Great-aunt Eliza was toasting her toes -- clad , as we noted , in very smart and shapely shoes -- at the stove and looking quite at her ease . Cecily , determined to do her duty even in the face of such fearful odds as Great-aunt Eliza 's deafness , dragged a ponderous , plush-covered album from its corner and proceeded to display and explain the family photographs . She did her brave best but she could not shout like Felicity , and half the time , as she confided to me later on , she felt that Great-aunt Eliza did not hear one word she said , because she did n't seem to take in who the people were , though , just like all deaf folks , she would n't let on . Great-aunt Eliza certainly did n't talk much ; she looked at the photographs in silence , but she smiled now and then . That smile bothered me . It was so twinkly and so very un-great-aunt-Elizaish . But I felt indignant with her . I thought she might have shown a little more appreciation of Cecily 's gallant efforts to entertain . It was very dull for the rest of us . The Story Girl sat rather sulkily in her corner ; she was angry because Felicity would not let her make the rusks , and also , perhaps , a little vexed because she could not charm Great-aunt Eliza with her golden voice and story-telling gift . Felix and I looked at each other and wished ourselves out in the hill field , careering gloriously adown its gleaming crust . But presently a little amusement came our way . Dan , who was sitting behind Great-aunt Eliza , and consequently out of her view , began making comments on Cecily 's explanation of this one and that one among the photographs . In vain Cecily implored him to stop . It was too good fun to give up . For the next half-hour the dialogue ran after this fashion , while Peter and Felix and I , and even the Story Girl , suffered agonies trying to smother our bursts of laughter -- for Great-aunt Eliza could see if she could n't hear : CECILY , SHOUTING : -- `` That is Mr. Joseph Elliott of Markdale , a second cousin of mother 's . '' DAN : -- `` Do n't brag of it , Sis . He 's the man who was asked if somebody else said something in sincerity and old Joe said ` No , he said it in my cellar . ' '' CECILY : -- `` This is n't anybody in our family . It 's little Xavy Gautier who used to be hired with Uncle Roger . ''
DAN : -- `` Uncle Roger sent him to fix a gate one day and scolded him because he did n't do it right , and Xavy was mad XXXXX hops and said ` How you ` spect me to fix dat gate ?
For after as at because if like of that while