Esther

ve sympathy. He did not talk much; he was rather given to letting people alone, but his kind

s not until we were seated in the railway compartment, and I had dried them of my own accord, that he attempted to rouse me by entering into conversation, and yet there was mu

ttle talk together. You are a sensible girl, Esther, and have a wise little head on your shoulders. Tell

nd father used to complain now and then of Fred's extravagance, and mothe

her and mother must have had heavy anxieties lately, though they have kept it from you children. The

epeat the word aloud,

He has spent thousands on the farm, and it has been a dead loss from the beginning. He knew as much about farming as Carrie does. Stuff and nonsense! And then he must needs da

him in his calculation, so he commenced

lan, who has more brains than the rest of you put together; and Carrie, who is half a saint and slightly hysterical; and your poor little self; and then comes that nondescr

rk my fingers to the bone for him, the darling! "oh, Uncle Geoff, are things really so bad as that? Will Fred be obliged to give up his p

ook matters in the face-and your father is very ill, and there is no knowing where the mischief may end; but you must all put your shoulders to th

ast I think not; but-" He hesitated, and then stopped, and I knew he was thinking of Fred and Carrie; but he need not. Of course

f sad and half moralizing, but I could not follow all he said. Two thoughts were buzzing about me like hornets

ter it, up the sandy lane, and round by the hazel copse. And there were the fields, where Dapple, the gray mare, was feeding; and there were Cherry and Spot, and Brindle, and all the rest of the dear creatures, rubbing their horned heads against the hedge as usual; and two or three of them standing kn

where, on the walls, round the porch, over the very gateway. Fred was leaning against the gate, in his brown velveteen coat and slouched hat, looking s

ed started, for though he was watching for us

Carrie asked me to look out for you; how do you do, Esther? What have you done to yourself?" eyeing me with a mixture of chagrin and astonishment. I sup

is. "I hope Carrie has got some tea for her;" and as he spoke Carrie came out in the porch to meet us. How sweet she

s a little undemonstrative-"but I have got tea for you in the brown room" (we always called it the b

ut we had always called her Jack, for brevity, and because, with her cropped head and rough ways, she resembled a boy more than a girl; her hair was growing now, and hung about her neck in short ungainly lengths, but I doubt whether in its present stage it was any improvement. I am not at all sure strangers considered Jack a prepossessing child, she was so awkward and overgrown, but I liked her droll face immensely. Fred was always finding fault with her and snubbing her, whic

leased I am to see you!" (Certainly Jack was not undemonstrative.) "Oh, it has been so horrid the last few days-father ill, and mother always with him, and Fred as cross as two sticks, and Carrie

ner than it used to be, and there were lines on her forehead that I never remember to have seen before; but she greeted me in her old affectionate way, putting back my hair from my face to look at me, an

her, wher

and her lip trembled. When Jack and I returned to the brown room, we found the others gath

ad always been so happy. The shallow blue teacups and tiny plates always seemed prettier than ot

ast and out of spirits, returning only brief replies to Uncle Geoffrey's questions, and only waking up to snub Jack if she spoke a word. Oh, how I wished Allan woul

with his favorite book of natural history; he s

his worst times Dot was a cheery invalid, for he was a bright, patient little fellow. He had a beautiful little face, too, though perhaps the eyes were a trifle too large for the thin features; but Dot was my pet, and I could see no fault in him; nothing angered me more than when people pitied him or lamented over his infirmity. When I first came home the s

as I kissed his cheek he said, "Be a good girl,

comfort too," cried Dot, in his sharp

yes. "Dora"-my mother's name was Dora-"I am too tired to talk; let the children go

n I got outside, for he suddenly lower

dly. "I shall sit here all night, in case mother

Dot had these obstinate fits at times; he was tired, and his nerves were shaken by being so many hours in the sick room, and nothing would have induced him to move. I was so tired at last that I sat down on the floor, too, and rested my head against the door, and Dot

ght." Of course I told him how it happened. Dot was naughty and would not move, and I was keeping him company. Allan hardly heard me out before he had shouldered Dot, crutch and all, and was walking off with him

e a piece of work with him for carrying him off in that fashion; he said 'I was a savage, a great uncivilized man, to take such a mean adva

I asked, for Dot was

d then I told him I was a doctor now, and no one contradicted my orders, and that he must be a good boy and let me help him to bed. Poor little fellow; he sobbed all

and dislodged us, by carrying Allan off. It was such a comfort to

looked the elder of the two; he was not so tall as Fred, but he was strongly built and sturdy; he was dark-complexioned, and

f Allan wanted his gloves mended he always came to me, and not to Carrie. I was his chief correspondent, and he made me the confidante of his professional hopes and fears. In return, he good-humoredly interested himself in my studies, directed my reading, and considered himself at li