Mother Carey's Chickens

n had been known for some years. The Captain (then a Lieutenant) had brought his friend home one Satur

er-house, and as they parted the syringa bushes they

ldren like to f

s beside, or c

were that fav

he Admiral saw, and if you want to see anything tr

r's chin with a buttercup, Nancy was putting a wreath of leaves on her mother's h

at you think of tha

a pretty good picture at any time, but I should say

man. "Nancy has already chosen a Rear-Admiral and

you credi

ard enough, but they are mostly the work of the

eded all other places as a gathering ground for th

cara, this being not only his personal conviction, but one tha

rs' friends. Mother Carey sends them to warn seafarers of approaching storms and bids them go out all over the sea

ood birds the way h

might have stopped the children from calling him Addy, but they seemed to do it because "Admiral" was difficult, and anyway they loved him so much they simply had to take some lib

ime when the family was striving to give her her proper name, having begun wrong with her at the

till too young to be called Nancy, and though, so far as age was concerned, she might properly have held on to her name of baby, she couldn't with propriety, because there was Gilbert then, and he was baby. Moreover, she gradually became so indescribably quaint and bewitching and comical a

and I well remember the letter you wrote me when this little lass came into harbor! Just wait a minute;

you had lent me five hundred dollars to be ma

u have to borrow mo

le Allan was starting in business, and I had just put my little capital in with his whe

rly. "Fifty of her!" At

money you put in Uncle

unexpected

d father before he replied, "Oh! that's coming back multiplied six times over,

straight as a die. I only wish he could per

, but he's heavily handicapped there

on his knee and seized the opportunity to give him a French kiss when t

to port last

rest lit

inch of r

nd looked,

so curiou

ss the unk

erself wit

er, O my

se presents,

lcome fi

nsigned to H

on metre

o manifest

oats o'er

new for Bri

er, O my

ld bells-and

the lov

little wor

e bib and

1: George

d Mother Carey all in a glow

er little craft,' wasn't she, Nan-I mean Nancy!" an

e generations her father's family had been known as the handsome Careys, and when Lieutenant Care

emained out of sight, but the moment that young person appeared Kathleen left something to be desired. Nancy piqued; Nancy sparkled; Nancy glowed; Nancy occasionally pouted and not infrequently blazed. Nancy's eyes had to be continually searched for news, both of herself and of the immediate world about her. If you did not keep looking at her every "once in so often" you couldn't keep up with the progr

child went f

t he looked upon, t

art of him for the day,

a

s, or stretching

ed, the impulse coming from within, the only way that counts i

nerous than wise, more plucky than prudent; she ha

ng, so deeds of daring would be in his line; instantaneous ones, quickly settled, leaving the v

o to the making of a small boy were all there, but mixed with white magic. It is painful to think of the dozens of girl babies in lo