"Yes, Uncle Robert, I've always loved to think of Boston as my real home. Although it's so long since we lived here."
"Why, what do you really remember of Boston?" asked Mr. Barlow.
"Well, the State-House, Uncle Robert, and the Common—of course—and—and Brenda."
"Oh, you can't remember Brenda?"
"Yes, indeed I can. She was the dearest little thing! You see when I was five years old, Brenda seemed almost a baby—a year and a half between two girls makes a good deal of difference,—when they're little."
But even this last saving clause did not prevent Brenda's heart from giving a sudden thump, especially as she caught a sympathetic glance from Belle which seemed to say,
"Ah, she's reminding you how much older she is than you."
Brenda straightened herself up. She tried to think of something to say that would show that though younger, she at least had some knowledge of the world.
"Can you eat raw oysters, Julia?" were the rather strange words that came to her lips. Julia, unable naturally to follow the train of thought leading to this question, answered brightly,
"I've never tried. You see we don't have very good oysters in the West, and some way I've never thought I'd like them raw."