“How many are going to the city this morning?” asked Mr. Dinsmore.
“All except babies and servants,” answered his wife.
“Then shall I order the family carriage to be at the door in fifteen minutes after prayers?”
“Yes, if you please; it will be best to start as early as we can; though our shopping to-day is not likely to be very arduous; we have already bought everything the selection of which would require much time and taste.”
Mr. Dinsmore remarked that he had directed two of the servants to go into the woods that morning to get the Christmas tree. Then he proposed that it should be set up in a parlor not in constant use, trimmed that evening, and the room door locked until the proper hour of exhibition on Monday.
“My dear, I believe yours is the better plan,” said Rose. “Do you not think so, Cousin Mildred?”
“Yes, decidedly so, if we do not fatigue ourselves too much in the city to-day.”
“Can we help?” the little girls were asking.
“Oh, no!” returned the older people in chorus, “you are to have the pleasure of the surprise of seeing the finished work on Christmas eve.”
“Yes, there is one thing they can do,” Mr. Dinsmore said; “label the presents they give to others.”