with the lady of the manor's compliments; but instead
of being grateful, they were never taken in; and my Polly--'Miss Polly
Hopkins,' you know--very wisely took it all to her grandmother."

"To her grandmother instead of mine, as the Major facetiously calls her.
And now he says this is her portrait; and instead of giving his reasons,
runs away! Really you must excuse me, Aunt Mary, for thinking that your
good husband has a little too much upon his mind sometimes."

The old lady laughed, as I loved to see her do. "Well, my dear, after
that, I think you had better have it out with him. He comes home to tea
at 6.30, which used to be half past six in my days. He is very tired
then, though he never will allow it, and it would not be fair to attack
him. I give him a mutton-chop, or two poached eggs, or some other trifle
of nourishment. And then I make him doze for an hour and a half, to
soothe his agitated intellect. And when he wakes he has just one glass
of hot water and sugar, with a little Lochnagar. And then he is equal to
any thing--backgammon, bezique, or even conversation."

Impatient as I was, I saw nothing better; and by this time I was
becoming used to what all of us must put up with--the long postponement
of our heavy cares to the light convenience of others. Major Hockin
might just as well have stopped, when he saw how anxious I was. Uncle
Sam would have stopped the mill itself, with a dozen customers waiting;
but no doubt he had spoiled me; and even that should not make me bitter.
Aunt Mary and I understood one another. We gazed away over the breadth
of the sea and the gleam of its texture, and we held our peace.

Few things are more surprising than the calm way in which ripe age looks
on at things which ought to amaze it. And yet any little one of its own
concerns grows more important, perhaps, than ever as the shadow of the
future dwindles. Major Hockin had found on the beach a pebble with a
streak of agate in it. He took it as the harbinger of countless
agates, and resolved to set up a lapidary, with a tent, or even a shop,
perhaps--not to pay, but to be advertised, and catch distinguished
visitors.

"Erema, you are a mighty finder; you found the biggest nugget yet
discovered. You know about stones from the Rocky Mountains, or at least
the Sierra Nevada. You did not discover this beautiful agate, but you
saw and greatly admired it. We might say that a 'young lady, eminent for
great skill in lithology, f