“O Jessie! how could you be so careless! That mirror cost a hundred dollars, a few months ago. Your father will feel very angry,” said Mrs. Carlton with a grieved look.
“I did not break it, Ma!” said Jessie calmly.
“She did!” “She did!” said Charlie and his sister in the same moment.
“Ma, I did not break the mirror,” rejoined Jessie, calmly. “If I had done it, I would confess it. You know I wouldn’t lie, Mother, don’t you?”
“I certainly have great faith in your truthfulness, my child,” replied Mrs. Carlton; “but why are your cousins so positive in charging you with it?”
Jessie stated the facts just as they had taken place. Her cousins repeated their story. Mrs. Carlton was perplexed. Turning to Uncle Morris, she said:
“Brother, what do you think? On which side is the truth?”
“On Jessie’s, of course, sister. Could you question the truth of that pure face! It would break my heart if Jessie could tell such a lie as these wicked ones here have told! But she couldn’t do it. It’s not in her nature to do it. Heaven bless her!”
He then stated what he had overheard from the sofa in the back parlor, and closed by saying, “These children had better go home to-morrow. They are wicked enough to corrupt an angel, almost. The proverb says, eggs ought not to dance with stones, and I cannot endure to see Jessie in their society any longer.”
“I agree with you, brother, and will send them home to-morrow,” replied Mrs. Carlton.