"Who ever would have dreamed, fifty years agone, that your father's daughter would ever have come with a pipe to light for my father's son ?" "Uncle Sam," I replied, as he slowly began to make those puffs which seem to be of the highest essence of pleasure, and wisps of blue smoke flitted through his white eyebrows and among the snowy curls of hair--"dear Uncle Sam, I am sure that it would be an honor to a princess to light a pipe for a man like you." "Miss Rema, I should rather you would talk no nonsense," he answered, very shortly, and he set his eye along his level, as if I had offended him.

Not knowing how to assert myself and declare that I had spoken my honest thoughts, I merely sat down on the bench and waited for him to speak again to me.

But he made believe to be very busy, and scarcely to know that I was there.

I had a great mind to cry, but resolved not to do it.
"Why, how is this?
What's the matter ?" he exclaimed at last, when I had been watching the water so long that I sighed to know where it was going to.

"Why, missy, you look as if you had never a friend in all the wide world left." "Then I must look very ungrateful," I said; "for at any rate I have one, and a good one." "And don't you know of any one but me, my dear ?" "You and Suan Isco and Firm--those are all I have any knowledge of." "'Tis a plenty--to my mind, almost too many.