hat the lady from Philadelphia was very ill that day, and
was in her bed. But when she was told what the trouble was she very
kindly said they might draw up the curtain from the window at the foot
of the bed, and open the blinds, and she would see. Then she asked for
her opera-glass, and looked through it, across the way, up the street,
to Mrs. Peterkin's door.

After she had looked through the glass she laid it down, leaned her
head back against the pillow, for she was very tired, and then said,
"Why don't you unchain the horse from the horse-post?"

Elizabeth Eliza and the little boys looked at one another, and then
hurried back to the house and told their mother. The horse was untied,
and they all went to ride.

THE PETERKINS AT HOME.

AT DINNER.

Another little incident occurred in the Peterkin family. This was at
dinner-time.

[Illustration]

They sat down to a dish of boiled ham. Now it was a peculiarity of the
children of the family that half of them liked fat, and half liked
lean. Mr. Peterkin sat down to cut the ham. But the ham turned out to
be a very remarkable one. The fat and the lean came in separate
slices,--first one of lean, then one of fat, then two slices of lean,
and so on. Mr. Peterkin began as usual by helping the children first,
according to their age. Now Agamemnon, who liked lean, got a fat
slice; and Elizabeth Eliza, who preferred fat, had a lean slice.
Solomon John, who could eat nothing but lean, was helped to fat, and
so on. Nobody had what he could eat.

It was a rule of the Peterkin family that no one should eat any of the
vegetables without some of the meat; so now, although the children saw
upon their plates apple-sauce, and squash and tomato, and sweet potato
and sour potato, not one of them could eat a mouthful, because not one
was satisfied with the meat. Mr. and Mrs. Peterkin, however, liked
both fat and lean, and were making a very good meal, when they looked
up and saw the children all sitting eating nothing, and looking
dissatisfied into their plates.

"What is the matter now?" said Mr. Peterkin.

But the children were taught not to speak at table. Agamemnon,
however, made a sign of disgust at his fat, and Elizabeth Eliza at her
lean, and so on; and they presently discovered what was the
difficulty.

"What shall be done now?" said Mrs. Peterkin.

They all sat and thought for a little while.

At last said Mrs. Peterkin, rather uncertainly, "Suppose we ask