poetry of life; and I said to myself, 'I suppose I have about made
it certain that this young woman will live and die an old maid by
giving her this glimpse behind the scenes. I thought the ladies
could get on better without me than with me, so I bowed myself out,
glad to escape the din; and I supposed Miss Burton would say a few
pleasant things in the direction of Mrs. Burleigh, which she, poor
woman, might not be able to hear, and then she would bow herself
out, also glad to escape. An hour and a half later I went back to
see if I could not coax my wife away for a drive, and what do you
suppose I saw?"

"The baby in convulsions," said Stanton.

"Give it up," added Van Berg.

"Sweet transformation scene; deep hush; my wife asleep in her
rocking-chair, the baby asleep in the arms of Miss Burton, who
held up a warning finger at me to be quiet. But the mischief was
done; my wife started up and was mortified beyond measure that she
had treated her guest so rudely. The good fairy, however, was so
genuinely delighted that she had quieted the baby and given the
tired mother a little rest, that we had to come to the conclusion
that she found pleasure in ways that are a trifle uncommon. By
some miracle or other she kept the baby asleep, and then my wife
and I tried to entertain her a little, but we were the ones that
were entertained. Before we knew it, the supper-bell rang, and
then I'm blessed if the little chap didn't wake up and grin at us
all. To think then that I should reward her by letting Mr. Chints
slap her face with a five-hundred-dollar check! I guess we'll all
know better next time."