asted! when we heard an exclamation from Schillie, "In the
name of all that's ridiculous what's in the soup?" said she, turning
wrathfully to Jenny. "Indeed, Madam, you poured it out of the pan
yourself, and I only brought it in." "What can it be, here is something
hard at the bottom rolling about, and I declare everything was stewed to
a sponge when I last stirred it," continued she in rising choler.

_Gatty_ (rising with great alacrity).--"If you please, little Mother,
shall I try to fish it out?"

_Schillie._--"Fish fiddlesticks out, indeed, Miss Gatty. Ah you may look
as demure as you like, I'll be bound you are at the bottom of this
mischief. I remember now, when I was taking off these rags you pinned on
me, my back was turned. Now, tell me this instant, you young crocodile,
what have you been putting in the soup?"

_Gatty._--"If you please, little Mother, don't be so angry, it's only a
stone, and I washed it quite clean."

_Schillie._--"Then take that stone for your dinner, Miss, and nothing
else shall you have."

This threat of course went for nothing, and Gatty had as much dinner as
any of us, and, perhaps, rather more, considering that she was nearly
the biggest of us all, and also never being still, she required more
nourishment to keep up the demand upon the constitution.

We made Jenny and Hargrave dine with us. Hargrave mincing her words,
looking dignified, and eating next to nothing, because she thought it
more ladylike; while Jenny sat between her two dear boys, and made
nearly as much noise as they did, swallowing all they made her taste out
of their own plates, though she was helped out of the same dishes they
were. The chattering on all sides could only equal the eating. I
proposed the health of the new house with the first glass of lime punch.
This was drank with great applause, and a discussion ensued as to what
we should call it.

_Schillie_ (with her mouth full of turtle).--"Pooh, pooh, use your
brains for some other purpose. It's a house, is it not? Then why not
call it a house!"

_Sybil._--"But all houses have names to distinguish them."

_Schillie._--"Alack, if you are not a young noodle. Pray, who has got a
house here besides? A great boon it would be to have some neighbours to
whom one could talk common sense."

_Serena._--"Oh, we will talk as much common sense as you like, little
Mother; and the first thing I shall say is, though there is but one
house in the island, we may just a