“Yes, six of them,” said Mrs. Banks in her melancholy voice, waving her hand at the line, which looked more dejected than ever when attention was thus directed to it. “And not one of them old enough to do a stroke of work or to earn a penny.”
“This is Richie,” she went on, pointing to the tallest son of Banks, who dug his bare toes into the floor in an agony of embarrassment. “He’s the flower of the family. He will amount to something. He never opens his mouth for a word. He’s like me.
“And this is Mervin. He eats like a fish. And his brother Claudius is not far behind him. I gave them their names, for I do like a rich-sounding name. Mr. Banks wasn’t of my way of thinking. He was all for plain, commonsense names. He named the next two,—Maria and Also Jane.”
“‘Also,’ did you say?” inquired Mr. Whiting, who was thoroughly enjoying his call. “That is a name new to me.”
“It was a mistake,” explained Mrs. Banks dolefully. “The two girls were christened together, and, after Maria was baptized, the minister turned to Jane and, says he, ‘Also Jane Banks,’ and ‘Also Jane’ she has been to this day, for her father wouldn’t go against the minister’s word for anything in the world.”
“What is the baby’s name?” asked Mr. Whiting, preparing to depart.
“Her name is a compromise,” answered Mrs. Banks, pulling out her damp handkerchief to wipe the baby’s eyes which had instantly overflowed at hearing herself called a “mean name,” as she whimpered into her mother’s ear. “To please me we named her Cleopatra, but we always call her Pat, her father was such a one for plain names.”
When Mr. Whiting and Susan reached home they found Grandmother and Miss Liza rocking placidly before a roaring fire, and room was made for Grandfather’s chair with Susan on a cricket at his feet.
“Now, we will tell what we are most thankful for,” said Grandmother, when the story of the call at the Banks’ had been related, and a way of helping Mrs. Banks support her six children had been discussed. “You begin, Miss Liza.”
“I’m thankful,” said Miss Liza, without a moment’s hesitation, “for good friends, for health, and a home.”