use she belonged to
Beverly's sister, who was killed in the San
Francisco earthquake, and scarcely any one has
ridden her since. She is very gentle, and so
friendly that she will take sugar out of my
pocket. Beverly says his sister taught her to do
that.

"But if I go on chattering like this, I shall
never get to Christmas, which was the most
interesting of all. The Virginians seem to think a
great deal of Christmas, and nearly all the day
before we were busy dressing a tree for the little
negroes on the plantation. Mrs. Randolph had
brought presents from New York for all of them,
and for the fathers and mothers as well. Beverly
says she has done the same thing every Christmas
since her little girl died; it is a sort of
memorial, I suppose. We all hung up our stockings,
even Mrs. Randolph and the doctor, who is just as
nice and jolly as he can be, though Grace
Patterson says some people are afraid of him. It
was late when we got back from the Pattersons'
party on Christmas Eve, but after I was in bed I
heard Mrs. Randolph going about softly, filling
the stockings, which were all hung outside our
doors.

"I was so tired after the party, that I didn't
wake till after seven, and then the very first
thing I did was to run and look at my stocking. It
was stuffed full of good things; oranges, candy,
figs and dates, and just as I thought I had
reached the bottom, I felt something hard away
down in the toe. What do you think it was? You
will never guess, so I may as well tell you right
away; it was a little velvet box, and inside was
a ring, a beautiful gold ring, with two adorable
little pearls in it! That was Mrs. Randolph's
Christmas present, and the loveliest thing I have
ever had in my life. I was so happy when I saw it
that I cried; I know it was dreadfully silly, but
I couldn't help it. Oh, how I wish I could show it
to you this minute, but you will see it when I
come home next June, and all my other presents,
too, for the ring wasn't the only one. When I came
down to breakfast th