"Dere now, darlin', you's ready for bed," she exclaimed, giving
the child a hug and a kiss.

"No, mammy, not quite," replied the little girl, and gliding away
to the side of the bed, she knelt down and offered up her evening
prayer. Then, coming back to the toilet table, she opened her
little Bible, saying, "Now, mammy, I will read you a chapter while
you are getting ready for bed."

The room was large and airy, and Aunt Chloe, who was never willing
to leave her nursling, but watched over her night and day with the
most devoted affection, slept in a cot bed in one corner.

"Tank you, my dear young missus, you's berry good," she said,
beginning the preparations for the night by taking off her turban
and replacing it by a thick night-cap.

When the chapter was finished Elsie got into bed, saying, "Now,
mammy, you may put out the light as soon as you please; and be
sure to call me early in the morning, for I have a lesson to learn
before breakfast."

"That I will, darlin'," replied the old woman, spreading the cover
carefully over her. "Good-night, my pet, your ole mammy hopes her
chile will have pleasant dreams."

Rose Allison was an early riser, and as the breakfast hour at
Roselands was eight o'clock, she always had an hour or two for
reading before it was time to join the family circle. She had