HALL I pick it for you, darling?' Hilda
Montgomery said one day to her little sister
Dora, who was then standing on tip-toe, with
her little arms stretched out as high as they

could reach, to gather a rose at an impossible height from a tree in Hilda's own garden. 'And even if you could reach it, you know, I think you'd better not try, because you might prick your dear little fingers; and you wouldn't like that, would you, "Baby Dora?" the kind little sister went on, for Hilda herself was only a little girl of eight, although sometimes to hear her talk to Dora you might fancy that she was much older.

'Baby Dora,' as Hilda had herself named her little sister, was just two years old; and as Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery had never had any children but these two, we can hardly

be surprised that Hilda took a sort of little motherly care of an only sister more than six years younger than herself.

'Miss Hilda prick finger too,' a little black boy exclaimed, who, having heard what Hilda said, now came running up to the children, carrying an orange in each hand, which he had just picked for them from a tree he had climbed, Grandfather Charles having given him permission to do so; and in another moment Hilda and Dora were peeling their oranges, whilst the rose which the little one had wanted was lying at her feet, and another had been gathered, by Cornelius, for Hilda.

Dora loved to peel oranges, but out of respect to her pinafores was seldom allowed to do so, and she was now far too busy with her orange either to notice her flower or to remember that she had wanted to have it.

This little black boy, Cornelius Burton, had now often very thoughtful ways about him, which were perhaps copied a little from Miss Hilda's own 'pretty manners,' which he, with many other black boys, and black men and women also in Grenada, admired very much.

'Grandfather carl, Miss Hilda, a garn ya,' he then said, and turned to scamper off; but Hilda had just finished peeling her orange, and called him back to give him half of it, which he gladly accepted. A little while ago Cornelius used to steal as many oranges as he wanted, but lately he had given up doing this.

Dora then wished him to wait and have half of her orange too, for she always liked to copy Hilda if she could; but the boy knew that if he waited until her orange was peeled, old grandfather would have to call again and again;

and as he was in a hurry for him to go and cut guinea grass for Miss Hilda's pony, which, not being quite well, had been kept up in the stable for two days, Cornelius knew that he must lose no more time, and ran away.

Guinea-grass is tall, waving, beautiful grass, that grows in the West Indies, and which horses like very much indeed.

'Isn't Nenus tind boy?' said Dora, who, not having patience to wait any longer for the rest of the peel to come off, dug her little teeth, as she spoke, into the midst of her orange.

Hilda was a dark, little, sunburnt, bright-eyed, brightfaced, happy-looking child. And it was no wonder that she looked happy, for her life was a very, very happy one, all sunshine, through which not a single cloud had ever seemed to penetrate. But her life was therefore not all play ; indeed, had it been so, no doubt it would have had many clouds, for if all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,' I am quite sure that all play and no work makes Jack not only a dull and stupid, but also very often a cross and discontented boy. Too much play tires as well as too much of anything else; but Hilda had just work and just play enough, and her work consisted of lessons learnt with, and made easy by her mother.

An only child for six years, Hilda had been much indulged; but so far indulging had not seemed to spoil her. She was naturally so kind-hearted a little girl that she always seemed to be thinking of others, and trying to make them happy, and in consequence everybody loved her, her nurse most dearly; and she and Dora both loved their nurse very fondly also. Old Grandfather Charles, an 'oldtime-somebody,' as an old man was often called, who had

lived and worked for sixty years, longer than anybody else, on the property that now belonged to Mr. Montgomery, thought that there was no one in the world to equal little Miss Hilda; as did also his little grandson Cornelius, or Nenus, this latter being Dora's name for the boy.

Hilda's home was in Grenada, a very lovely island, called by the poet Coleridge the most beautiful of the Antilles, and every one of these West India islands is noted for its beauty.

The cocoa-nut palm tree grew there; the orange, the pomegranate, the banana, the mango, the neseberry surrounded this little girl's island home; also the pine-apple, the avocado pear, the grenadilla, and many other fruits and vegetables.

The island of Grenada is only twenty-four miles long and twelve miles broad.

A mountain-range traverses the whole length of the island, of which the highest peak is called St. Catherine.

Many small rivers have their rise in Grenada, some of which have very strange names, such as the Great Bucolet, Duquesne, Beau Séjour; and it was one of Hilda's great delights, when she and Dora went for short walks with their nurse and nurse-maid, to take off her shoes and stockings and paddle in some little river, which her nurse often allowed her to do. Hilda loved paddling-she loved, indeed, most amusements; but there were not many games at which she could play in Grenada, partly on account of the very hot climate, and partly because she had neither brothers to teach her games nor sisters to help her play at them, for Dora was of course too small.

Grenada is divided into six districts, called parishes; and

the capital of the island is St. George, which consists of hills and valleys, dotted here and there with houses.

Grenada has one of the finest harbours in the West Indies, and this port is a coal depot and central station for British West Indian mail steamers.

The bay is almost landlocked, and so encircled by hills. that when looked at from a height it appears to be quite surrounded by land.

In the centre of the island is a large lake, two and a half miles round.

Some of the houses in St. George are grouped together, others are scattered about, and called a market-place.

Grenada produces, in large quantities, sugar, rum, molasses, and cacao. Molasses is syrup that drains from sugar whilst it is being made; and cacao is the cocoa or chocolate tree.

I have thus far described Grenada to you that you may understand a little where Hilda lived.

Her father owned a large sugar-estate in Grenada, where many sugar-canes were grown, from which sugar was obtained. The name of this property was Belvidere. The Great or Estate's House, where the Montgomerys lived, was about one hundred feet above the sugar-works, these latter consisting of a mill, a boiling-house (where the sugar was boiled), the book-keepers' houses, trash-houses, and the stillhouse, where rum was manufactured. The boiling-house had a large chimney, and the still-house a small one. In the distance, surrounded by trees, was a village, where the people lived who worked on the estate. A great many people are employed on a sugar-estate. Hilda every now and then begged to be allowed to go over the works and have every