Year: 1874

his knuckles into his eyes. The tears feI


SO fast from him that his feet were in a


puddle of water Mabel thought he


would catch cold, and WAS about 10 tell


MN SO, but winked his eye at her, and,


tapping his forehead, shook his head


ne Is crazy" whispered q to Mabel


Don m'hd what he says. He doesn't


kho" What he means. Nobody could


ever find out from him because he leaves


half of it unsaid and YOU have to guess
1t like riddle. He is very tiresome and
disagreeable. just ask him to exnlaiu
himself and you'll soon find out what
sort of fellow he is"


Mabel did not like this hard.bearted
way had Of talking about &c. who
was growing more fearful and more
gloomy every moment. She really pitied
the poor fellow, and told O AS much:
but he merely replied, with contempt:
fshawi he is only foreigner, and
has no business among us. If he does
not like II, why does he stay here? What
| does Latin person want to come mixing
| with us for? Besides, he is a dwarf, and
is all out of shape AT that Look a, his
| little head and his big body"
A dwarfw said Mabel, astonished.
because she saw that &c was quite as
| big as the rest oi them, and q great deal
| fatter.


Well" said O, reading Mabers
thoughts, che is an Authorization, and
that's the same thing"


Isn't that ParentheSis | see over
there:" said Mabel, pointing to figure
with bowed legs that was hobbling
along.


- Yes, feel very sorry for him." said
o, His parents did not take good care
of him when he was young. They tried
to make him walk too early, and his legs
became crooked, as you see Look at
Bracket yonder He is all rish, His
| legs arc as straight as an arrow. His
nurse knew what she was about Idon't
think Parenthesis is very long lived He
is quite weak, and does but little work
now. Bracket does most of il for him"


That disagreeable, ill-tempered and
humpbacked Interrogation Mark came
toward Mabel again. Well; and how
do you like us all?" he asked in his i'm
! pudent, prying manner. Don't you
| think we are jolly set of fellowsy"
Mabel was going to tell him that she
did not like him at all, and that she was
very sorry she had made his acquaint-
| ance, when he said To her, with spiteful
grin on his face:


You think you know US all, don't
you? Are you aware that YOU have got
to be introduced to our brothers Old En-.
glish and Italics, to say nothing of
Scriptg'


" | wish you would not tell me un
pleasant things by asking me questions
about them" said Mabel, growing angry
with him.


Just at that moment Miss Prim dartcd
in amongst them again with another
Tuler, and set them scampering in every
direction once more. Even w was
knocked over this time, and &c. received
such a thump in his back that he forgot
to cry, and ran away as fast as his legs
could carry him. When Miss Prim had
beaten them as long AS she could she
chased them before her with her apron
as If they were a brood of chickens, and
they all ran out of the arbor, followed
by her, tumbling over each other and
picking themselves up as well Us they
could.


Mabel laughed SO heartily that she
almost cried. Then she suddenly found
out she was sitting on the bench, and
could not tell how she got there; be
cause "a moment before she was standing
IN the middle of the arbor talking with
y and Interrogation Mark. She WAS
greatly puzzled, but was So full of what
she had seen that she did not think any
more of how she came 10 be sitting down
again. She hurried away to learn what
had become of Miss Prim and the letters,
but saw no trace of any of them. She
then went into the house and spoke To
Miss Prlm about il, but her governess
laughed Mt her and said she knew nothing
about it. Mabel was sorry for that, be
cause she did not think Miss Prim would
he guilty of doing so mean ia thing as
telling falsehood. If she would tell
her story about such matter how
could she depend on her in her spelling
lessons?


Everybody told her that she had been
dreaming; but she knew better than
that, for she had spoken to them, espe-
cially o and &c. She found them all in
her book again; but though she ques-
toned them frequently they took no no
tice of her. In spite of that, nothing
could convince her that il had not all
happened just as she told of it. But she
never saw them again though she often
went into the arbor and waited for them
to come. And this added to Mabers
trOubles-iSt. NichOLas.