before, but he wanted to read something and
the choice of volumes in the Snow bookcase was limited. He was stretched
out on the sofa with the book in his hand when the housekeeper entered,
armed with a dust-cloth. She went to church only "every other" Sunday.
This was one of the others without an every, and she was at home.

"What are you readin', Albert?" she asked, after a few' minutes vigorous
wielding of the dust-cloth. "It must be awful interestin', you stick at
it so close."

The Black Knight was just then hammering with his battle-axe at the gate
of Front de Buef's castle, not minding the stones and beams cast
down upon him from above "no more than if they were thistle-down or
feathers." Albert absently admitted that the story was interesting. The
housekeeper repeated her request to be told its name.

"Ivanhoe," replied the boy; adding, as the name did not seem to convey
any definite idea to his interrogator's mind: "It's by Walter Scott, you
know."

Mrs. Ellis made no remark immediately. When she did it was to the effect
that she used to know a colored man named Scott who worked at the hotel
once. "He swept out and carried trunks and such things," she explained.
"He seemed to be a real nice sort of colored man, far as ever I heard."

Albert was more interested in the Black Knight of Ivanhoe than the black
man of the hotel, so he went on reading. Rachel sat down in a chair by
the window and looked out, twisting and untwisting the dust-cloth in her
lap.

"I presume likely lots and lots of folks have read that book, ain't
they?" she asked, after another interval.

"What? Oh, yes, almost everybody. It's a classic, I suppose."

"What's that?"

"What's what?"

"What you said the book was. A class-somethin' or other?"

"Oh, a classic. Why, it's--it's something everybody knows about,
or--or ought to know about. One of the big things, you know. Like--like
Shakespeare or--or Robinson Crusoe or Paradise Lost or--lots of them.
It's a book everybody reads and always will."

"I see. Humph! Well, I never read it. . . . I presume likely you think
that's pretty funny, don't you?"

Albert tore himself away from the fight at the gate.

"Why, I don't know," he replied.

"Yes, you do. You think it's awful funny. Well, you wouldn't if you knew
more about how busy I've been all my life. I ain't had time to read the
way I'd ought to. I read a book once though that I'll never forget. Did
you ever read a book called F