these positive, rather managing people hit the right
nail on the head! The fact that England and Germany
were now at war _would_ sometimes make things
a little awkward with regard to poor old Anna.
Something of the kind had, indeed, happened on this
very morning, less than two hours ago. And at the
time it had been very painful, very disagreeable....

Mrs. Otway and her daughter, each opening a
newspaper before beginning breakfast, had looked up,
and in awe-struck tones simultaneously exclaimed,
"Why, we are at war!" and "War has been declared!"
And then Mrs. Otway, as was her wont,
had fallen into eager, impulsive talk. But she had
to stop abruptly when the dining-room door opened
-- for it revealed the short, stumpy figure of Anna,
smiling, indeed beaming even more than usual, as
she brought in the coffee she made so well. Mother
and daughter had looked at one another across the
table, an unspoken question in each pair of kind eyes.
That question was: _Did_poor_old_Anna_know?_

The answer came with dramatic swiftness, and in
the negative. Anna approached her mistress, still
with that curious look of beaming happiness in her
round, fat, plain face, and after she had put down
the coffee-jug she held out her work-worn hand. On
it was a pink card, and in her excitement she broke
into eager German.

"The child has come!" she exclaimed. "Look!
This is what I have received, gracious lady," and she
put the card on her mistress's plate.

What was written, or rather printed, on that fancy-looking
card, ran, when Englished, as follows:

[[17]]

p016 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p017w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p018

v?