going to do with it?" he asked.

I answered, "Why, eat it, of course; only I can't make up my mind how.
What should you say, two bites or a swallow?"

His interest was now thoroughly aroused; he had evidently never before
met an aunt professionally. He looked at me solemnly and said, "You are
going to eat that?"

"I am an aunt, you see," said; "a professional aunt."

"A what?" he asked.

"A professional aunt," I answered. "You are an uncle, I suppose."

"I am constantly getting wires to that effect, but I am hanged if I have
ever eaten mud-pies."

"No, that is part of the profession," I said; "you see, I promised
Betty."

Mr. Dudley relapsed into silence. I had given him food for reflection.

Here Betty appeared, "not to eat anything," she carefully explained.
Hugh came next, followed a moment later by Sara, who was beside herself
with excitement, which was centered in the blue ribbon in her hair, to
which she had that morning been promoted. A red curl had become more
rebellious than its fellows, and it was tied up with a blue ribbon, in
the fashion beloved of young mothers. Diana dislikes any reference made
to poodles.

"Yaya's got a ved vimvirn in her har," she announced.

We all expressed the keenest interest and unbounded surprise. One very
well-meaning person put down his knife and fork and said he was too
surprised to eat any more breakfast; whereupon Hugh said, "You needn't
be so very funny, because Sara doesn't understand those sort of jokes."

Whether Sara understood it or not, it seemed to encourage her to further
revelations, and she announced with bated breath, "Yaya's got ved
vimvims in her--" She opened her eyes very wide and nodded very
mysteriously, and was about to suit her actions to her words and
disclose the ribbons in question, when Diana, with a promptitude quite
splendid, administered a banana. Sara ate some with relish, paused, and
said in a loud voice, subdued by banana, "jormalies." She was not going
to be put off with a banana.

Betty was very much shocked, and with a face of virtuous indignation
whispered in my ear, "Sara means-" I hastily stopped Betty because her
whispers are louder than Sara's loudest conversation and very much
more distinct. And after all there is everything in the way a word is
pronounced. Without any context I think "jormalies" might pass anywhere
as a perfectly right and proper word, to be used on any occasion.

Hugh, too, had something to say on the a