n there all day, until Aunt Mary should take her
leave; he did not know of her intention to remain at Camden Terrace
until his papa came home, or perhaps he might have hit upon some other
expedient. His idea was, that they would all be so frightened at having
lost him, that when he did make his appearance, he would be received
joyfully.

Whether it was that the sound of the dinner-bell had created a
sensation of hunger not to be resisted, or the savoury smell of the
nicely cooked viands had stimulated the stomach to rebellion, we cannot
say; but Freddy roused himself from his recumbent position, and, as we
have seen, came (very unintentionally) head foremost down the steps.
Alas, there is no one to sympathise with him in his self-made trouble,
Aunt Mary won't permit it; and Master Frederick Ellis has to dine in the
kitchen, a most humiliating necessity which would not have been
submitted to, but for the inward cravings which would not be resisted.

It was with the greatest satisfaction that Mr. Ellis, when he came home,
heard of the kind proposal of his sister-in-law to take Freddy home with
her; he said that he could never sufficiently thank her for the good she
had done to Mabel, but he feared that Freddy would prove a more
troublesome inmate to Oak Villa than ever she had been. Aunt Mary
declared, however, to the great astonishment of Freddy, who was in the
room at the time, that Oak Villa would not hold naughty people, whether
they were men, women, or children; and that as soon as Fred had slept
there one night, he would find himself quite another boy, and be ready
to do anything that he was desired. Fred heard all this with
'wonder-working eyes;' we don't know whether he really believed it. But
as he trudged silently along by his aunt's side, with the little basket
in one hand, and her hand clasping his other, he thought what a strange
place Oak Villa must be to make people good, whether they liked it or
not.

Mr. Ellis wished very much to accompany his sister home, but she would
not permit this.

'How can you think that I want a protector when I have Fred with me,
papa?' she inquired. 'I know very well,' she added, 'that we shall soon
be the best friends in the world; and Freddy will take all the trouble
off my hands of feeding cousin Clara's chickens while she is away.'

I should have stated that Clara had gone on a short visit to her mamma.

The reference to the chickens was an excellent stroke of policy o