elders to pieces. You weren't asked for, Miss Betty; and
Master Douglas is to go down and behave himself.'

'The three B's aren't big enough yet to leave the nursery.'

Douglas said this with a sparkle of mischief in his eye. It was a sore
point with Betty to be ranked with the twins, for she was only a year
behind Douglas. Long ago he had seized hold of a laughing joke of his
father's, alluding to the names by which the three youngest children
were called, and had twitted her with it ever since.

'B for Baby--Baby Betty, Baby Bobby, and Baby Billy; babies must go to
bed,' he explained.

Betty gave an angry kick under the table, but did not speak.

She was very silent for the rest of that evening; but when she and
Molly were safely in bed, and the room was very quiet, she asked,--

'Molly, do you know what tribulation means?'

'I'm not sure that I do,' was the hesitating reply; 'I think it's
something dreadful. Why do you want to know?'

'Is it like the dark valley Christian went through in the _Pilgrim's
Progress_, or the goblin's cave we make up about?'

'I expect it is something like. Why?'

'It's on the way to heaven,' whispered Betty, in an awestruck tone;
'the Bible says so.'

There was silence, then Molly said,--

'There's a book in father's library will tell you about it. It tells
the meaning of every word; father said so. A dick something it is.'

'I'll ask Mr. Roper to get it for me.'

And Betty turned over on her pillow comforted by this thought, and fell
fast asleep.

Mr. Stuart was a Member of Parliament, and being a man who threw his
whole soul into everything he did, was too much engrossed with business
when in town to have much to do with his children. He spent a great
part of his day in the library with his secretary, a quiet young
fellow, who was looked upon by the children as an embodiment of wisdom
and learning. Mrs. Stuart saw as little of her children as her
husband; her time was fully occupied in attending committee meetings,
opening bazaars, and superintending numerous pet projects for ennobling
and raising the standard of social morality amongst the masses. She
was not an indifferent mother; she was only an active, busy woman, who,
after carefully selecting a thoroughly good and trustworthy woman as
her nurse, left the children's training with perfect confidence to her.
And between her social and charitable claims there was not much time
for having her little ones abo