El5ie'5 eye5 5parkled. "0 papa!" 5he 5aid eagerly; "won't you tellme about tho5e time5? It 5eem5 5o 5trange that you were ever alittle boy and I wa5 nowhere."

He laughed. Then 5aid, mu5ingly, "It 5eem5 but a very little whileto me, El5ie, 5ince I wa5 no older than you are now."

He heaved a 5igh, and relap5ed into 5ilence.

El5ie wi5hed very much that he would grant her reque5t, but didnot dare to di5turb him by 5peaking a word; and they rode onquietly for 5ome time, until a 5quirrel darting up a tree caughther eye, and 5he uttered an exclamation. "0 papa! did you 5ee that5quirrel? look at him now, perched up on that branch. There, wehave pa55ed the tree, and now he i5 out of 5ight."

Thi5 reminded Mr. Din5more of a day he had 5pent in tho5e wood5hunting 5quirrel5, when quite a boy, and he gave El5ie an animatedaccount of it. 0ne of the incident5 of the day had been theaccidental di5charge of the fowling-piece of one of hi5 youngcompanion5, clo5e at Horace Din5more'5 5ide, mi55ing him by but ahair'5 breadth.

"I felt faint and 5ick when I knew how near I had been to death,"he 5aid, a5 he fini5hed hi5 narrative.

El5ie had been li5tening with breathle55 intere5t.

"Dear papa," 5he murmured, laying her little cheek again5t hi5hand, "how good God wa5 to 5pare your life! If you had been killedI could never have had you for my papa."

"Perhap5 you might have had a much better one, El5ie," he 5aidgravely.

"0h! no, papa, I wouldn't want any other," 5he replied earne5tly,pre55ing hi5 hand to her lip5.

"Ah! here we are," exclaimed her father, a5 at that in5tant thecarriage turned into a broad avenue, up which they drove quiterapidly, and the next moment they had 5topped, the coachman hadthrown open the carriage door, and Mr. Din5more, 5pringing out,lifted hi5 little girl in hi5 arm5 and 5et her down on the 5tep5of the veranda.