g to fear that the dulness and strangeness of our
new life would prevent St. Austin's doing me as much good as she had
hoped.

'"To-morrow, dear," she said, "if it is fine, I hope you will be able to
go a little walk, and we'll look out for your little friends."

'It was fine the next day, and we did go out, and we did meet the trots!

'They caught sight of me (of Gip, rather, I should perhaps say) and I
of them, just about the same moment. I saw them tug their nurse, and
when they got close up to me they stopped short. It was no use Bessie's
trying to get them on; there they stood resolutely, till the poor girl's
face grew red, and she looked quite ashamed. Gip, who I must say, had a
wonderful amount of tact, ran up to them with a friendly little bark.
Bessie let go the trots' hands and stooped to stroke him.

'"He won't bite, miss, will he?" she said gently, looking up at me.

'"Oh, dear, no," I said, and the trots, smiling with delight,
stooped--not that they had so very far to stoop--to stroke him too.

'"Pretty doggie," said Doll.

'"Pretty doggie," said Dot.

'Then they held up their dear little mouths to kiss me. "Zank zou,
lady," they said, and each taking a hand of Bessie again, they proceeded
on their way.

'After that day, not many passed without my seeing them, and talking to
them, and making Gip show off his tricks. Sometimes our meetings were at
the window, sometimes on the road; once or twice, when there came some
unusually fine mild days, mamma let me sit out on the shore, and I
taught the trots to dig a hole for Gip and bury him in the sand, all but
his bright eyes and funny black nose--that _was_ a beautiful game! I
never found out exactly where my friends lived; it was in one of the
side streets leading on to the Esplanade, that was all I knew. I never
knew, as I said, if they were boys or girls, or perhaps one of each.
Mamma wanted one day to ask Bessie, but I wouldn't let her. They were
just my two little trots, that was all I wanted to know.

'"It would spoil them to fancy them growing up into great boys or
girls," I said. "I want them to be always trots--nothing else."

'And as Bessie called them simply Doll and Dot, without any "master" or
"miss," I was able to keep my fancy.

'When the weather grew colder, the trots came out in a new
costume--sealskin coats, sealskin caps, and sealskin gloves--they were
just little balls of sealskin, and looked "trottier" than ever. About
this time