at the pretty things, and the children, with screams of
delight, had ridden in turn on a "spring rocking horse," that sent them
flying half way to the top of the glass cases behind the counter, I gave
Jimmy and Nelly each two shillings, and told them to buy whatever the
little girl would like best. The poor little thing's eyes sparkled with
happiness when Nelly bought her the composition doll she chose out of a
heap that were piled in a great basket, gorgeously dressed in pink
mosquito netting, as I thought, but which Nelly informed me was a
"tarletane;" and Jimmy laid out his money on a tiny bowl and pitcher of
sprigged china ware, and an astonished china baby sitting in a bath, and
looking as if it had turned on the hot water, and couldn't turn it off
again.

Then we trundled Gipsey about a little in a wicker wagon we found, and
put him in the patent baby-jumper to take an airing; and at last, when
we had teased him till he barked like one of the toy poodles on the
shelves, we took ourselves off, and sent the poor child on her way
rejoicing.

But it was getting late, and time to trot home, before His Majesty the
Sun roasted us all like so many eggs. Our street is always shady and
cool, it seems to me, and we were glad enough to find ourselves once
more on its pavement. I invited Nelly and Jimmy and Gipsey all to take
lunch with me, and didn't we have fun! We ate the pork pie, and stuffed
Gipsey with lumps of sugar, and discovered a pot of raspberry jam in the
closet, and ornamented ourselves with red rims round our mouths, digging
it out; and sliced, and buttered, and disposed of almost half a loaf of
French bread, and hardly stopped laughing, chattering, and barking a
single minute.

And then, after all this was over, my little neighbors bid me good-by,
and Gipsey barked at me and poked his cold nose into my hand, which
meant "Good-by and thank you," all the same, and the three went home as
merry as crickets.

I could not see much of my little neighbors before they went away the
next Tuesday, but I was invited to take tea at No. 9 the very last
evening; and then, what should I find out but that Nelly's mamma was the
daughter of an old friend of mine whom I had not seen for years! So we
felt quite like relations right away. Just as tea was over, lo and
behold! there was a tremendous hullaballoo on the back piazza, and when
we poked our heads out of the window to see what the matter was, there
was Gipsey high and