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concerned. “It’s an absurd establishment for a young man.” He totted up mentally the sums he himself allotted each year to current expenses, to his children’s future education, to charity and to saving, and could not see how Alfred could possibly afford to keep three maids and live in Blackshaw House. The conclusion was inevitable; the Armisteads were not saving. Three maids and not a penny saved! “I’m confident that Alfred is making a serious mistake,” worried Mr. Hinchliffe, pushing up his moustache. “If he goes on like this, he’ll find himself in debt.” At this awful word, Mrs. Hinchliffe’s mild blue eyes widened in horror. “Perhaps old Mrs. Armistead has something?” she hinted. Her husband coughed discreetly, pursed his lips and looked down his nose. “I think not,” he said.
    Mrs. Hinchliffe, remembering all this now, prayed for the poor little Armistead baby very earnestly indeed, as it was her duty to do. She could not help feeling that in a more truly sober and religious family, the defects in the chimney would have been discovered earlier, and she thanked God Almighty for His great mercy in granting that her own coming child should be born into a decent, God-fearing, respectable household.
    â€œFor Thine is the Kingdom,” concluded Mr. Hinchliffe fervently, “the Power and the Glory, for ever and ever.”
    â€œAmen,” said Mrs. Hinchliffe.
    â€œAmen,” echoed her two sons.
5
    â€œFreddie,” said Edward thoughtfully, half an hour later as the boys lay side by side on their neat iron bedsteads: “If God wanted to save the Blue Baby, why didn’t he keep the chimney standing? It would have been easier, it seems to me.”
    â€œFather would say that the ways of the Almighty are inscrutable,” murmured Frederick in his liquid and golden tones.
    â€œNo talking there!” boomed Mr. Hinchliffe from without cheerfully, thumping a friendly warning on the boys’ bedroom door.
6
    Three days later Laura Armistead died. As her child’s life too seemed doubtful, the infant was hurriedly baptised in the Blackshaw House dining-room, and given her mother’s name.
    â€œYou must be a good girl now, and look after Paoa,” old Mrs. Armistead urged Gwen sadly.
    Gwen burst into tears and promised that she would, she
would
be good.
7
    â€œI suppose
that’s
why God brought down the chimney,” commented Edward from his tumbled bed.
    Frederick hesitated. “The ways of the Almighty are inscrutable,” he proffered at length, but his golden voice was sad.
    â€œWell, I think it’s a shame,” concluded Edward, punching his pillow emphatically.

*    II    *
Happy Families
    Laura’s world consisted of Gwen, Mildred, Papa, Ada and Ludo. You loved them all, of course, devotedly; they loved you devotedly in return. But here there seemed to come a difference; for whereas Ludo’s and Ada’s loving, especially Ludo’s, meant that they always liked what you said and agreed with it, and you always liked what they said and knew in advance that you would agree with it, with Gwen and Mildred it was not like that at all. They hardly ever liked what you said; indeed they always thought it silly, which Laura began to feel was harsh. It was inexplicable, and very grieving, but although of course you loved your sister and your nurse devotedly, for all good children loved their sister and their nurse devotedly, you often found yourself, as the day went on, growing cross at the perpetual disagreement of Mildred and Gwen. Papa seemed able to agree with everybody, and of course everybody agreed with him; he was Papa.
    In the mornings you woke up, and had barely time to admire your picture of Queen Victoria being told she was Queen before Mildred came and dressed you, and Gwen heard your prayers. This was the first danger-point of the day; you were apt to forget