"Have you ever tried praying with him?" inquired Mary. "I've known that to work wonders."
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed Mr. Mason. "One might as well pray to the wind. That's just like an old maid."
"Mary has had a good deal of experience with children," said Mrs. Kent, firmly, "though she is but little past twenty years old. She has a natural tact in getting along with them."
"Well, she has my consent to pray over Joseph as much as she pleases. Suppose you begin to-night, while he is asleep;" and Mr. Mason laughed again.
Grandma had remained quiet through the whole conversation; now she pressed Mrs. Kent's hand, as an intimation to say no more. So, with many cordial "goodnights," they parted.
Mary occupied a bed with her mother, and took the earliest opportunity, in the morning, to talk with her brother about it.
"There is nothing," she said, "but a board partition between her room and that where the children sleep, so that she is kept awake, by their quarrels, till a late hour; and then Joseph begins to snarl as soon as it is light. I can see that the conduct of that boy is wearing her out, though when I said a word, she only shook her head."
"Is there no other room she can have?" inquired Mr. Kent, eagerly.
"I should think so, when the whole house is hers. Before we go, I want something to be done about it."
The visit of her children and grandchildren seemed to revive the old lady, who had been rather feeble for a year. Especially she took delight in talking with Berty, or hearing him read. The little fellow loved his grandma, and embraced every opportunity to be attentive, though his little cousins often laughed at him, and teased him to leave her and join them in their play.