The walls I had papered just as our nursery had been papered.  Even the old kettle was rescued from oblivion,, and stood on the hob.  It was so old that any jumble sale would have been pleased to have it.  The kettle-holder hung on the wall, with its cat on a green ground, which had been lovely in the day of its youth.  One of us had worked it; Nannie of course knew which.  The tea-set was there with its green, speckled ground.

But while all this was being arranged, Nannie had a very bad time.  It was not for long, certainly, but she said it was pretty bad while it lasted.  To insure the complete secrecy of our nursery plan, we arranged that she should go to Hames while we were doing it all, never thinking of what she would feel on going into the Hames nursery and finding all her treasures gone, and finding another woman reigning in her place; for all through our grown-up years the nursery had been left for Nannie as it had been when we were children.  The nurse in her place hurt most.

“‘Mrs.’ here and ‘Mrs.’ there, certificated and teaching.  It’s all very well, but I’m not sure they don’t go too far in this teaching business.  No amount of teaching will —­ Well, it’s there, so what’s the use?  I expect Eve knew how to handle Cain right enough.”

“He wasn’t very well brought up, though, Nannie,” I said.

“Poor child! " said Nannie. " How do we know it wasn’t Abel’s fault?  He may have been an aggravating child; some are born so, and I’ve seen a child, m any a time, go on at another till he’s almost worried him into a frenzy just saying, ’ I see you,’ over and over again, does it sometimes.  Children will do it, of course; besides, there were no commandments then, and you can’t expect children to do right without rules and regulations.  That’s all discipline is, rules and regulations, which is commandments, so to speak.”

“You think, then, Nannie,” I said, “that Eve forgot to tell Cain not to kill Abel?”

“Well,” said Nannie, “Eve had a lot to do; we can’t blame her.  She must have had a lot to do.  Think what a worry Adam must have been:  he had no experience, no nothing; he couldn’t be a help to a woman., brought up as he was, always thinking of himself as first, as of course he was!  Now, there’s Parker —­ he is a good husband:  he rolls the beef on Sunday to save Mrs. Parker trouble, and prepares the vegetables; he is a good husband, no trouble in the house whatsoever.  He never brings in dirt, Mrs. Parker says, wipes his feet ever so before he comes, on the finest day just the same.”

I thought the comparison a little hard on Adam, but still I didn’t say so, and Nannie reverted to the modern nurse, after informing me that men and horses were sacred beasts!