use of the tumult. Fortunately, there
was no great harm done: poor little Willie had contrived to mount on two
boxes, which stood side by side, but not close enough together to
prevent the chubby fat legs from slipping between them; and as Freddy
and Gertrude in vain attempted to extricate the little fellow from his
awkward position, they set up a simultaneous scream in token of their
distress.

Kind-hearted Susan, however, soon set all to rights, for she was
well-known to carry in her pocket sundry mysterious little sweet balls,
which, if they were not over-clean, had a remarkable tendency to
soothe, insomuch that sagacious Master Fred, seeing his sister Mabel one
day crying with passion, inquired if he should go and ask Susan for one
of her sugar balls, to do her good; a proposition which that young lady
highly resented, though the very mention of the said sweets had stopped
the crying.

But we must return to poor mamma, who had in vain endeavoured to follow
Susan upstairs, she trembled so violently. When, however, Willie was
placed on her knee, and she saw the slight nature of the hurt he had
sustained, she began to feel more composed, for there was really no harm
done.

The poor lady, however, was not suffered to calm down thus easily, for
before Susan had time to quit the room, the sound of a key in the front
door betokened the dreaded return of her husband, and again excited all
her nervous fears.

'Why have you got the children with you, Ada?' said Mr. Ellis to his
wife, reproachfully. 'You know that the doctor has told you to keep
quiet.'

'Yes, I know,' replied Mrs. Ellis, meekly, 'but poor Willie has hurt his
leg, so Susan brought him down to me.'

'But what has Susan to do with the children?' inquired Mr. Ellis.
'Surely Mabel and Julia are quite old enough to take care of them,
without calling Susan from her work in the kitchen! Where are the
girls?' demanded Mr. Ellis, sharply; 'I hope you have not let them go
out after what I said this morning.'

'Mrs. Maitland's little girls came to ask them to take a walk, and I did
not like to refuse them,' said Mrs. Ellis, timidly.

'Then I can only tell you, Ada,' said her husband, with suppressed
passion, 'that by your foolish weakness you have deprived them of a
great pleasure. It is not often that I can spare time to go out with
them, but as I have had some tickets given me to go to a panorama, I
have, at great inconvenience, come home, in order to take t