son?"

"None, dear," answered my mother. "But you must stay for a moment and
look at my flowers. Are they not sweet and pretty?"

"Very sweet and very pretty," replied my father. But I thought he looked
at her more than at the flowers when he said so; and she laughed,
although, after all, there was nothing to laugh at.

"Willie and I have been gathering them," she said; "and now we are going
to put them in Bessie's room."

"I know who remembers everything that can give pleasure to others,"
observed my father, whose hand was on my shoulder by this time. "Willie,
I hope you will grow up like your mamma."

Not quite seeing the force of this observation, I replied that, being a
boy, I thought I had better grow up like him. And both my parents
laughed; but my mother said she quite agreed with me, it would be far
better.

Then we carried the vase up, and placed it on the table in the window of
the east bed-room; and my mother flitted about, putting little finishing
touches here and there to complete the arrangements for the comfort of
her visitors, whilst I received a commission to inspect portfolios,
envelope-cases, and ink-bottles, and to see that all were freshly
replenished.

These matters being finally disposed of, I persuaded my mother to ascend
to the more remote part of the house, where a room next to my own had,
at my earnest request, been prepared for my cousin, and in the
decoration of which I felt peculiar interest. There was a twin bedstead
to my own, and various other pieces of furniture corresponding;
moreover, in an impulse of generosity I had transferred certain of my
own possessions into Aleck's apartment, with a noble determination to be
extremely liberal.

My mother noticed these at once, but I was a little disappointed that
she did not commend my liberality.

"You see, mamma," I explained, "there's my own green boat with the
union-jack, and the bat I liked best before papa gave me my last new
one, and the dissected map of the queens of England."

"Yes, I see, Willie," replied my mother; proceeding in the meantime to
certain readjustments urgently called for, by the critical position of
the bat standing on the drawers against the wall, and the boat nearly
falling from the mantelpiece.

"There, my child," she said; "the bat will do better in the comer, and
the ship upon the drawers. And now the puzzle: why, Willie, this is the
very one of which I heard you say there were three pieces missing;