Warren took her to Aunt
Priscilla's one noon, and came for her when they had "shut up shop."
Aunt Priscilla did not mend rapidly. She called it being "pudgicky," as
if there was no name of a real disease to give it. A little fresh cold,
a good deal of weakness--and she had always been so strong; some fever
that would persist in coming back even when she had succeeded in
breaking it up for a few days. The time hung heavily on her hands. She
did miss Betty's freshness and bright, argumentative ways. So she was
glad to see Doris, for Polly sat out in the kitchen half asleep most of
the time.

Solomon as well always seemed very glad to see Doris. He came and sat in
her lap, and Aunt Priscilla told about the days when she was a little
girl, more than fifty years ago. Doris thought life must have been very
hard, and she was glad not to have lived then.

She did like Miss Recompense the best, but she felt very sorry for Aunt
Priscilla's loneliness.

"She and Polly have grown old together, and they need some younger
person to take care of them both," said Uncle Leverett. "She ought to
take her comfort; she has money enough."

"It is so difficult to find anyone to suit," and Aunt Elizabeth sighed.

"I shall crawl out in the spring," declared Mrs. Perkins; but her tone
was rather despondent.

Doris wondered when the spring would come. The snow and ice had never
been entirely off the ground.

Besides going to Uncle Winthrop's,--and she went every other
Saturday,--she had been asked to Madam Royall's to tea with the
children. The elder lady had not forgotten her. Indeed, this was one of
the houses that Mr. Adams thoroughly enjoyed, though he was not much of
a hand to visit. But people felt then that they really owed their
neighbors some social duty. There were not so many public amusements.

The Chapman children had real dolls, not simply rag babies; and the
clothes were made so you could take them off. Doris was quite charmed
with them. Helen's had blue eyes and Eudora's brown, but both were
red-cheeked and had black hair, which was not really hair at all, but
shaped of the composition and curled and painted over.

They had a grand long slide in their garden at the back. The servant
would flood it over now and then and make it smooth as glass. Doris
found it quite an art to stand up. Helen could go the whole length
beautifully, and balance herself better than Eudora. But if you fell you
generally tumbled over in the ban