ss had nothing to do with it,--nothing, nothing,
nothing!"

THE EGG-BOY.

"Marge, Marge, here is the egg-boy!"

Marge dropped her book and ran to join her sister Elsie, who by this
time was on the back piazza talking to a boy who had just driven up in a
farm-wagon.

"We want two dozen more,--all nice big ones, and by to-morrow, for it is
only three days before Easter, and they must be boiled and colored to be
ready in season."

The boy stared. "Colored?" he repeated in a puzzled, questioning tone.

"Yes," answered Elsie, "colored. Don't you color eggs for Easter?"

"No."

"How queer! But you know about them, of course?"

"No, I don't."

"Not know about Easter eggs? Where in the world have you lived not to
know about Easter? I thought everybody--"

"I do know about Easter," interrupted the boy, sharply. "All I said was
that I didn't know about your colored eggs."

"Oh, well, I guess it is Episcopalians mostly who keep that old custom
going in this part of the country, and I suppose your people are not
Episcopalians, are they?"

"No."

"Well, _we_ are, and we've lived in Washington, too, where everybody has
colored eggs, and all the boys and girls there used to go to the
egg-rolling party the Monday morning after Easter; and a good many of
them go now."

"Egg-rolling party?" cried the boy, with such wide-open eyes of
astonishment that Elsie and Marge both burst out laughing, whereat the
boy flushed up angrily, and seizing the reins was starting off, when the
cook called to him to wait until she had the butter-box ready for him to
take back.

"Oh!" whispered Marge, "we've hurt his feelings, Elsie; it is too bad."
Then she ran forward, and said gently: "'Tisn't anything at all strange
that you didn't know about the rolling. Elsie and I didn't until we went
to Washington to live, and saw the game ourselves, and had it explained
to us; and I'll explain it to you. We had a lot of eggs boiled hard, and
dyed all sorts of pretty flower colors and patterns; and these we took
to the top of a little hill near the White House, and each one, or each
party, started two or three or more eggs of different colors, and made
guesses as to which color would beat. After the game was over, we
exchanged the eggs we had, and gave away a good many to the poor
children. Oh, it was great fun."

The boy laughed. "Fun! I should call it baby play!" he said derisively.

"Well, _you_ can call it baby play if you