“How kind papa is to me, and how I do love him!” she murmured to herself as she placed the books carefully in the drawer where they belonged.

She found Lucy and Mary busily engaged in dressing a doll, and Carry deeply interested in a book.  But several of the little ones were looking quite disconsolate.

“Oh, Elsie, do come and play with us,” said Flora; “Enna won’t play anything we like.  We’ve been playing keeping house, but Enna will be mother all the time, and she scolds and whips us so much that we are all tired of it.”

“Well, what shall we play?” asked Elsie, good-naturedly.  “Will you build houses?”

“No, I’m tired of that, because Enna takes all the blocks,” said another little girl.  “She isn’t at all polite to visitors, is she, Flora?”

“No,” replied Flora, “and I don’t ever mean to come to see her again.”

“I don’t care,” retorted Enna, angrily, “and I don’t take all the blocks, either.”

“Well, most all, you do,” said the other, “and it isn’t polite.”

“They’re mine, and I’ll have as many as I want; and I don’t care if it isn’t polite,” Enna answered, with a pout that by no means improved her appearance.

“Will you play ‘O sister, O Phebe?’” asked Elsie.

“No, no!” cried several little voices, “Enna always wants to be in the middle; and besides, Arthur always wants to play, and he will kiss us; and we don’t like it.”

Elsie was almost in despair; but Herbert, who was lying on a sofa, reading, suddenly shut his book, saying, “I tell you what, Elsie! tell us one of those nice fairy stories we all like so much!”

“Yes, do, do!” cried several of the little ones, clapping their hands.

So Elsie drew up a stool close to Herbert’s sofa, and the little ones clustered around her, Enna insisting on having the best place for hearing; and for more than an hour she kept them quiet and interested; but was very glad when at last the maid came to take them out walking, thus leaving her at liberty to follow her own inclination.

“What are you going to do now, Elsie?” asked Caroline, closing her book.

“I am going down to the drawing-room to ask Aunt Adelaide to show me how to crochet this mitten for mammy,” Elsie answered.

“Won’t you come along, girls?”

“Yes, let’s take our sewing down there,” said Lucy, gathering up the bits of muslin and silk, and putting them in her work-box.

Elsie glanced hastily around as they entered, and gave a satisfied little sigh on perceiving that Miss Stevens was not in the room, and that her Aunt Adelaide was seated with her embroidery near one of the windows, while her papa sat near by, reading the morning paper.

The little girls soon established themselves in a group on the opposite side of Miss Adelaide’s window, and she very good-naturedly gave Elsie the assistance she needed.