had brought her to the station, and there Mrs. Denny
had met her, so that he might go straight back by the next train without
losing any time.

"'Oh, how nice it is,' she said to Mrs. Denny, as she stood in the
middle of the little grass-plot beside the old sun-dial, and felt the
sweet fresh air blowing softly over her face. 'How pretty the garden
must be in summer.'

"'Yes, my dear,' said Mrs. Denny. 'The flowers are very sweet. It seems
to me there never were such sweet ones. And do you hear that sort of
soft roar, Miss Lena? Do you know what that is?"

"Lena stood quite still to listen, and a pleased look came over her
face.

"'Yes,' she said, 'I believe it is the sea. It is like far-away organs,
isn't it?'

"'And sometimes in stormy weather it is like great cannons booming,'
said Mrs. Denny.

"But just then it was difficult to think of storms or cannons, or
anything so unpeaceful. Nothing could seem more perfectly calm and at
rest than that dear old garden the first time Lena ever saw it. I don't
think anything (any place perhaps I should say) can be more delicious
than a little nest of a place like Rockrose, sheltered from the high
winds by beautiful old trees, and yet open enough for the sea breezes to
creep and flutter about it, and sometimes even to give what Lena called
'a salty taste' to the air, if you stood with your mouth open and got a
good drink of it. But I mustn't go on talking so much about the outside
of the house, or I never shall get to the inside, shall I?

"Well, after Lena had admired the garden, and promised herself many nice
runs in it, Mrs. Denny took her into the house again. They passed
through the kitchen, which had a little parlour out of it, where already
tea was set out--it was such a delicious old kitchen, the paved floor as
white and clean as constant scrubbing could make it, and the old
cupboards and settles of dark wood shining like mirrors--they passed
through the kitchen and across a little stone hall with whitewashed
walls, out of which opened the best parlour, only used on very grand
occasions, and up two flights of stone steps ending in a wide short
passage running right across the house. At one end of this passage Mrs.
Denny opened a door, which led into a sort of little ante-room, and here
another rather low door being opened, Lena followed Mrs. Denny into the
bedroom which was to be hers. It was not a very little room--there were
two windows, one at each side--one of