I love my little girl very dearly, and want to do all I can to make her happy, but I must have her entirely submissive and obedient to me.

But stop crying now," he added, wiping her eyes with his handkerchief.

"Kiss me, and tell me you are going to be a good girl, and I will forgive you this time." "I will try, papa," she said, holding up her face for the kiss; "and I would not have asked to play that, but the children begged me so, and I thought you only said I mustn't, because you didn't want me to sit on the floor; and we were going to try it on the table." "Did I give that reason ?" he asked gravely.
"No, papa," she replied, hanging her head.
"Then you had no right to think so.

That _was one_ reason, but not the _only_ one.

I have heard it said that that play enlarges the knuckles, and I don't choose to have these little hands of mine robbed of their beauty," he added, playfully raising them to his lips.
Elsie smiled faintly, then drew a deep sigh.
"Is it so very hard to give up jack-stones ?" he asked.
"No, papa; I don't care anything about _that_, but I was just thinking how very naughty I must be growing; for you have had to punish me twice in one week; and then I have had such a hard day of it--it was so difficult to amuse the children.