64 BERTHA.

come this evening for my sake, you are my special guest.
Would you rather sit here and talk to me, or go out there and
play

Bertha hesitated; she should like very much to play, but
she dreaded the notice she would, as a stranger, attract, so she
decided she would stay with Aunt Joanna.

“T should prefer to remain here,” she said, in her quaint
way.

Aunt Jo laughed, and said she thought that was a great
compliment. Bertha looked at her with a serious face, not at
all understanding about compliments.

“Now tell me all about yourself,” Aunt Joanna continued ;
“what you study, what you play, and all about it. You do
not go to school, do you?”

“No, ma’am; I have my tasks with Miss Long. I hae a
study hour in the morning, directly after breakfast, and then
my recitations go on till twelve o’clock. I then have a walk
in the garden with Miss Long, then I practise till two o’clock,
and we have dinner; after that I go to drive with grandma ;
the rest of the time is my own, to dispose of as I please.”

“ And I suppose you play very hard all evening to make
up for studying hard all morning.”

“Oh, no, ma’am; in the evening I read or do some fancy
work while Miss Long reads aloud, and at half-past eight I
retire.”

“ And can you do fancy work ?”