on somebody his size. I decidedly approve of a beard!"

"If his miserable hens come over here, I shall most certainly--"

"Keep the eggs. We'll tell him so when he comes again."

"Comes again? What, and my name Sophronisba?"

"My own grandmother had the second sight; and _I_ don't need
spectacles," said Alicia. "Sophy, that man has come into our lives
to stay. I feel it in my bones! It's not an unpleasant feeling," she
finished gracelessly.

When Unc' Adam presently put in his appearance, he was profoundly
impressed and respectful: we were brisk, unhaunted, and unafraid,
after a night in Hynds House! The three colored women who had come
with him, induced by cupidity and curiosity to enter ol' Mis'
Scarlett's ill-omened domain, at first hung back. They were plainly
prepared to bolt at the first unusual noise.

Of the three, one--by name Mary Magdalen--proved to be a
heaven-born, predestinated cook; and her we persuaded, by bribery,
cajolery, and subornation of scruples, to remain with us
permanently. Only, she flatly refused to stay on the place
overnight. Darkness shouldn't catch Mary Magdalen under the Scarlett
Witch's roof-tree.

There are certain gifted beings who possess the secret of bringing
order out of chaos; for them the total depravity of inanimate
objects has no terrors; inanimate objects become docile to their