d the care of her by the hand. This child began
to read what was printed on the card. She read aloud, enunciating the
words very slowly, syllable by syllable, and in a voice so clear, and
rich, and silvery, that it was delightful to hear her. She seemed
pleased to observe that Rollo and Jane were listening to her; and when
she got through she turned to them, as if to apologize for not reading
better, and said, in French, and with a pleasant smile upon her
countenance,--

"I am learning to read; but I cannot read too much yet, you see."

By too much she meant very well, that being the way that the French
express themselves in such a case.

Rollo understood what she said, but he did not think it prudent to
attempt to reply in the same language; so he said simply, in English,--

"And yet I think my father would give five hundred dollars if I could
read French like that. He'd be _glad_ to do it."

As Rollo spoke these words the child looked earnestly in his face, the
smile gradually disappearing from her features and being replaced by a
look of perplexity and wonder. She then turned and led the maid away.

There were a great many booths and stands about, some in open spaces and
some under the trees. At one they had all sorts of cakes for sale; at
another toys of every kind, such as hoops, balls, kites, balloons,
rocking horses, and all such things; and at a third pictures, some
large, some small, some plain, and some beautifully colored. At one
place, by the side of the avenue where most of the people were walking,
there stood a man, with a tall and gayly-painted can on his back. It was
covered with common drapery below; but the top was bright, and towered
like a spire above the man's head. There was a round bar, like the leg
of a chair, which went from the bottom of the can to the ground, to
support it, and take the weight off the man's shoulders when he was
standing still. The man was standing still now, and was all the time
tinkling a little bell, to call the attention of the people to what he
had to sell. It was something to drink. There were two kinds of drink in
the can, separated from each other by a division in the interior. There
were two small pipes, one for each kind of drink, leading from the
bottom of the can round by the side of the man to the front, with
stopcocks at the end, where he could draw out the drink conveniently.
There was also a little rack to hold the glasses. There were three
glasses; for t