“No, sir, nothing else.  We found Mary playing with the cards when we came up, and we’ve been playing with them ever since.  You don’t care, do you, Uncle William?”

“No; for I’ve told you, you remember, that you might play with the cards whenever you wanted to.”

“Can’t we play with them longer, Uncle William?” asked Mary.

“Yes, my dear, you can play with them as long as you choose.”

Mrs. Elder and her brother turned away and went down-stairs.

“I don’t know how it is, William, that they behave themselves so well in your room, and act like so many young Vandals in every other part of the house.”

“It is plain enough, Sarah,” replied her brother.  “I never scold them, and never push them aside when they come to me, no matter what I’m engaged in doing.  I never think a little time taken from other employments thrown away when devoted to children; and, therefore, I generally hear what they have to say, let them come to me when they will.  Sometimes I am engaged in such a way that I must not be interrupted, and then I lock my door.  I have explained this to them, and now the children, when they find my door locked, immediately go away.  On admitting them into my room at first, I was very careful to tell them that such and such things must on no account be touched, and explain the reason why; at the same time I gave them free permission to play with other things that could sustain no serious injury.  Only once or twice has any of them ventured to trespass on forbidden ground.  But, instead of scolding, or even administering a reprimand, I forbade the one who had done wrong coming to my room for a certain time.  In no case have I had to repeat the interdiction.  If I can thus govern them in my room, I am sure you can do it in the whole house, if you go the right way about it.”

“You say that you always attend to them when they come to you?” said Mrs. Elder.

“Yes.  I try to do so, no matter how much I am engaged.”

“If I were to do that, I would be attending to them all the time.  I couldn’t sit a moment with a visitor, nor say three words to anybody.  You saw how it was this morning.  The moment I sat down to talk with Mrs. Peters, Mary came and commenced interrupting me at every word, until I was forced to put her from the room.”

“Yes, I saw it,” replied the brother in a voice that plainly enough betrayed his disapproval of his sister’s conduct in that particular instance.

“And you think I ought to have neglected my visitor to attend to an ill-mannered child?”

“I think, when Mary came to you, as she did, that you should have attended to her at once.  If you had done so, you would have relieved her from pain, and saved yourself and visitor from a serious annoyance.”

“How do you mean?”

“Don’t you know what Mary wanted?”

“No.”

“Is it possible!  I thought you learned it when she came to me after Mrs. Peters had left.