her tranquil face.

Then followed a moment wherein the patients were ordered to shut their
eyes, to reopen them upon the vision splendid of the _arbre de Noël_.
Perhaps it was the contrast to the meagre background of the tiny
school-hospital room, with its two white beds and bare walls, but,
placed in full view on the centre table, the tree was almost imposing.
Standing apart from Grand'mere's primulas and cyclamen as though,
conscious of its own inferiority, it did not wish to obtrude, it had
looked dejected, miserable. During its sojourn at the hotel the
appreciation of its meanness had troubled us. But now, in the shabby
little chamber, where there were no rival attractions to detract from
its glory, we felt proud of it. It was just the right size for the
surroundings. A two-franc tree, had Grand'mere possessed one, would have
been Brobdignagian and pretentious.

[Illustration: Adoration]

A donor who is handicapped by the knowledge that the gifts he selects
must within a few weeks be destroyed by fire, is rarely lavish in his
outlay. Yet our presents, wrapped in white paper and tied with blue
ribbons, when arranged round the flower-pot made a wonderful show, There
were mounted Boers who, when you pressed the ball at the end of the
air-tube, galloped in a wobbly, uncertain fashion. The invalids had good
fun later trying races with them, and the Boy professed to find that his
Boer gained an accelerated speed when he whispered "Bobs" to him. There
were tales of adventure and flasks of eau-de-Cologne and smart virile
pocket-books, one red morocco, the other blue. We regretted the
pocket-books; but their possession made the recipients who, boylike,
took no heed for the cleansing fires of the morrow, feel grown-up at