“Oh, how beautiful!” exclaimed the child admiringly, as she hastened with her ablutions. When Nettie was arrayed in her new dress she scarcely permitted her maid to tie the last thing, or turn the last long ringlet behind the comb, before she sprang from under her hands and fled downstairs to “show godfather and granny how she looked dressed like a lady.” As Nettie sprang into the presence of her guardian he arose and walked toward her, took her hand gently, and told her that little girls must walk and not jump and skip through the rooms of a house. Then he led her into the breakfast room, where Miss Joe was already installed at the head of the table, attended by a “genteel” waiter. General Garnet seated his ward and took his own place. Hero now made her appearance and stood by her little mistress. But Nettie’s eyes were wandering from the elegancies of the breakfast table, with its damask tablecloth, fine napkins, Sevres china service, etc., to the superb sideboard, with its splendid array of cut-glass and silver plate; and from the rich Turkey carpet to the wonderful paper hangings of the walls that showed the city of Paris by morning light. And Nettie’s maid had several times to remind her that little ladies did not stare about, but ate their breakfast prettily, before she could withdraw her attention from the new glories around her and fix it upon her breakfast. But before the meal was half over Nettie had sprung up and bounded out of the room in search of more novelties. The hall, the library and the picture-gallery, the parlor and the drawing room, the saloon and the conservatory—all on the first floor—were in turn invaded and overhauled by the eager, impetuous child. Then all the chambers on the second floor were visited and ransacked. And then the indefatigable little explorer made for the attic, and besieged the doors of the locked-up rooms there. Through all these runnings and ramblings Hero followed her, telling her that little ladies should not do this, or that, or the other. When night came, a little tired with her incessant running, and a little fretted and dispirited with the ceaseless accompaniment of her maid’s tuitions and fault-finding, Nettie went into the library, where her guardian sat luxuriating in his easy-chair at a table covered with books and papers before a fine fire.