It was kind of a shock, for no one had thought about the childern ‘n’ Mrs. Craig said pretty feeble-like ’t it wouldn’t be no rest to send the minister’s wife off with thirteen childern, ‘n’ I spoke up pretty sharp ‘n’ asked what kind of a rest the town ’d get if them thirteen childern was left behind.  I c’d see ‘t I’d hit the nail on the head then, jus’ by the way ’t they all waited to get a drink afore going any further.”

Miss Clegg stopped and drew a deep breath.

Mrs. Lathrop looked anxious, not to say fearful.

“It was Mrs. Sperrit as begun again,” the narrator continued presently.  “Mrs. Sperrit said why not divide the children up among us all ‘n’ each take one, ‘n’ she looked to be talkin’ sense till they started dividin’, ‘n’ then it turned out ’t naturally every one wanted the big easy ones ‘n’ no one wanted Augustus.  I was dreadful uneasy myself for fear ’t I’d be ’xpected to take Brunhilde Susan on account o’ her hind half bein’ named for me, but I didn’t have to worry long, for Mrs. Allen said ’t she’d take Brunhilde Susan ’cause Polly’s tended Brunhilde Susan so much ’t she knows just what Brunhilde Susan ’ll stand ‘n’ Brunhilde Susan knows just what Polly ’ll stand.  So Brunhilde Susan was fixed, but every one else was all upset ‘n’ undecided, ‘n’ it was plain ‘t nothin’ wouldn’t work, so Mrs. Macy up ‘n’ proposed ’t they put all but the baby in a sugar-bowl ‘n’ shake ’em up ‘n’ draw.

“Well, we did, ‘n’ it was ‘xcitin’, I c’n tell you, ‘n’ I wish you’d been there to see their faces.  Mrs. Macy drew first, seein’ ’t it was her plan, ‘n’ she was awful put out over gettin’ Henry Ward Beecher.  Seems she was countin’ on using her trundle-bed, ‘n’ she said right flat out ’t she must use her trundle-bed, ‘n’ so she jus’ up ‘n’ put Henry Ward Beecher right straight back in the sugar-bowl.  Mrs. Sweet drew next, ‘n’ ’f she didn’t get Henry Ward Beecher too, ‘n’ she was madder yet ‘cause she was intendin’ to have her child sleep with Emma, ‘n’ she said ‘t her child had jus’ got to sleep with Emma, so she up ‘n’ stuffed Henry Ward Beecher back into the sugar-bowl too.  Then Mrs. Brown wanted to draw, ‘n’ so they put on the cover ‘n’ shook ’em up hard, ‘n’ I couldn’t but be a little took with how anxious they was to draw when there was only twelve childern ‘n’ sixteen women, so ’t stood to reason ’t there was four as couldn’t get no child to save their necks.  I didn’t try to draw none myself—­I hauled out a lot of stitches ‘n’ sat back’n’ said when they was all through I’d come ‘n’ draw for you and me too, ‘n’ then I watched ’em all hurryin’ Mrs. Brown, ‘n’ ’f she didn’t get Henry Ward Beecher same ’s all the rest!  But she was perfectly satisfied,—­she said ’t she was lonesome now young Dr. Brown’s gone ‘n’ married and ’t Henry Ward Beecher c’d have his room.  So Henry Ward Beecher was out o’ the sugar-bowl at last, ‘n’ I must say ’t it was a great relief to see him settled.”