"It was in this way that a bird of the Moluccas has restored the clove
tree to the islands of this archipelago, in spite of the Dutch, who
destroyed them everywhere, in order that they might enjoy the monopoly
of the trade."

"Still, I must fall back upon my original idea; by sowing a brick, we
ought to reap a wall."

"And if a wall, a house," suggested another of the young men.

"Or if a turret, a castle," proposed a third.

"Or a hall to produce a palace," remarked the fourth.

"There are four wishes worthy of the four heads that produced them!
What do you think of those four great boys, Mrs. Wolston?"

"Well, madam, as they are wishing, at any rate they may as well wish
that chinchillas and marmots wore their fur in the form of boas and
muffs, that turkeys produced perigord pies, and that the fish were
drawn out of the sea ready roasted or boiled."

"Or that the sheep walked about in the form of nicely grilled chops,"
suggested Becker.

"And you, young ladies, what would you wish?"

Mary, who was now beyond the age of dolls, and was fast approaching
the period of young womanhood, felt that it was a duty incumbent upon
her to be more reserved than her sister, and rarely took part in the