One day when old Mr. Frewen was a young man of eighteen his father came home and said , ` Sandy , I bought a piano at Simon Ward 's sale to-day . You 're to go to-morrow and bring it home . ' So next day Sandy started off on horseback with a pair of rope reins to lead the piano home . He thought it was some kind of livestock . `` And then Uncle Roger told about old Mark Ward who got up to make a speech at a church missionary social when he was drunk . -LRB- Of course he did n't get drunk at the social . He went there that way . -RRB- And this was his speech . '' ` Ladies and gentlemen , Mr. Chairman , I ca n't express my thoughts on this grand subject of missions . It 's in this poor human critter ' -- patting himself on the breast -- ` but he ca n't git it out . ' `` I 'll tell you these stories when you get well . I can tell them ever so much better than I can write them . `` I know Felicity is wondering why I 'm writing such a long letter , so perhaps I 'd better stop . If your mother reads it to you there is a good deal of it she may not understand , but I think your Aunt Jane would . `` I remain `` your very affectionate friend , `` SARA STANLEY . '' I did not keep a copy of my own letter , and I have forgotten everything that was in it , except the first sentence , in which I told Peter I was awful glad he was getting better . Peter 's delight on receiving our letters knew no bounds . He insisted on answering them and his letter , painstakingly disinfected , was duly delivered to us . Aunt Olivia had written it at his dictation , which was a gain , as far as spelling and punctuation went . But Peter 's individuality seemed merged and lost in Aunt Olivia 's big , dashing script .
Not until the Story Girl read the letter to us XXXXX the granary by jack-o-lantern light , in a mimicry of Peter 's very voice , did we savour the real bouquet of it .
If about as at except in of on than to