ps. Would you like me to ask poor lame Charley's mother for
more?"

With a joyful little scream, she hugged me again, and kissed my
cheek--_very softly_ this time, for fear of hurting me, and said: "Oh!
Aunt Fanny! if you only will, I will give you a whole paper full of
_perl_asses candy, and one of my new _handkerchickers_; and when you are
old and blind, I will take you in my arms, and carry you up stairs, and
put you in my lap _and teach you your letters_, and ask mamma to read
the Bible to you--all about Joseph, you know, and his wicked _bredders_;
it will make you _ki_."

Wasn't she a cunning little thing? I could not help laughing, to think
of such a little mite of a child, talking of taking me in her arms; and
then I could not help the tears coming, at her offer to have her own
mamma read the Bible to me--was it not sweet? _You_ would have done so
too, wouldn't you? You see, it must have been Kitty's greatest pleasure,
to have God's Holy Bible read to her; so she promised me, what she
thought was the very best thing in the whole world. And so it is.

You may be sure, that I told her, I would try to get the stories very
soon.

Pretty soon Kitty and her mamma went away; but not before we had given
each other one more real good kiss, and I had prayed in my heart that
God would bless the precious little child, and guide me with my new
book, so that it would help Kitty and you to be good, obedient children,
His precious little lambs here upon earth, and His bright, beautiful
angels in Heaven.

In the evening I put on my bonnet and shawl, and went to see lame
Charley's mother. As I rang the bell, I heard such a quantity of
laughing voices, and so many little feet pattering, I was almost
certain, that at least twenty cousins must have come to town to help
them have a good time: but when the door was opened, I saw they were all
Nightcap Children, rushing down stairs together. They had gone up to
wash their faces and hands and brush their hair, and were coming down
all laughing and talking at once, so you may be sure it made a great
noise.

Bless their little chattering tongues, and pattering feet! You can't
expect children to be as grave and solemn as judges--of course not. I,
for one, would not give a pin for a child that did not make a
noise--that is--a pleasant noise.

So they were jumping and tumbling down, when I entered, and in a moment
they were all about me crying. "How-de-do, Aunt Fanny? Come in, come i