"Are you truly Cothin Nelly?" Joy lisped. "All wight; come thee my twee." Though she couldn't recognise me as the cousin of a few weeks earlier, the child was eager to claim me as a new friend. So I escaped with her and Milly to the nursery, where I stayed as long as I dared, letting my cheeks cool. "The twee ith mine and Mamma'th," said Joy; "we're the only oneth young enough to have Christhmath twees, Papa thayth." "Hoh, guess I'm younger'n Mamma, ain't I?" scoffed my other little cousin who had been sent to inquire into our delay. He is perhaps a dozen years old, is called "Boy" officially, and Timothy, Jr., in the family records, and--like Joy--wasn't in the least afraid of me, after five minutes' acquaintance. Boy led me down to the others, but dinner was nearly over before I felt at ease. I'm not used to having at my back a statuesque servant--though this one was not too statuesque to be surprised by my appearance almost out of decorum. And I couldn't help knowing that every one wanted to look at me all the time, which was delicious, but embarrassing. I blushed and gave stupid answers when addressed, and even feared that I might show myself at fault in the etiquette of a city table. It was strange to have forks in so many cases where I've always used spoons. And, though of course I knew what the finger bowls were, I wasn't quite sure how to use them. No one was more puzzled by my appearance than Uncle Timothy himself. As he looked at me--and this he did through most of the meal--certain long gray hairs in his eyebrows seemed to wave up and down, as I had often noticed with the frightened curiosity of a child, like the questioning antennae of an insect. "And what is the school work now?" he asked when the dessert came. "The last time I had the very real pleasure of seeing you, it was--perhaps animalculae?" "The cell," I replied, relieved at the introduction of a topic that I could talk about, "and the cell wall. Protoplasmic movements, you know, and unicellular plants and animals. I'd been making sketches that day of the common amoeba of standing water." "I am not familiar with the--ah--with the amoeba; but doubtless its habits are interesting. And when do the school days end? A young lady looks forward with pleasure, I fancy, to release from--" "Is the amoeba a--some horrid bug, I suppose?" interrupted Aunt Frank; "and you--er--do things to it in that laboratory? How can you? The very thought of such a place! It makes me shiver!" "Oh, but you should see it, so clean and bright; the laboratory's simply beautiful!" "But this is your first winter in the city, and you ought to be enjoying concerts and theatres, meeting people, seeing things." "Oh, I only keep such hours as I elect, being a post graduate; and I've been to several theatres," I said; "Kitty and I get seats in the top gallery." "The--the top gallery?" "At matinees," I hastily explained, "and not--not lately."