"And why with me, my dear?" asked Mrs. Travilla, with a pleased little laugh, "are there not more than enough younger people to take part?"

"Oh there are plenty of us such as we are!" laughed Evelyn, "but we want all the beautiful people, so that the pictures will be beautiful."

"You are coming out in a new character, Eva--that of an adroit flatterer," returned Grandma Elsie, with a look of amus.e.m.e.nt; "but I am not at all displeased, my dear child, because I credit it entirely to your affection, which I prize very highly," she hastened to add, seeing that her words had called up a blush of painful embarra.s.sment on Eva's usually placid face.

"Grandma Elsie, we all love you dearly," said Lulu, "but you _are_ beautiful. I'm sure everybody thinks so. Don't they, papa?"

"As far as my knowledge goes," he answered, smiling and pinching her cheek--for as usual she was close at his side--"and indeed I don't know how any one could think otherwise."

"Mamma will, I'm sure," said Walter, "because we want her to, and she's always kind."

"Will what?" asked Violet coming in at that moment.

"Be one in a tableau," replied Walter.

"Yes, of course," said Violet. "Oh we'll make a group with mamma, grandpa, Sister Elsie and her little Ned, and call it a picture of four generations. If dear old grandpa were with us still we could make it five."

"A very nice idea, my dear," the captain remarked with a glance of affectionate admiration at his young wife, as he rose and handed her a chair; "and I think we must have the group photographed."

"Oh yes, Lester can do it beautifully! We'll send him word to bring his apparatus with him."

"Yes," said her mother, "and we will ask him to take us all in family groups. The pictures will be pleasant mementoes of this holiday season."

"Mamma," said Walter, "I think if you would tell us all about all the New Years days you can remember, it would be a very interesting way of spending the evening."

"Yes, mamma, we would all be charmed to hear your story," said Violet, the others chiming in with, "Oh yes, mamma," "Yes, Grandma Elsie, please do tell it."

"Since you all seem to desire it, I will try," she answered kindly, "but I fear my reminiscences will hardly deserve the name of story.

"The first Christmas and New Years of which I retain a vivid remembrance, were those of the first winter after I had made the acquaintance of my dear father; for, as I believe you all know, I never saw him till I was eight years old.

"The occurrences of that Christmas are too familiar to most, if not all of you, to bear repet.i.tion."

"And you hadn't at all a nice New Year's that time, mamma," said Rosie, softly stroking and patting the hand she held, then lifting it to her lips; for she was sitting on a stool at her mother's feet, while the others had grouped themselves around her, "suffering so with that sprained ankle."

"Ah there you are mistaken, my child," Grandma Elsie answered with her own sweet smile, "for I had a most enjoyable day in spite of the injury that kept me a prisoner in my room; my father brought me a beautiful doll-baby, quite as large as some live ones that I have seen, and a quant.i.ty of pretty things to be used in its adornment. My little friends and I had a merry, happy time cutting out garments and making them up.

"The next Christmas and New Year's Day were spent in our sweet new home at the Oaks, which my papa had bought and furnished in the mean time.

"My Christmas gifts were beautiful; from papa books and a pearl necklace and bracelets--now the property of my daughter Rosie"--smiling down at Rosie as she spoke--"and a ring to match from him who was afterward my beloved husband; also books from his mother and my Aunt Adelaide. They were our guests at dinner that day.

"Between breakfast and dinner I had the pleasure of distributing gifts among the house servants and the negroes at the quarter; then a ride with papa; and the evening, till my early bedtime, was spent sitting on his knee."

"But you are going to tell us about that New Year's, too, mamma, aren't you?" asked Walter, as she paused in her narrative, sitting quietly with a pensive, far off look in her soft brown eyes.

"Yes," she said, rousing from her reverie, "I remember it was on the day after Christmas that papa asked me if I was going to make a New Year's present to each of my little friends.

"Of course I was delighted with the idea, especially as he allowed me great lat.i.tude in regard to the amount to be spent."

"And did he take you to the stores and let yon choose the presents, Grandma Elsie?" asked Lulu. "That would be half the fun, I think."

"My dear, indulgent father would have done so, had I been able to bear the fatigue," Grandma Elsie replied, "but at that time I was quite feeble from a severe illness. He did not think me strong enough to visit the stores, but ordered goods sent out to the Oaks for me to select from, which gave me nearly as much enjoyment us I could have found in going to the city in search of them."

"Did you find gifts to suit, mamma?" queried Walter. "And oh won't you tell us how many and what they were?"

"Beside the Roselands little people," replied his mother, "there were Lucy and Herbert Carrington, Carrie Howard, Isabel Carleton, Mary Leslie, and Flora Arnott to be remembered.

"For the last named, who was also the youngest, I selected a beautiful wax doll and a complete wardrobe of ready made clothes for it, all neatly packed in a tiny trunk.

"To Mary Leslie I gave a ring, and to each of the other girls a handsome bracelet; to Herbert, who was a great reader, a set of handsomely bound books.

"All these little friends of mine were spending the Christmas holidays at Pinegrove--the home of the Howards.

"Papa and I had been invited too, but had declined because of my feeble state. When my gifts were ready I asked him if they should be sent to Pinegrove.

"'We will see about it,' he answered; 'we have plenty of time; there are two days yet, and it will not take a messenger half an hour to travel from here to Pinegrove.'

"So I said no more, for I never was allowed to tease.

"But when New Year's morning came and the presents had not been sent, I began to feel decidedly uneasy, and papa evidently perceived it; though neither of us said a word on the subject that was uppermost in my mind.

"Papa had some beautiful books and pictures for me which he gave me before breakfast, saying he hoped they would help me pa.s.s the day pleasantly; he would be glad to make it the happiest New Year I had known yet.

"He smiled tenderly upon me as he said it, then held me close in his arms and kissed me over and over again; and I returned his kisses, putting my arms about his neck and hugging him as tight as I could.

"After that we had breakfast and family worship, and then he took me on his knee again and asked how I would like to spend the day?

"I answered that I would be glad to have a drive if he did not think it too cold. He said he thought it was not if I were well wrapped up.

"There was no snow to make sleighing, so the carriage was ordered, I was bundled up in furs, and we drove several miles.

"As we were about starting I ventured to ask, 'Papa, haven't you forgotten to send my presents to Pinegrove?' He smiled and said, 'No, my darling,' in a very pleasant tone, but that was all, and when we came back I noticed that the presents were still in a closet in my dressing room where they had lain ever since they were bought.

"I was quite puzzled to understand it, but I asked no questions.

"Mammy arranged my hair and dress, and I went back to the parlor where papa was sitting reading. He laid aside his book as soon as I entered the room, took me on his knee, and began telling me funny stories that kept me laughing till a carriage drove up to the door.

"'There, some one has come!' he said; 'it seems we are not to spend the day alone after all.'

"Then in another minute or two, the door opened and in came my six little friends for whom I had bought the presents."

Grace clapped her hands in delight. "Oh how nice! and didn't you have a good time, Grandma Elsie?"

"Yes, very; they had all come to spend the day; I had the pleasure of presenting my gifts in person and of seeing that they were fully appreciated; we played quiet games and papa told us lovely stories.

There was no fretting or quarrelling, everybody was in high good humor, and when the time came to separate, my guests all bade good bye, saying, 'they had never had a more enjoyable day.'"

"Now please tell about the next Christmas and New Year's, mamma," urged Walter, as she paused, as though feeling that her tale was ended.

"Let mamma have time to breathe and to think what comes next, Walter,"