e sort of grief.

"I do believe _that_ Mr. King, who bought so much land here last week,
means to pull down Archie's cottage!" exclaimed Kittie, looking
earnestly at the men, whose motions she had been anxiously watching for
some time. "I heard mamma say she was afraid they would have to leave,
and that would almost kill Archie. Will you go with me, Willie? I must
know about it. Only think! to have to go away from the place where he
was born, and, may be, live in a room with ever so many families, just
like little Peter Bell; it is really dreadful!" and the child moved
toward the gate, with her hat in her hand, and her hair waving in the
fresh breeze, unconscious of every thing save that something threatened
Archie, in whose interests she was now wholly absorbed.

"It's no use; you mustn't go there now, Kittie," said her cousin, who
had, thus far, been but a silent witness of the scene upon the vacant
space, and of the child's unwonted emotion. "What good do you think a
little girl like you could do among so many grown men? I know they mean
to pull down the house, for old Patrick Marsh came to father this
morning to see if he would let Archie live in the little place of ours,
just down here by the vegetable-garden. He said Archie was not able to
be confined to a store, and that he would be just the hand to keep the
garden nice."

"Oh! that will be grand!" replied Kittie, clapping her hands and dancing
for joy. "I'm almost glad they will take it down--only he likes it so,
living there, and it will take a long time to get used to another
place," added she musing thoughtfully, with her finger upon her lip.
"But it's greener, here, Willie," she continued, bounding along until
she stood beside the spot in question; "and then we can come often to
see him, you know. Won't it be nice? Oh! I'm so happy!"

"Not so fast, Kittie; father left it to me altogether. He knew it would
be unpleasant to have that deformed boy always before me, and so he
would give no answer to old Patrick without my consent; and I don't
believe I shall say yes very soon. I'm sorry Jim went away, for I loved
to come down here sometimes while he had the place; he always had
something nice to say to me."

"And yet Jim was wicked, dear Willie, and used to beat Brindle, and kick
the horses every day; and I heard him call you names to Bridget once,
when you told him to wheel you about the garden. To be sure he didn't
know I was near; but if he had really li