2
e House. 118 XVII. "A Friend in Need." 124 XVIII. Dorothy brings in the Best China. 132 XIX. Archie is in a Bad Humor. 139 XX. "You are Romantic." 147 XXI. Breaking the Peace. 154 XXII. "Trimmings, not Squails." 162 XXIII. "Bravo, Atalanta!" 167 XXIV. Mothers are Mothers. 174 XXV. Mattie's New Dress. 181 XXVI. "Oh, You are Proud!" 189 XXVII. A Dark Hour. 196 XXVIII. The Mysterious Stranger. 202 XXIX. Mrs. Williams's Lodger. 210 XXX. "Now we understand Each Other." 219 XXXI. Dick thinks of the City. 226 XXXII. "Dick is to be our Real Brother." 232 XXXIII. "This is Life and Death to Me." 240 XXXIV. Miss Mewlstone has an Interruption. 248 XXXV. "Barby, don't You recollect Me?" 255 XXXVI. Motes in the Sunshine. 262 XXXVII. "A Man has a Right to His Own Thoughts." 268 XXXVIII. About Nothing Particular. 277 XXXIX. "How do you do, Aunt Catherine?" 283 XL. Alcides. 292 XLI. Sir Harry Bides his Time. 299 XLII. "Come, now, I call that Hard." 307 XLIII. "I will write no such Letter." 315 XLIV. Mr. Mayne orders a Basin of Gruel. 321 XLV. An Uninvited Guest. 328 XLVI. A New Invasion of the Goths. 336 XLVII. "It was so Good of You to ask me Here." 343 XLVIII. Mrs. Sparsit's Poodle. 349 XLIX. Mattie in a New Character. 356 L. Phillis's Favorite Month. 362
CHAPTER I.
FIVE-O'CLOCK TEA.
Five-o'clock tea was a great institution in Oldfield.
It was a form of refreshment to which the female inhabitants of that delightful place were strongly addicted. In vain did Dr. Weatherby, the great authority in all that concerned the health of the neighborhood, lift up his voice against the mild feminine dram-drinking of these modern days, denouncing it in no measured terms: the ladies of Oldfield listened incredulously, and, softly quoting Cowper's lines as to the "cup that cheers and not inebriates," still presided over their dainty little tea-tables, and vied with one another in the beauty of their china and the flavor of