On the way back Sylvia asked her mother if she knew that there was a
song with her name in it.
"Why, of course, dear child. You were named for that very Sylvia,"
replied her mother.
"'Then to Sylvia let us sing,
That Sylvia is excelling;
She excels each mortal thing
Upon the dull earth dwelling;
To her let us garlands bring'"--
sang Mrs. Fulton; "and you can thank your father for choosing your
name," she added gaily.
"Oh! But Grace said it was about spelling," explained Sylvia; "but I
like your way best," she added quickly.
There were a good many pleasant things for Sylvia to think of that
night. Not every girl could be named out of a song, she reflected. Then
there was the little colored girl Estralla, who was to arrive the next
day, and besides these interesting facts, she had discovered who really
owned the forts, and could tell her schoolmates on Monday. All these
pleasant happenings made Sylvia forgetful of Elinor Mayhew's unkindness.
Before bedtime she had learned the words of the song from which she was
named. She knew Grace would think that "excelling" was much better than
"spelling."
CHAPTER II
A NEW FRIEND
The next morning Sylvia was awakened by a tapping on her chamber door.
Usually Jennie, the colored girl who helped Aunt Connie in the work of
the house, would come into the room before Sylvia was awake with a big
pitcher of hot water, and Sylvia would open her eyes to see Jennie
unfastening the shutters and spreading out the fresh clothes.
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