morning, noon
The worst of it was , that Aunt Anne , who had not been abroad for many years , said she was going to let Barbara manage the journey and the sight-seeing in Paris , and sent her a guide-book to read up everything of interest . She said she was doing this to give her niece experience and prepare her for being by herself later on ; but Donald declared she wanted to see `` what kind of stuff '' she was made of , and that if Barbara did not do things well , she would scoff at her greatly for thinking she could manage a house and children while she could not succeed in finding her way about France . `` But I know the old lady , and we 'll just show her you 're _ our _ sister , and before we 've done you 'll know that guide-book from cover to cover , '' he assured her . They had only a week left , for Aunt Anne was very rapid in her decisions and plans ; but they studied the guide-book morning , noon , and night . It was most instructive holiday work , Donald said , and when Barbara had not time to read it , Frances and he read for her and poured their knowledge into her ears at meal-times . They learned what coloured omnibus went to the different parts of Paris , and on what days different buildings were open , and by the end of the week they all felt they could `` personally conduct '' tours all over Paris . It was rather hard when the last day came , because they knew that the house would seem horribly empty without Barbara .