managed to keep still, and the
new nightcap letters began as follows:--

THE NIGHTCAP LETTERS,

HOW THEY CAME TO BE WRITTEN.

BELLA'S mother was quite ill; and the doctor said she must go for awhile
to the sweet, sunny South--far away from the cold March winds.

Poor little Bella did not want her mother to go. When she heard of it,
she began to cry, and climbed up into her mother's lap, and kissing her
cheek said: "Stay with Bella, mamma, do please; Bella will take care of
you, and make you well."

"But the doctor says I must go, my darling," answered her mother. "If
you cry, it will make me worse, because I shall feel so miserable to see
you crying; but you mean to be good, don't you? and when I get to
Charleston, I will write you ever so many little letters one after the
other, and you must tell papa what to say, and he will write the
answers. Won't that be nice? The postman will bring you your letters,
and then you must pay him two cents apiece for every one of them, think
of that! Dear me! how much money it will take! do you think you will
have money enough?"

"My _pasense_," exclaimed Bella; "what a heap of letters! Oh, how glad I
am! I'll buy every one, mamma! I'll go and count my money now!"

So she ran to her drawer, and took out a little velvet purse. It looked
very fat and heavy. Then she sat down on the carpet and opened it, and
out tumbled ever so many bright pennies into her lap--quite enough to
astonish the postman, and make him wish he could sell her six letters
at once. Bella clapped her hands and laughed, and thumped her heels
merrily up and down, and made the pennies jingle in her lap so
pleasantly, that it seemed as if they were singing a little song.

The thought of the letters was such a comfort to Bella, that she saw her
mother's trunks packed without crying a bit, though a poor little sigh
would come out once in a while; but she told Edith, her elder sister,
that she meant to behave in the "_goodest manner_," and almost to seem
glad that her dear mamma was going away, because that would help to make
her well.

It would have delighte