“That’s no concern of yours, Mr. Inquisitive.”

“But I’d just like to know, Miss Sarah; ’cause I’m going in myself, if you hav’nt been.”

“Do you suppose that I have not paid attention to what your ma said?  I know my own business, without instruction from you.”

“Well, I don’t believe you’ve been in, so I don’t, that’s all; and if you don’t say yes or no at once, why, you see, I’ll go right in myself.”

“Well (coaxingly) never mind, Billy, I haint been in, I’ve been so busy; but just wait a little bit, and I’ll go There’s no use of your going; you can’t do nothing.”

“I know that, Miss Sarah, and that’s why I want you to go in.  But if you don’t go in, I will, so there, now!”

“Well, just wait a little bit, and I’ll go.”

The child, but half satisfied, slowly went away, but lingered about the passages to watch the housekeeper.  Night, however, came on, and he had not seen her going.  All were now busy lighting up, and making the more immediate and active preparations for the reception of company, when he met her in the hall, and to his, “Look here, I say, Miss Sarah,” she hurried past him unheeding.

The company at last assembled, and the hours had passed away until it was nine o’clock.  Without, all was cold, bleak, and cheerless.  Within, there was the perfection of comfort.

Little William had been absent for some time, but no one missed him.  Just as a large company were engaged in the various ways of passing time, dancing, chatting, and partaking of refreshments, the room door opened, and in came Master Billy, dragging in by the hand, a little barefoot fellow about his own age, with nothing on but a clean, well-patched shirt, and a pair of linen trowsers.  Without heeding the company, he pulled him up to the glowing grate, and in the fulness of his young benevolent heart, cried out,

“Here’s fire, Charley!  Warm yourself, old fellow!  Hurrah!  I guess I’ve fixed Miss Sarah now.”  And the little fellow clapped his hands as innocently and as gracefully, as if there had been no one in the room but himself and Charley.

All was agreeable and curious confusion in a few minutes, and scores crowded around the poor child with a lively interest, who, an hour before would have passed him in the street unnoticed.

“Why, Willy! what does all this mean?” exclaimed the father, after something like order had been restored.

“Why, pa, you see, this is Charley Warburton,” began the little fellow, holding the astonished Charley by the hand, and presenting him quite ceremoniously to his father.  “Doctor H—­came here to-day, and told ma that his mother was sick next door, and that they had no wood.  So ma tells Sarah to send John in with some wood, and to go in herself and see if they wanted anything.  So Sarah goes and tells John to go and take some wood in.  But John he wa’nt going to go, till I told him that if he didn’t go I would, and if I went