l be glad of a bit of a fire after your cold
drive?'

She led me through the square hall, wainscoted up to the ceiling with
old oak, and having an oaken staircase with very thick balustrades on
either side going up from the middle of it, into a long, low room
which, with crimson druggeting on the floor, and the same coloured
curtains to the windows, looked very cosy and bright in the firelight.

She left me saying she would bring in tea, and I, seating myself in an
easy chair by the fire, spread out my feet in front of the blaze, and
looked about me curiously. Comfort certainly was more studied than
elegance in this room. No flimsy draperies or works of art adorned the
chairs and couches. A small square oak table stood in the centre of
the room. On it was a beautiful chrysanthemum, some magazines and
papers, and a pair of riding gloves thrown carelessly down. Two large
crimson-covered couches occupied the deep recesses on either side of
the fire place. A well-filled bookcase stood opposite between the
pretty casement windows, and a stand of ferns at the end of the room
was in front of another window, through which I could catch a glimpse
of some distant hills and the setting sun disappearing behind them.
The walls, like the hall, were wainscoted with old oak, but some
beautiful water-colours and old china relieved their somewhat sombre
hue.

The old servant soon returned, wheeling in a round table up to the
fire, and bringing in a tempting-looking tea with plenty of hot cakes
and scones.

'Help yourself, miss,' she said, in a motherly sort of tone; 'the
mistress may be out some time yet. I hope you didn't find the open
trap cold. John, he will have his way sometimes, but I said to him you
would have been better with the closed wagonette. I hope John didn't
make too free, miss? He has a longer tongue, I tell him, than any
woman's; but he has seen a deal of life! He was London born and bred,
and goes up every year to visit his friends there. He's getting old
now, as I am myself; but though he speaks sharp, he's as easy to be
managed as a baby. Any one can twist him round with their little
finger, so long as they just flatter him a bit.'

How I laughed to myself when she left me, and wondered when they both
got together whose tongue was the longest!

I enjoyed the tea provided for me, and liked the quiet and
solitude--such a contrast to the Forsyths' afternoon meal. Then, as no
one came, a sudden long