called you Mary, I noticed. There was a young
friend of Aunt Laura's, when she was a girl,
by that name -- Uncle said. If Grandmother
could go to sleep by 'Willie' and never wake
up, except in heaven, it would be a blessing. I'm
glad I thought of taking the dolls to her, though
it might have started a good deal of trouble,
too. But she usually takes everything sweetly.
That's the advantage of having a good disposition,
I suppose, if you lose your mind.”

“I'm afraid it might not make any difference;
but its worth cultivating anyhow,” suggested
sensible Betty.

“'Like sweet bells jangled and out of tune'
Uncle says her mind is, but not 'harsh,' as
Ophelia says of Hamlet. I thought of it when
we were reading Hamlet in English the other
day. But that isn't what I want to talk to you
about. It is what I am going to do about
staying in America -- and that brings in other
things. I hardly know how to begin.”

Betty said nothing, but laid her cheek over
against Lucia's soft hair.

“If you only understood Italian, Betty! _Che_
_peccato!_ That means 'What a pity' -- for I'll
forget myself and want to drop into my natural
tongue when I'm telling about home and my
father and mother. If I forget and say any-

[[93]]

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