h them, but friends
only occasionally."

Why do aunts interfere? Retribution speedily follows.

"Visitors are mostly always here," said Hugh plaintively. "When you have
children of your own, Aunt Woggles, then--"

"A fox, a fox, Hugh!" cried some one.

He rushed to the window.

"That's two foxes today that weren't there when I looked," said Hugh; "I
shan't look next time."

This was a desperate state of affairs; an attack might come at any time,
and we should have exhausted our ammunition.

"The best thing," said Diana, "is for those who are going to church to
get ready."

Betty and Hugh were of course going; Sara wanted to, but those in
authority deemed it wiser that she should wait till she was older.
This offended her very much, as did any reference to her age. But the
decision was a wise one: she prayed too fervently, she sang too lustily,
and she talked too audibly, to admit of reverent worship on the part of
the younger members of the congregation, and of the older ones, too, I
am afraid.

One memorable Sunday she did go to church, as a great treat; and
when the hymn--"Peace, perfect peace" was given out, a beatific smile
illumined her face, and with her hymn-book upside-down she was preparing
to sing, when Diana said,--whispered rather--You don't know this,
darling."

"Yes, I do, mummy, peace in the valley of Bong."

Betty walked to church with me. "Aunt Woggles," she said, "you know the
gentleman in the Bible who lived inside the whale?"

"Yes, darling," I said, "I do remember." My heart sank at the
difficulties presented by Jonah as gentleman.

"Well," she said, "what dye suppose he did without candles in the dark
passages of the whale?"

Betty evidently pictured the dark passages of the whale to be what
Haines used to be before electric light was installed. The whale, like
a house, must be modernized to meet the requirements of the day. When
Betty starts asking questions, she mercifully quickly follows one with
another, and does not wait for answers. The interior economy of the
whale suggested various trains of thought, and she went skipping along
beside me, or rather in front of me, propounding the most astounding
theories. I was quite glad when Mr. Dudley and Hugh caught us up.

"You did come along fast, old man," said Mr. Dudley.

"It wasn't me, it was you," panted Hugh. "It truthfully was, Aunt
Woggles, and he wasn't going to church at all till I told him you were
going. I'm awfully o