r ever," said Gladys. "Johnnie had stolen the letter I, and made
it stand for one. So it does still, though it is a vowel. Janie has a
form of our plan. Hand it up, Janie."

Janie accordingly produced a little bag, and unfolded a paper of which
this is a copy:--

JANIE MORTIMER Fecit This.

1 2 3
I.T. N.B. M.Y.

4 5 6
R.Q. C.J.V. D.S.

7 8 9
K.G. H.P. F.L.

Ought
W.X.Z.

A & E & O & U dont count. You're to make
up the sentence with them.

"The rule is," said Gladys, "that you make a sentence of words beginning
with anyone of those letters that stand for the figures you want to
remember. Miss Crampton wanted us to know the dates of all Wellington's
battles; of course we couldn't; we do now, though. You see Britannia's
scroll has on it, 'I'll put _on_ Wellington boots,' that means 1802. So
we know, to begin with, that till after she put on Wellington boots, we
need not trouble ourselves to remember anything particular about him."

"There's a portrait of Lord Palmerston," whispered Crayshaw, "he has a
map of Belgium pasted on his breast. He says, 'I, Pam, managed this."'

"Yes, that means the date of the independence of Belgium," said
Gladys. "Johnnie made it, but father says it is not quite fair."

"The best ones," Johnnie explained, "ought not to have any extra word,
and should tell you what they mean themselves. 'I hear navvies coming,'
is good--it means the making of the first railway. Here are four not so
good:--Magna Charta--'The Barons _extorted_ this Charter,' 1215. The
Reformation--'They came _out of_ you, Rome,' 1534. Discovery of
America--'In re _a_ famous navigator,' 1492. And Waterloo--Bonaparte
says it--'Isle perfide tu _as_ vaincu,' 1815."

"I have thought of one for the Reform Bill," said Emily: "get a portrait
of Lord Russell, and let his scroll say, 'They've passed my bill.'"

"That is a good one, but they must not be too simple and easy, or they
are forgotten," said one of the girls; "but we make them for many things
besides historical events. Those are portraits, and show when people
were born. There is dear Grand; 'I _owe_ Grand love _and_ duty,' That
next one is Tennyson; 'I have won laurels.' There's Swan; Swan said he
did not know whether he was