cided preference of her own, and not only that, but insisting upon it that her will should be his, gave her frock a twitch, making a bad rent in it.

Hilda's bottle of tears was very near her eyes, and if anything went wrong, out came the cork, and to one more self-restrained, there seemed a great waste of feeling; but this time, she was sure there was sufficient cause, not only for crying, but for chastisement of the wicked Fred, so she inflicted a hearty slap upon that young gentleman's shoulder. He was never above weeping and lamentation when occasion offered, so that there was presented to Mrs. Körner, the next moment, the spectacle of two mutually injured and enraged young humans, with flashing eyes and burning cheeks, and four great rivers running down from as many eyes.

"What is the matter?" said that lady, with the manner of one ready to listen to complaints, and award due justice, and by no means thrown off her balance, as if it were the first belligerent case upon her docket, and she were to give her maiden charge.

"He pulled me first," said Hilda.

"She struck me, and real hard too," sobbed the little lord of creation.

66 My little Hilda," said Mrs. Körner, you know I have three rough, strong boys who have no little sister to make them gentle, and I want you and Zoë to help me to do so, will you not?"

Hilda paused a moment, as if a new idea had dawned upon her, but her wrongs came up again, and she cried, "He pulled me first!"

"She had no business to strike me," murmured Fred. "Go into the bath-room and wash your tears away, and you will feel better," said his mother;

66

your papa will be

at home soon, and I want him to see happy faces."

This was the "expulsive power of a new affection" to them, and with the cold water it banished every trace of

ill-temper, so that five minutes after, they were playing as if their life's sea had never been ruffled.

The door-bell rang, and the shout went up, "There's papa;" and a glad "Hurra," was heard from a manly voice in the hall, and quick steps upon the stairs soon brought a brave beaming face to their view.

The baby clapped hands; Fred climbed up his father's perpendicular with a little help, till he crowed from his seat on his shoulder. Emile looked at Fred, and tried to do and say just what he did. Hilda jumped up and down and pulled him at every point by turns, while the little Carl looked and stretched out his arms towards him, his straining eye, eager even to painfulness, pleading for notice, as if here was his "kingdom come," and he must rush into it.

"How are you, my dear?" said he, shaking hands with his wife. Zoë sat smiling placidly upon this noisy greeting, and hoped the kind gentleman would speak to her by-and-by.

"And who is this?" said he, disrobing himself gently of the children and stooping towards her.

"It's Zoë," said Fred, "and see, she has built a house, such as they have in Santa Cruz where she lives."

"How do you do, my little dear?" said he, putting on his spectacles, for he was near-sighted; "and how do you like Copenhagen?"

"I like some things very well; but it is cold, and there are no flowers, and I am afraid I shan't get all my lessons well to say to Miss Ingemann."

"Yes," said he, "but it will be warm soon, and then we will take you to ride in the country, and Fred shall hold the reins and Emile the whip, and we will cover you all over with flowers; won't we, Carl?" said he, tossing him up and down and handing him to his mother: "and as for the lesson, you must say to it—you old hard lesson, do you jump right into my head and there do you stick, and

if you ever get out, I'll, I'll pound you in," and he squared at an open book on the table near, and brought down his clenched fist hard upon it.

The children gazed admiringly at his valor, and all laughed at his threatened assault, when the tea-bell rang and Mrs. Körner directed Fred to lead Hilda, and Emile Zoë; while she followed, arm-in-arm with her husband, to the dining-room below stairs.

The next morning Zoë was awakened by the entrance of Hilda into the room attired in cloak and hood, as if returning from a walk.

"Where have you been?" said she.

“To Mr. Körner's, to carry back the dice of the backgammon board, which I found in my pocket. I was afraid Mrs. Körner would hunt for them, as she did once before after we had played. Did we not have a good visit?"

"Yes," said Zoë; "I like them all, and I do not feel one bit afraid of them; they are so kind and Emile is a little darling."

"I like to frolic with Mr. Körner," said Hilda," he lets me do anything to him I want to."

"But I think he had rather you would be gentle though he is so lively; for he looked tired when he sat down, as if he had worked hard all day."

"I did hear him say to Mrs. Körner softly when I was pulling him hardest: What a little catamount she is!" said Hilda, "but he was in fun, I guess; for don't you think, when I went there this morning, I ran directly to the breakfast-room where they were at the table, and as soon as he saw me he took up the newspaper and read:

"Found fighting in Mr. Korner's yard by the police, Frederick Korner and Hilda Strophel. They were taken to the watch-house and kept during the night, and this morning carried to Court; where their mortified parents and teacher plead for their release, which, after paying five dollars and costs, was granted them.'

"I was so frightened that I snatched the paper out of his

hand to read it myself, and there was not a word of it there. O! I never know when Mr. Körner is serious or when he makes-believe-he is so droll.

"But do get up, Zoë, how lazy you are! The breakfastbell will ring in ten minutes, and I am afraid Miss Ingemann will scold you if you are not ready."

"O'er wayward childhood wouldst thou hold firm rule,
And sun thee in the light of happy faces;

Love, Hope, and Patience-these must be thy graces,

And in thine own heart let them first keep school."-COLERIDGE.

MISS INGEMANN had a few clear and true principles by which to judge of human nature and character. She was fond of its study and proud of her shrewdness in its interpretation, and seemed to consider it a legitimate gymnasium in which to exercise and sharpen her intellect. Her skill and knowledge stood her in good stead with most of her pupils. Such a development in one of them went for so much and must be encouraged or repressed, as the case might be. Such an expression indicated this or that tendency and must be dealt with accordingly. With the frank, open Danish girls, who could bear any amount of direct scrutiny into their natures-for so much in harmony was hers with their own that they appreciated her kindly motive and dearly loved her-her plain, abrupt method answered very well; but with Zoë it was different. Her first feeling when led into the stately presence of Miss Ingemann, was admiration. Left for the first time without some one familiar to her to lean upon, she longed for the love of the beautiful white lady, whose blue eye shone so brightly upon the little girls around her and who all seemed to live in the light of her kindly smile. But when she fixed her clear, intellectual gaze upon her as if to read the soul within, that world where from infancy she had been wont to retire and revel in silent delight, not without