Mr. Hose came back at about 12 o'clock he had drunken a little whiskey but it made no effect on him. He woke early the next morning and woke his wife and began telling her all about his evening stroll with Mr. Leanep but he did not say anything about the whiskey he had drunk feering it would shock her. But when the clock had just struck half past six they heard a ring at the door bell and within a few minutes the maid servant came hurrying up stairs and said the Dr. had arrived with a box under his arm and he would like to see Mrs. Hose she said. "Oh well, will you show him up to this bedroom" said Mrs. Hose turning to her husband and saying "you don't mind him coming up, do you dear?" Mary went out of the room grinning, closing the door quietly behind her.

In a few minutes the Dr's. bold step was heard at the door and then a loud knock and with a "come in" from Mrs. Hose he entered the room.

"Oh I say Mrs Hose" he began taking off his hat "I have heard you have been wishing for a baby, so I have brought you one and your wish is granted."

"Oh hurrah" said Mrs. Hose "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Well I don't know" said the Dr. quite, "but I'll leave you to find out and settle matters" so saying Dr. Pauline took his departure shutting the door with his foot, while he held his precious top hat in his two hands.

As soon as the Dr. left the room, Mr. Hose began hurrahing and laughing at the idea of the new baby coming. "I am very glad it's come, arn't you?" he said to his wife.

"Yes, I'm very glad. Hasn't it come early?"

"Yes," said her husband, "but don't you think we had better open the box and look at it?" "Well perhaps we had," said his wife, cutting the string with a pair of scissors which were lying on the bed. Directly the box was opened, a dear little fat baby rolled out on to the eider down. "Oh, isn't it a darling?" said Mrs. Hose, sitting up in bed, and placing it between her and her husband, "What a pity it hasn't got its eyes open."

"Oh, but it's asleep," said Mr. Hose; "they never have their eyes open when they are asleep, except when they are very ill."

"Oh, yes, I see now it is asleep, it is blinking its eyelids."

"Hadn't we better be wrapping it up in something, it must be rather cold, poor little thing," he said, patting its face.

"Oh, yes, of course we must," said his wife, jumping out of bed, never stopping to put on her dressing slippers, she walked over to the wardrobe.

She unlocked it with a small key she kept in her drawer, and on the third shelf she found a small, pale blue shawl, which she had had when she was a baby, and she had kept it ever since, in case she should have a baby when she was grown up.

"Here's the very thing," she said, "the shawl I had when I was a baby," she said, skipping back to bed.

"Oh yes, that's a nice shawl," said Mr. Hose, "and it's pretty big too, we can wrap it all round it; and you can cuddle it close to you, and then it would be warm, I should say."

Mr. Hose did not get up till half past eight oclock he could not stay in bed any later because he was already rather late getting up I expect I shall be late at my offace said Mr. Hose to himself buttning up the last button of his waistcoat, he then slipped on his coat put on his hat took up his walking stick and maid his apperance in the hall takeing a glance at him self in the glass as he passed it, he then opened the hall door and began walking at a quick pace to his offaice he was not so late after all.