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baby. A strange little face with a tinge of redness in it, a round broad
forehead with a mistiness of golden fuzz, a pretty dimpled chin and a
mouth almost as round as a cherry. Just at that instant he opened the
bluest of eyes, stared at Hanny with a grave aspect, tried to put his
fist into his mouth and with a soft little sound dropped to sleep again.

A wordless sense of delight and mystery stole over the little girl. She
seemed lifted up to Heaven's very gates. She reached out her hand and
touched the little velvet fist, not much larger than her doll's, but oh,
it had the exquisite inspiration of life and she felt the wonderful
thrill to her very heart. Something given to them all that could love
back when its time of loving came, when it knew of the fond hearts
awaiting the sweetness of affection.

"That's my little boy," said Stephen, with the great pride and joy of
fatherhood. "Dolly's and all of ours. Isn't it a Christmas worth
having?"

"Oh!" she said again with a wordless delight in her heart, while her
eyes were filled with tears, so deeply had the consciousness moved her.
There was a sort of poetical pathos in the little girl, sacred to love.
She had never known of any babies in the family save Cousin Retty's, and
that had not appealed with this delicious nearness.

Stephen bent over and kissed her. Margaret came to look at the baby.

"He's a fine fellow!" said the new father. "We wanted to surprise you,"
looking at Hanny and smiling. "We made Joe promise not to tell you. And
now you are all aunts and uncles, and we have a grandmother of our very
own."

"Oh!" This time Hanny laughed softly. There were no words expressive
enough.

"And now you will have to knit him some little boots, and save your
money to buy him Christmas gifts. And what's that new work--crochet him
a cap. Dear me! how hard you will have to work."

"There were such lovely little boots at Epiphany Fair. If I only had
known! But I'm quite sure I can learn to make them;" her eyes lighting
with anticipation. "Oh, when will he be big enough to hold?"

"In a month or so. You will have to come up on Saturdays and take care
of him."

"Can I? That will be just splendid."

He was silent. He could not tease the little girl in the sacredness of
her new, all-pervading love.

The nurse entered. She had a soft white kerchief pinned about her
shoulders, and side puffs of hair done over little combs. She nodded to
Margaret and said "the