sed itself before the
shining one.

The children were all in the dark till Mother Atkinson said, in an
inquiring tone,

"If that isn't Balaam and the ass, I'd like to know what it is. Rose
makes a sweet angel, doesn't she?"

"Ass" was evidently the word, and the angel retired, smiling with
mundane satisfaction over the compliment that reached her ears.

The next was a pretty little scene from the immortal story of "Babes in
the Wood." Jamie and Pokey came trotting in, hand in hand, and, having
been through the parts many times before, acted with great ease and much
fluency, audibly directing each other from time to time as they
went along. The berries were picked, the way lost, tears shed, baby
consolation administered, and then the little pair lay down among the
brakes and died with their eyes wide open and the toes of their four
little boots turned up to the daisies in the most pathetic manner.

"Now the wobins tum. You be twite dead, Dimmy, and I'll peep in and see
'em," one defunct innocent was heard to say.

"I hope they'll be quick, for I'm lying on a stone, and ants are walking
up my leg like fury," murmured the other.

Here the robins came flapping in with red scarves over their breasts
and leaves in their mouths, which they carefully laid upon the babes
wherever they would show best. A prickly blackberry leaf placed directly
over Pokey's nose caused her to sneeze so violently that her little legs
flew into the air; Jamie gave a startled "Ow!" and the pitying fowls
fled giggling.

After some discussion it was decided that the syllable must be "strew or
strow" and then they waited to see if it was a good guess.

This scene discovered Annette Snow in bed, evidently very ill; Miss
Jenny was her anxious mamma, and her merry conversation amused the
audience till Mac came in as a physician, and made great fun with his
big watch, pompous manner, and absurd questions. He prescribed one
pellet with an unpronounceable name, and left after demanding twenty
dollars for his brief visit.

The pellet was administered, and such awful agonies immediately set in
that the distracted mamma bade a sympathetic neighbour run for Mother
Know-all. The neighbour ran, and in came a brisk little old lady in
cap and specs, with a bundle of herbs under her arm, which she at once
applied in all sorts of funny ways, explaining their virtues as she
clapped a plantain poultice here, put a pounded catnip plaster there,
or tied a coup