She is very proud of her son, as is natural, and keeps a copy of everything he writes.

I believe she cries over them every time she reads them.

You don't know how I take to little Sossy and Minthy, those two twins I have written to you about before.

Poor little creatures,--what a cruel thing it was in their father and mother not to take care of them! What do you think?
Old bachelor Gridley lets them come up into his room, and builds forts and castles for them with his big books! "The world's coming to an end," Mrs.Hopkins said the first time he did so.

He looks so savage with that scowl of his, and talks so gruff when he is scolding at things in general, that nobody would have believed he would have let such little things come anywhere near him.