aid Naomi, as she pulled up the
blinds in her young mistress's room the day after the scenes described in
the foregoing chapters.

Naomi's rosy face was glowing with health and happiness, and this seemed
to strike Sarah, for she said, as she looked at her, 'Is it your
birthday, Naomi?'

'To-day, Miss Sarah? Why, no. I was seventeen the 1st of October. I'm a
year and three months older 'n you, miss.'

'What are you so pleased for, then?' she asked.

'I dunno as I'm more pleased than usual, unless it be the fine weather
makes one feel happy like.'

'It doesn't make me feel very happy; at least not when I'm at home. I
like a fine day at school, because we can go for a long ride or walk, or
play tennis or something out of doors,' observed Sarah.

'And so you can do all them things here, miss; there's horses and
carriages, and motor-cars, and a beautiful bit of grass for tennis; and
if you want a nice walk you can go over the fields and through
Brocklehurst coppice to Driffington, or by the Dunnings to Thornborough,'
said Naomi, chattering with freedom while she prepared the bath in the
little bathroom attached to Sarah's suite of rooms.

Her mistress let her chatter on, and listened while she gave an
enthusiastic description of the lovely country walks and rides and drives
to be taken in the immediate neighbourhood; and when the maid stopped for
a moment to take breath, Sarah remarked, 'Yes; but I don't care to do any
of these things up here. Do you know, Naomi, when the train gets near
Ousebank, and I see its horrid high chimneys and all the air black, I
feel as if the smoke came and wrapped itself round me and smothered me
somehow, and I don't breathe freely again till I'm in the train going
back to school.'

Naomi stopped short at the door of the bathroom, her mouth wide open, and
stared at her young mistress. She said at last, 'You'll have had a
nightmare, I'll be thinking;' then, cheering up at this explanation of
Miss Sarah's unpleasant sensations, she went on cheerfully with her
preparations for her mistress's toilet. 'And the very best thing you can
do, Miss Sarah, is to go for a lovely ride across Cowpen, and over t'
hill to Driffington. My! think of all the lasses in the mills as 'u'd
give their eyes to have the chance! There's Liza Anne now, she'd be glad
eno' of a holiday; these bright days make her back ache dreadful, so she
says.'

'Liza Anne's in Clay's Mills, isn't she?' inquired Sarah. Liza Anne