“To my house—Uncle Albert’s house, little one,” replied Mr. Eldon in pleasant tones. “You will find some little cousins, a girl and a boy, and I hope have nice times playing with them.”
“What’s the boy’s name, Uncle Albert?” queried Harry.
“Charles Augustus; the little girl is Leonora; but they are usually called Gus and Lena, or Nora, for short.”
“Are they all the children you have, uncle?” asked Ethel with shy look and tone.
“Oh, no,” he replied; “there are Albert and Arabella, nearly grown up, and Olive and Minnie; Minnie is twelve and Olive fourteen.”
“Has dey dot a papa and mamma?” asked Nannette.
“Yes; your Aunt Augusta is their mamma and I am their papa.”
“And we haven’t any; our papa and mamma both went away to heaven,” sighed Blanche.
“Where they are very, very happy, dear child,” returned her uncle, laying a hand tenderly on her head as she sat by his side.
Then he called their attention to something passing in the street, and exerted himself to amuse them in various ways till the carriage drew up in front of a spacious dwelling.