ice that sounded to me unlike his
usual one, he asked her if her grandmother was at home.

"Yes, Sir, she is," was her answer.

He turned to me and said, "That is Alice Tracy, Ellen; you can
make acquaintance with her, while I speak to that boy there,
who seems in a fair way to break his neck."

Dismounting hastily, he threw his horse's reins over one of
the spikes of the adjoining railing, and sprang up to the spot
where the boy was perched.

"Is that pretty child your brother?" I inquired of the
beautiful girl who stood before me.

"He is," she answered; and lifting up the blushing boy, who
was hiding himself behind her, she turned his reluctant
glowing little face full towards me, in spite of his
struggling efforts to thrust it into her lap, and then bent
down to kiss his forehead, saying at the same time, "Naughty
Johnny!"

"Will you come to me, Johnny?" was my next attempt at
acquaintance.

"No, I won't," was the answer.

"What, not to ride this pretty black horse?"

"Yes, I will," was as resolutely pronounced; and soon the
little fellow was hoisted up to my knees, and began amusing
himself by vigorously pulling at my Selim's black mane.

"I am come with a message to your grandmother from Mrs.
Middleton; she is anxious to know how you like Bridman."

"I dare say grandmother likes it very much; and Mrs. Middleton
is very kind."

"Do you like it?"

"O yes."

"Better than the last place you lived at?"

"That was very nice, but this is better."

"What do you like better in it?"

"Many things."

At this moment I saw the boy who had been speaking with Henry
dart off suddenly, and scamper away in the direction of the
village. Henry at the same time joined us.

"Ah," he exclaimed, "you have contrived to tame that
unmanageable little savage, who always screams when he sets
eyes on me. Well, suppose you give him a ride up to the
entrance of the village, and then Alice can walk home with us,
and introduce you to her grandmother."

Alice made some objections to Johnny's lengthened ride, which
he (Johnny) resented by pushing her most stoutly away, when
she attempted to remove him from his post; and victoriously
shouting over her discomfiture, he shook the bridle with
exultation, and we proceeded towards the village. As we
arrived in sight of Bridman Cottage, the boy who had preceded
us came running back to meet us; and I heard him say in a low
voice, as he came up to Henry, "Granny's in, and I 'v