watching
my new friends. They passed slowly up the Esplanade, my eyes following
them till they were out of sight, and then I turned away regretfully.

'"They are sure not to pass again," I said, "and they are so nice."

'"If they live near here, very likely the Esplanade is their daily walk,
and they will be passing back again in a few minutes," said my mother,
entering into my fancy.

'I took up her suggestion eagerly. She was right: in about a quarter of
an hour my trots appeared again, this time from the other direction,
and, as good luck would have it, just opposite our window, their nurse
happening to meet an acquaintance, they came to a halt!

'"Mamma, mamma," I exclaimed, "here they are again!"

'Mamma nodded her head and smiled without looking up. She was just then
counting the rows of her knitting, and was afraid of losing the number.
I pressed my face close to the window--if only the trots would look my
way!--I could hardly resist tapping on the pane.

'Suddenly a bright thought struck me. I seized Gip, my little dog, who
was asleep on the hearth-rug and held him up to the window.

'"T'ss, Gip; T'ss, cat. At her; at her," I exclaimed.

'Poor Gip had doubtless been having delightful dreams--it was very hard
on him to be wakened up so startlingly. He blinked his eyes and tried to
see the imaginary cat--no doubt he thought it was his own fault he did
not succeed, for he was the most humble-minded and unpresuming of little
dogs, and his faith in me was unbounded. He could not see a cat, but he
took it for granted that _I_ did; so he set to work barking vigorously.
That was just what I wanted. The trots heard the noise and both turned
round; then they let go their nurse's hands and made a little journey
round her skirts till they met.

[Illustration: "Suddenly a bright thought struck me. I seized Gip, my
little dog, who was asleep on the hearthrug, and held him up to the
window." _To face page_ 212]

'"Dot," said one, "pretty doggie."

'"Doll," said the other, both speaking at once, you understand, "pretty
doggie."

'I don't mean to say that I _heard_ what they said, I only _saw_ it. But
afterwards, when I had heard their voices, I felt sure that was what
they had said, for they almost always spoke together.

'Then they joined their disengaged hands (the outside hand of each still
clasping its woolly lamb), and there they stood, legs well apart, little
mouths and eyes wide open, staring with the gre