and wrath
combined became too much for the weakness of his frame, and he fell back
and lay upon the hard ground in a fainting fit.

At such times, as everybody said (especially those whom he knocked about
in his lively moments), this boy looked wonderfully lovely. His features
were almost perfect; and he had long eyelashes like an Andalusian girl,
and cheeks more exquisite than almost any doll's, a mouth of fine curve,
and a chin of pert roundness, a neck of the mould that once was called
"Byronic," and curly dark hair flying all around, as fine as the very
best peruke. In a word, he was just what a boy ought not to be, who
means to become an Englishman.

Such, however, was not the opinion of a creature even more beautiful
than he, in the truer points of beauty. Coming with a pitcher for some
water from the beck, Insie of the Gill (the daughter of Bat and Zilpie
of the Gill) was quite amazed as she chanced round a niche of the bank
upon this image. An image fallen from the sun, she thought it, or at any
rate from some part of heaven, until she saw the pony, who was testing
the geology of the district by the flavor of its herbage. Then Insie
knew that here was a mortal boy, not dead, but sadly wounded; and she
drew her short striped kirtle down, because her shapely legs were bare.

Lancelot Carnaby, coming to himself (which was a poor return for him),
opened his large brown eyes, and saw a beautiful girl looking at him. As
their eyes met, his insolent languor fell--for he generally awoke from
these weak lapses into a slow persistent rage--and wonder and unknown
admiration moved something in his nature that had never moved before.
His words, however, were scarcely up to the high mark of the moment.
"Who are you?" was all he said.

"I am called 'Insie of the Gill.' My father is Bat of the Gill, and my
mother Zilpie of the Gill. You must be a stranger, not to know us."

"I never heard of you in all my life; although you seem to be living on
my land. All the land about here belongs to me; though my mother has it
for a little time."

"I did not know," she answered, softly, and scarcely thinking what she
said, "that the land belonged to anybody, besides the birds and animals.
And is the water yours as well?"

"Yes; every drop of it, of course. But you are quite welcome to a
pitcherful." This was the rarest affability of Pet; and he expected
extraordinary thanks.

But Insie looked at him with surprise. "I am very much