rown, as it's
rather fabulous. 'Mr. Brown? Oh yes! very good man--Mr. Brown! very
good.' 'And did you know his family?' 'Oh yes! such sweet little
children! so nice and tender! But Mrs. Brown was a bad woman--she was
_so very tough_.' She was not to their taste."

"But, Cousin Ellen," said Amy, "I want to know about those vegetable
friends of Rudolph. I know that Capsicum is a kind of pepper, and I have
often met Nasturtium, crowned with his orange-flowers; I suppose, of
course, that Solanum and Farinacea are potatoes--but who is that sharp
Cochlearia, who told Solanum he was a mealy-mouthed fellow?"

"Horse-radish--which Solanum thought enough to bring tears into
anybody's eyes."

"And Daucus--was he a carrot?"

"Yes; and Raphanus, with his brilliant complexion, was a radish. Maranta
was arrow-root, Zea was Indian corn, and Brassica, a turnip--we often
enjoy their society at table."

"I shall always think of Cochlearia when I eat horse-radish on my beef,"
said Charlie Bolton. "Especially when I take too much, by mistake."

"And when I find, to my sorrow, that potatoes have hearts I shall think
of Solanum."

CHAPTER III.

THE RHYMING GAME.--ORIKAMA, OR THE WHITE WATER LILY, AN INDIAN TALE.

Great was the chagrin of our young party on the following morning, to
find that a storm had set in, giving no prospect of amusements out of
doors for the day: the rain came down in a determined manner, as if it
had no intention of clearing up for a week, and the winds whistled and
scolded in every variety of note; even the boys, who prided themselves
upon a manly contempt for wind and weather, agreed that the chimney
corner was the best place under the circumstances, and that they must
try to make themselves as agreeable as possible at home. Cornelia
quoted, for the benefit of the rest, a receipt she had somewhere met
with for the "manufacture of sunshine," which she thought would be
especially valuable on such a darksome day: "Take a good handful of
industry, mix it thoroughly with family love, and season well with
good-nature and mutual forbearance. Gradually stir in smiles, and jokes,
and laughter, to make it light, but take care these ingredients do not
run over, or it will make a cloud instead of what you wish. Follow this
receipt carefully, and you have an excellent supply of sunshine,
warranted to keep in all weathers."

Accordingly, it was resolved to make sunshine, and Aunt Lucy offered to
provide the in