the pins from her hair,
and letting it down at inconvenient moments; and of extracting, with
equal gentleness from the earth, the labels that she had put to the
various treasured flowers in her "Little Garden," and then tossing
them in mid-air on the grass-plot.

A very amusing domestic story, called "The Snap Dragons," came out in
the Christmas number of the _Monthly Packet_ for 1870.

"Timothy's Shoes" appeared in AUNT JUDY'S volume for 1871.
This was another story of the same type as "Amelia," and it was also
illustrated by Mr. Cruikshank. I think the Marsh Julie had in her
mind's eye, with a "long and steep bank," is one near the canal at
Aldershot, where she herself used to enjoy hunting for kingcups,
bog-asphodel, sundew, and the like. The tale is a charming combination
of humour and pathos, and the last clause, where "the shoes go home,"
is enough to bring tears to the eyes of every one who loves the patter
of childish feet.

The most important work that she did this year (1871) was "A Flat-Iron
for a Farthing," which ran as a serial through the volume of _Aunt
Judy's Magazine_. It was very beautifully illustrated by Helen
Paterson (now Mrs. Allingham), and the design where the "little
ladies," in big beaver bonnets, are seated at a shop-counter buying
flat-irons, was afterwards reproduced in water-colours by Mrs.
Allingham, and exhibited at the Royal Society of Painters in
Water-Colours (1875), where it attracted Mr. Ruskin's attention.[18]
Eventually, a fine steel engraving was done from it by Mr. Stodart.[19]
It is interesting to know that the girl friend who sat as a model for
"Polly" to Mrs. Allingham is now herself a well-known artist, whose
pictures are hung in the Royal Academy.

[Footnote 18: The drawing, with whatever temporary purpose executed, is
for ever lovely; a thing which I believe Gainsborough would have given
one of his own pictures for--old-fashioned as red-tipped daisies are,
and more precious than rubies.--Ruskin, "Notes on some of the Pictures
at the Royal Academy." 1875.]

[Footnote 19: Published by the Fine Art Society, Bond-street.]

The scene of the little girls in beaver bonnets was really taken from
an incident of Julie's childhood, when she and her "duplicate" (my
eldest sister) being the nearest in age, size, and appearance of any
of the family, used to be dressed exactly alike, and were inseparable
companions: _their_ flat-irons, I think, were bought in Matlock.
Shadowy gli