ws it contained became reduced to ashes, therefore Lord
Rockville might well have given notice, that, for this day at least, he
had a right to be in extremely bad humour.

Lady Rockville privately recommended Harry and Laura to sit quietly down
and play at cat's cradle, which accordingly they did, and when that
became no longer endurable, some dominos were produced. Thus the morning
wore tediously away till about two o'clock, when suddenly the rain
stopped, the sun burst forth with prodigious splendour, every leaf in
the park glittered, as if it had been sprinkled with diamonds, and a
hundred birds seemed singing a chorus of joy, while bees and butterflies
fluttered at the windows and flew away rejoicing.

Harry was the first to observe this delightful change, and with an
exclamation of delight, he sprang from his seat, pulled Laura from hers,
upset the domino-table, and rushed out of the room, slamming the door
with a report like twenty cannons. Away they both flew to the forest,
Laura swinging her bonnet in her hand, and Harry tossing his cap in the
air, while Lord Rockville watched them angrily from the drawing-room
window, saying, in a tone of extreme displeasure, "That boy has a voice
that might do for the town-crier! He laughs so loud, it is enough to
crack every glass in the room! I wish he were condemned to pass a week
in those American prisons where no one is allowed to speak. In short, he
would be better anywhere than here, for I might as well live with a
hammer and tongs, as with the two children together. They are more
restless than the quicksilver figures from China, and I wish they were
as quiet, but my only comfort is, that at any rate they come home
punctually to dinner at five. Nothing is so intolerable as people
dropping in too late and disordering the table."

Meantime, the woods at Holiday House rung with sounds of mirth and
gaiety, while Harry scrambled up the trees like a squirrel, and swung
upon the branches, gathering walnuts and crab-apples for Laura, after
which they both cut their names upon the bark of Lord Rockville's
favourite beech, so that every person who passed that way must observe
the large distinct letters. They were laughing and chatting over this
exploit, both talking at once, as noisy and happy as possible, and
expecting nothing particular to happen, when, all on a sudden, Laura
turned pale, and grasped hold of Harry's arm, saying, in a low
frightened voice,

"Hush, Harry!--hu