l. Notwithstanding my mother's encouraging
whispers and Emilia's tugs and nods, I showed myself to sad
disadvantage, which was especially unfortunate, as I was Aunt Lois's
god-daughter, and had been brought to see her on purpose to please her.
I spilt my tea, I trod on the cat's tail, I knocked over a valuable
Indian jar filled with pot-pourri, which fortunately, however, was not
broken, till at last, in despair, my mother agreed to Emilia's repeated
suggestion that I had better go to bed.

And to bed I went, in considerable distress, though a little consoled by
the kind way in which my aunt kissed me and patted me on the back as she
said good-night.

I was to sleep in a small room, generally used as a sort of study. My
aunt had thoughtfully arranged a little bed in it for me, thinking the
only other unused bedroom, which was up at the top of the house, would
be so far away from my mother and Emilia that I should feel lonely. I
went to bed quietly, and, notwithstanding the strangeness of everything
about me, soon fell asleep. But an hour or two later, just when my
mother and aunt were sitting comfortably chatting, and Emilia trying
over some old songs on the thin-toned piano, they and the two
maid-servants in the kitchen were suddenly startled by piercing screams
from my room.

Upstairs they all ran--Emilia arriving the first.

"What is the matter, Lois?" she exclaimed. "Have you set yourself on
fire?"

I was sitting up in bed, my eyes almost starting out of my head with
fright.

"The faces, the faces!" I cried. "See, Emilia, up there!"

It was a minute or two before she could see what I meant, and by that
time my mother and aunt and the servants were all in the room. Emilia
would have scolded me, but Aunt Lois hurried forward and soothed me, oh,
so kindly, while she explained that what in my half-awakened state I had
taken for two faces were nothing but two Dutch china vases, standing on
the top of a high old-fashioned cabinet in a corner of the room. The
door having been left slightly ajar, a ray of light from the lamp on the
landing had penetrated into the room, just catching the cabinet, while
leaving everything else in darkness.

I sobbed and cried for some time, but persisted in staying where I was
instead of changing places with Emilia, as was proposed, now that I
really knew there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Brave girl!" said my aunt approvingly. "And to-morrow, for a reward,
you shall have the ke