ALEXANDER THE LITTLE’S FOREIGN MISSION.

always dignified; even in the bath-tub, he had never splashed about like othe:
babies; one would as soon have thought of calling him by a pet name as of allud-
ing to his great namesake as “ Allie.” Hven Sister Agatha, who cuddled and
petted all her charges, felt vaguely that ordinary means of consolation were out.
of placé here ; so she said, with an involuntary respect in her tone :
“ What have you in the bag? Buttons!” as, for answer, the child unloosed
the string and poured out the contents.
Alexander looked as hurt as a tender-hearted little girl at hearing her child
referred to as a doll.
“They are soldiers,’ he explained. “I have played with them since —
since I have been ill;” the words were said hurriedly, as though he
steadfastly refused to recognize, or at least to
dwell upon, his condition.
“Papa’s friends gave me a
good many, and other people
sent me some. These came
from West Point, and are very
brave fighters. This” — dis-
playmg a shining button
stamped with an eagle — “is
General Custer. He laughed
as he fired his last shot. I
like to say that over to myself.
This is Chinese Gordon; it
was on his sleeve once; an
English friend of papa’s gave
it to me. All these” —a
quantity of white porcelain buttons
—‘“‘in their white uniforms, are
wi”  Mamelukes. This is Napoleon ” —
a little round pearl button with a
peaked top — “ it looks like him, you see.
This one, in the dull, battered uniform, is
“ug IsN’T A Boy,” siGHED sister AcaTHA; “ue’s Stonewall Jackson, when he rode into
eae a Fredericksburg ; it makes me quite sad
to look at him. Here is Major André. I always play he was shot, as he asked
to be, instead of hanged. This is Alexander the Great, the biggest, and bravest,
and best of them all; he has my name ” —it was characteristic that Alexander
regarded himself as the great Macedonian’s namesake. “And he always
marches at the head of the army because he always beat, and then longed for
new worlds to conquer; his gold uniform is set with garnets, you see. These
were given me by our fat cook’s daughter; she made trousers, and when she