"I'm so glad!" exclaimed No. 6, completely reassured and made
comfortable by the cheerful tone of her sister's remark, though she
had but a very imperfect idea of the meaning of it, as she forthwith
proved by rambling off into a sort of self-defence and self-
justification.

"And I'm not really a baby now, you know, Aunt Judy! And I do know a
great many things that are good and bad for us. I know that YOU are
good for us, even when you scold over sums."

"That is a grand admission, I must own," replied Aunt Judy, smiling;
"I shall remind you of it some day."

"Well, you may," cried No. 6, earnestly; and added, "you see I'm not
half as silly as you thought."

Aunt Judy looked at her, wondering how she should get the child to
understand what was passing through her own mind; wondering, too
whether it was right to make the attempt; and she decided that on the
whole it was; so she answered:-

"Ay, we grow wise enough among ourselves as we grow older, and get to
know a few more things. You are certainly a little wiser than a baby
in long petticoats, and I am a little wiser than you, and mamma wiser
than us both. But towards God we remain ignorant infants all our
lives. That was what I meant."

"But surely, Aunt Judy," interrupted No. 6, "mamma and you know--"
There she stopped.