severed the hated yoke that bound them under the thraldom of the
tyrant England?"

"Oh, yes, I forgot. I'm sure I beg your pardon for not recollecting
what must be to you a sacred day!" said Fritz, somewhat deceived by the
girl's affected enthusiasm, Celia having spoken as grandiloquently as if
she were an actress declaiming tragedy.

"Sacred day, fiddlesticks!" she replied, laughing at his grave face and
solemn manner. "I guess we don't worry ourselves much about that! We
try and have a good time of it, and leave it to the politicians and
skallywags to do the speechifying and bunkum! The boys have the best
time of it, I reckon."

"Yes," he replied, his ideas as to the patriotic associations of
American citizens considerably modified. "They seem to enjoy
themselves, if the noise they're making affords any criterion of that!"

"I guess so," answered the girl. "They've burnt a few fire crackers
this morning; but, it's nothing to what they do at Boston. Law, why you
should see the goings on there'll be in front of Faneuil Hall to-night,
when the `Bonfire Boys' set to work!"

"By that time, I imagine, I'll be on the sea," said Fritz. "Your father
told us last evening that he would start to-day if the wind was fair,
and I noticed a bit of a breeze blowing through my window when I was
dressing."

"Yes," put in Mrs Brown; "and he said this mornin', 'fore he went off
down town, to tell you to be sure and hurry up as soon as ever you'd
swallowed your breakfast--not for what I want to hasten you away,
though!"

"Did he?" said Fritz, bolting a bit of buckwheat cake and hastily rising
from the table. "If that's the case, I'd better be off to see about my
traps."

"Bless you, they're all aboard hours ago! Eric took them with him when
he started off with pa," remarked Celia demurely.

"Oh, you saw him before he went, then?" said Fritz.

"Yes, I wished your brother good-bye," replied the girl, colouring up.

"Oh!" repeated Fritz meaningly, with a sly glance at her.

"And now, Mr Dort, we must wish you good-bye, too," interposed Mrs
Brown, in order to distract his attention from Celia, who looked a bit
confused by Fritz's interrogatories respecting Master Eric.

"Aren't you coming down to see us off?" said he.

"Guess not," replied Mrs Brown with much composure, her husband's
departure with his ship being of such periodic occurrence as to have
long since lost all sense of novelty. "We'll see you when you ge