"I quite agree with you, my dear; but you know all the ministers had to be young once."
"Then I think the young ones ought to be set to help the old ones till they learn how. They are always so conceited; don't you think so?"
"Well, not always," said her mother, turning to the window and scrutinizing very closely a small hole in a damask towel. "As to this visit, my dear, I will speak to father about it. I think perhaps you ought to go for a little while. Aunt Eugenia will miss your reading, but we must try to make it up for her."
"I did not suppose Aunt Eugenia would ever want to see me again," said Marion.
"Why? On account of the snuff? Oh, that was only an error in judgment—a little bit of zeal without knowledge, such as the young ministers you dislike are apt to fall into. Auntie enjoys your reading aloud very much. She says you read more distinctly than any of us."
The boys came home in the evening delighted with their expedition and loaded with booty.
"What in the world have you got there?" asked Gerty.
"Roots and herbs, stocks and stones," answered Frank, gayly. "Just think, Marie! Three new specimens for the woodpile, besides famous ones in place of those that poor Maggy cremated."
"How glad I am!" said Marion; and she really was.
"And that basket is full of beautiful red berries and ground-pine," said Bram.