Agnes wiped her eyes and began her task, but that painful lump would not go away from her throat.  Ah! if those kind words had only come at first!

How much suffering is caused to the hearts of little children by mere thoughtlessness, sometimes in those even who love them; by a want of sympathy in their little griefs and troubles, as great and all-important to them, as are the troubles of “children of a larger growth,” in their own estimation.

VI.

The Tableaux.

   “A mournful thing is love which grows to one so mild as thou,
   With that bright restlessness of eye—­that tameless fire of brow
   Mournful! but dearer far I call its mingled fear and pride,
   And the trouble of its happiness than aught on earth beside.”

   —­MRS. HEMANS.

Lewie recovered rapidly; and by the time that “the singing of birds had come,” the roses bloomed as brightly as ever in his cheeks; and, with his hand in that of Agnes, he roamed about the woods and groves which surrounded their home, gathering wild flowers, and watching with delight the nimble squirrel and the brilliant wild birds, as they hopped from limb to limb.  The children were always happy together; Lewie was more yielding and less passionate when with his gentle sister than at other times; and it was only when again in the presence of his mother that his wilful, fretful manner returned, and he was again capricious and hard to please.

Thus, while he was still almost in his infancy, his mother began to reap the fruit of her sowing; for, while to others he could be gentle and pleasant, with her he was always fretful and capricious.  Already her wishes had no weight with him, if they ran counter to his own, and commands she never ventured to lay upon him; already the little twig was taking its own bent.

The birth-days were all rigidly kept in Mr. Wharton’s family, and some little pleasant entertainment provided on every such occasion.  Thus, while Mr. and Mrs. Wharton failed not to make every proper and serious use of these way-marks on the journey of life, they loved to show their children how pleasant to themselves was the remembrance of the day when one more little bright face had come to cheer and brighten their earthly pilgrimage.  Miss Effie was the important character in commemoration of whose “first appearance on any stage” a pleasant party had collected in Mr. Wharton’s parlor, one evening in May.  Mrs. Elwyn and her children were spending a few days at Brook Farm; and the family of Dr. Rodney, and a few other little folks from the village, were invited, on Effie’s birth-day, to pass the afternoon and evening.

Great had been the preparations, for they were, for the first time, to have an exhibition of the “tableaux vivants” in the evening.  Mr. Wharton had constructed a large frame, which, covered with gilt paper, and having a black lace spread over it, made the illusion more perfect.  Many pretty scenes had been selected by cousin Emily, who was mistress of ceremonies; and that no child’s feelings might be hurt, a character was assigned for each one, in one or other of the pictures.  A temporary curtain was hung across the room, which was to be drawn whenever the pictures were ready for exhibition.