our ease.

"It is indeed good of you to come and see an old, lonely woman,"
said she, "and I owe you an apology that I should give you a
fruitless journey on Tuesday, but in a sense you were yourselves the
cause of it, since the thought of your coming had excited me, and
any excitement throws me into a nervous fever. My poor nerves! You
can see for yourselves how they serve me."

She held out her twitching hands as she spoke. Then she passed one
of them through Jim's arm, and walked with him up the path.

"You must let me know you, and know you well," said she. "Your
uncle and aunt are quite old acquaintances of mine, and though you
cannot remember me, I have held you in my arms when you were an
infant. Tell me, little man," she added, turning to me, "what do
you call your friend?"

"Boy Jim, ma'am," said I.

"Then if you will not think me forward, I will call you Boy Jim
also. We elderly people have our privileges, you know. And now you
shall come in with me, and we will take a dish of tea together."

She led the way into a cosy room--the same which we had caught a
glimpse of when last we came--and there, in the middle, was a table
with white napery, and shining glass, and gleaming china, and red-
cheeked apples piled upon a centre-dish, and a great plateful of
smoking muffins which the cross-faced maid had just carried in. You
can think that we did justice to all the good things, and Miss