S AND EXAMINED THE GLOVES."]

Even the baby sat up an hour after his bedtime, to take part in the
unusual excitement. The prospect of Joyce's seeing the old valley seemed
to have unlocked a door into the little mother's memory. Story after
story she brought out to entertain them, of the things that had happened
when she was a care-free little schoolgirl, before sorrow and worry and
work had come to make her tired and sad.

While she entertained them Joyce brought a bureau drawer from her
bedroom, and, propping it on two chairs, began looking over its
contents. She sorted the ribbons and examined the gloves, counted the
handkerchiefs and inspected the stockings, dividing everything into
three piles. One pile was pronounced suitable to take on the visit, one
good enough to wear at home after another renovating, and one altogether
past wearing.

"It's a sort of day of judgment," said Jack, who was watching the
performance with interest. "You're separating the sheep from the goats;
only there's three divisions here, white sheep, black sheep, and goats."

"I love for such days to come," said Mary, falling upon the third pile
and bearing it away as her lawful spoils, "for I always get all the
goats. Now my dolls can set up a milliner's shop and dry-goods store
with all this stuff that Joyce has thrown away."

"You may take my new umbrella with you, if you want it, Joyce," said
Jack. "I haven't used it half a dozen times since I got it Christmas,
and you will want to put on style in Kentucky. Your old one is good
enough for me to use out here in Plainsville."

"Do you want my blue spotted necktie, sister?" asked Holland, leaning
against her and looking up into her face with an anxious little pucker
on his forehead. "It's the best one I've got, but you may take it if you
want to."

"And maybe--" began Mary, hesitatingly. She stopped an instant, a little
struggle evidently going on in her mind. Then she began again, bravely:
"Yes, I'll lend it to you if you want it. You may take my new rosebud
sash. There!"

A queer little lump came into Joyce's throat as she thanked the children
for their generous offers. She accepted the umbrella, but refused the
spotted tie and rosebud sash, to the evident relief of their owners, who
wanted to be generous, but were glad to be able to Keep the part of
their wardrobes they most admired.

"It more than doubles the pleasure, doesn't it, mamma," said Joyce, "to
have everybody take so mu