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 in it. And so I give a little hitch to this string and found myself back in this world agin, and I sez, "Where is little Mary!"

"Oh," sez Celestine, in a rapt way, "how sweetly the bird song blends in with the tender feeling of the landscape, and yet a stork is a more striking adjunct," sez she.

But I sez agin, "Where is little Mary?"

And after repeating the question for the third time, she sez, looking round her in a vague way, "Oh, I guess she is playing somewhere with some of the children." And I left her, she not sensin' it at all, and went down the steps towards the lake where I heard the sound of children's voices. I found little Mary settin' on a stun and lookin' fur off onto the water, she had been throwing pebbles into the clear depths, but sot still now, seemin'ly wropped up in her thoughts.

She seemed dretful glad to see me, and I her visey versey, sweet little creeter! Jack joined us pretty soon, and we sot there for some time, and I told 'em quite a number of stories, and I held Mary in one arm and Jack in the other, and we enjoyed ourselves first rate. But the voices of Duty and Tamer called me back to the house and the assembled guests. Von Crank wuz there, for Tamer would have it so, and he paid Anna all the attention he possibly could, and she repulsed it all she could, so it made quite queer times and quite romantic. But Anna told me out on the west piazza, when we happened to be there alone, that since Cicero had been sent to the penitentiary her Ma had not acted quite so head-*strong and stern about Von Crank, "But yet," sez she, "I see her mind is still set on our union, and what shall I do, Aunt Samantha? She has been through so much