ed in Paris, and once a year or so
there would come a package of pretty things--china and ornaments of
various kinds, odd pieces of silk and brocade for cushions, gloves, and
fans and laces and silk for gowns, as if they were still quite young
women.

Uncle David had the "Knickerbocker History of New York," which everybody
now knew was written by Mr. Washington Irving, and various members of
the family were settled about Tarrytown, and many others in the Sleepy
Hollow graveyard. The very next day the little girl began to read the
history, for she wanted to know about New York. They had a delightful
visit with grandmother and Aunt Eunice. Uncle David was seven years
older than her father. The little girl concluded she liked him very
much.

When she and Margaret went home everything was going on just the same.
The little girl was somewhat amazed. No one said a word about moving.
She had expected to see everything packed. The children started for
school as usual. Then Mrs. Underhill went down to the city and stayed a
fortnight and came home looking worn and worried. The impending change
weighed upon her. But the little girl was so interested in Mr. Dederich
Knickerbocker which she was reading aloud to her father that changes
hardly mattered.

Early in December Mr. Frederic Underhill with his wife and daughter came
to hand. He was thin and stooped a good deal, and looked older than
Uncle David. Aunt Crete's name was Lucretia, and the little girl was
amazed to learn that. She was tall and thin and wore a black lace sort
of cap to cover the bald spot on her head. Then she had a false front of
dark hair. Her own was very thin and white. She had been a great
sufferer from 'ager,' as she called it, and the doctors said only an
entire change of climate would break it up. And goodness only knew how
glad she was to get back East.

Lauretta--Retty as she was called--was about twenty-two, a good, stout,
common-place girl who made herself at home at once. She had a lover who
was coming on in the spring when they would be married, and he expected
"to help Pop farm. Pop was pretty well broken down with hard work, and
he'd about seen his best days. He'd been awful anxious to get back among
his own folks, and she, Retty, hoped now he'd take things kinder easy."

Grandmother and Uncle David's family came down to welcome them. All the
country round seemed to turn out. And just before Christmas, with all
the rest of the work, the littl