“Between breakfast and dinner I had the pleasure of distributing gifts among the house servants and the negroes at the quarter; then a ride with papa; and the evening, till my early bedtime, was spent sitting on his knee.”

“But you are going to tell us about that New Year’s, too, mamma, aren’t you?” asked Walter, as she paused in her narrative, sitting quietly with a pensive, far off look in her soft brown eyes.

“Yes,” she said, rousing from her reverie, “I remember it was on the day after Christmas that papa asked me if I was going to make a New Year’s present to each of my little friends.

“Of course I was delighted with the idea, especially as he allowed me great latitude in regard to the amount to be spent.”

“And did he take you to the stores and let yon choose the presents, Grandma Elsie?” asked Lulu.  “That would be half the fun, I think.”

“My dear, indulgent father would have done so, had I been able to bear the fatigue,” Grandma Elsie replied, “but at that time I was quite feeble from a severe illness.  He did not think me strong enough to visit the stores, but ordered goods sent out to the Oaks for me to select from, which gave me nearly as much enjoyment us I could have found in going to the city in search of them.”

“Did you find gifts to suit, mamma?” queried Walter.  “And oh won’t you tell us how many and what they were?”

“Beside the Roselands little people,” replied his mother, “there were Lucy and Herbert Carrington, Carrie Howard, Isabel Carleton, Mary Leslie, and Flora Arnott to be remembered.

“For the last named, who was also the youngest, I selected a beautiful wax doll and a complete wardrobe of ready made clothes for it, all neatly packed in a tiny trunk.

“To Mary Leslie I gave a ring, and to each of the other girls a handsome bracelet; to Herbert, who was a great reader, a set of handsomely bound books.

“All these little friends of mine were spending the Christmas holidays at Pinegrove—­the home of the Howards.

“Papa and I had been invited too, but had declined because of my feeble state.  When my gifts were ready I asked him if they should be sent to Pinegrove.

“‘We will see about it,’ he answered; ’we have plenty of time; there are two days yet, and it will not take a messenger half an hour to travel from here to Pinegrove.’

“So I said no more, for I never was allowed to tease.

“But when New Year’s morning came and the presents had not been sent, I began to feel decidedly uneasy, and papa evidently perceived it; though neither of us said a word on the subject that was uppermost in my mind.

“Papa had some beautiful books and pictures for me which he gave me before breakfast, saying he hoped they would help me pass the day pleasantly; he would be glad to make it the happiest New Year I had known yet.

“He smiled tenderly upon me as he said it, then held me close in his arms and kissed me over and over again; and I returned his kisses, putting my arms about his neck and hugging him as tight as I could.