ay was, "How do you do?" which
sounded very stiff and formal, compared with what she felt.

But Blanche was equal to the occasion.

"How nice of you to come and meet me!" she said. "Dr. Hunter told us we
might come this way, as it is so much nearer. But how did you know just
when to come?"

"I was watching from my bedroom window."

"Then I believe we can see each other's bedroom windows, because mine
looks to the front of the house. How lovely! We shall be able to signal
to each other. Won't that be fun?"

"Yes, indeed it will. We shall be able to say 'good-night' and
'good-morning' to each other, and all sorts of things." And Marjory's
busy brain at once began to devise methods of signalling.

"What a lovely garden!" exclaimed Blanche as they walked towards the
house. "Ours is all weeds and rubbish, it has been left alone so long.
Nobody seems to have bothered about the garden while the house was
empty."

"It will soon begin to look nice, now you've come," said Marjory
consolingly; and, indeed, it seemed to her as if the very flowers in the
garden must grow to greet the coming of her friend.

"What a lot there is to see here!" said Blanche enthusiastically. "Where
shall we begin?"

"Well, let's have tea first," suggested Marjory. "Then we can go over
the house, then the garden; and then Peter has promised to take us to
the Low Farm--that is, if you would like it," she added, looking shyly
at her companion.

"I shall simply love it all," Blanche replied emphatically; and then,
in a burst of confidence, "I say, I'm awfully glad you haven't got on
your best frock--at least," quickly, "it's the same one you had on
yesterday. Mother said she didn't think I need put mine on; that we
might be in the garden, perhaps, and I should enjoy it better if I
didn't have to think about my frock."

"I never put my best one on unless I'm obliged to," said Marjory. "I
always feel so boxed up in it, and it always reminds me of sermons and
tea-parties."

Blanche laughed merrily. "Oh!" she cried, "are the sermons very long
here?"

"Well," laughing too, "they are not very short; but that's not why I
dislike them. It's because uncle likes me to write them down
afterwards."

"Oh, how _dreadful_! And do you manage to do it?"

"I try to. Sometimes it's easier than others; but sometimes there are so
many firstlies and secondlies divided into other firstlies and
secondlies that I get into a regular muddle. Uncle always says tha