“Papa, I will think about it.  Mamma, do you like I should talk to Nora about it?”

“By all means!” said Mr. Randolph; “send for her and hold a grand council.  Your mother can have no objection.”

Daisy did not feel quite so sure of that; but at any rate she made none, and a messenger was sent to ask Nora to come that afternoon.  All the morning Daisy was engaged with her mother, going to make a visit to some friends that lived a long way off.  It was not till the afternoon was growing cool and pleasant that she was released from dinner and dressing and free to go with her Bible to her favourite reading place;—­or rather one of her favourites; a garden seat under a thick oak.  The oak stood alone on a knoll looking over a beautiful spread of grassy sward that sloped and rolled away to a distant edge of thicket.  Other noble trees dotted the ground here and there; some fine cattle shewed their red and white heads, standing or lying about in the shade.  Above the distant thicket, far, far away, rose the heads of great blue mountains.  The grass had just been mown, in part; and a very sweet smell from the hay floated about under the trees around the house.  Daisy’s tree however was at some distance from the house.  In the absolute sweet quiet, Daisy and her Bible took possession of the place.  The Bible had grown a wonderful book to her now.  It was the book of the commandments of the Great King whose servant she felt herself.  Now every word would tell her of something she must do, or not do; all sweet to Daisy; for she felt she loved the King, and his commandments were good to her.  This time she got very much interested in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, in the parable of the talents.  But she wished she could have had Mr. Dinwiddie to tell her a little better exactly what it meant.  Some of its meaning she understood; and remembering Mr. Dinwiddie’s words, she prayed with clasped hands and a very earnest little heart, that the Lord would “make her know what all her talents were and help her to make good use of them.”  Then Daisy went on studying.

In the midst of her studies, a light step bounded down through the shrubbery from the house, and Daisy had hardly raised her head when Nora was at her side.  There was room for her on the seat, and after a glad greeting the children sat down together, to talk much joyful talk and tell childish news, in the course of which Daisy’s perplexities came out, for which she had wanted Nora’s counsel.  She explained that she could have precisely what she chose, in the way of merry-making for her birthday.  Daisy spoke about it seriously, as a weighty and important matter; and so Nora took it up, with a face of great eagerness.

“You can have just what you like, Daisy?” Daisy nodded.  “O what have you thought of, Daisy?”

“What would be nicest, Nora?”

“I’ll tell you what I should have—­I should have a party.”

“A party!”