rom his chair.

"I shall be only too happy to see you again, my boy; but what say Harry
and Philip. Have they asked you to come again?"

"We did not ask him," said Philip; "but Fred knows we want him to come
again."

"I don't want him to go now," said Harry, with his mouth full of cake.
"Do, Papa, write and ask for another week's holiday for him!"

"But you go back to school yourselves the day after to-morrow," said Mr
Inglis; "and what would you do then? No, my boys, depend upon it the
real secret of enjoyment is to leave off when you have had enough; and
nothing is more surfeiting, more cloying, than too much pleasure. Fred
must come down again; and I hope the next time he visits us we shall not
nearly have him drowned. I fear that he will take a sad report of us
all back with him to town."

Fred was very anxious to go away good friends with everybody, and would
have liked very much to have shaken hands with Mr Jones, Bill Jenkins,
and the Stapleses; but this could not very well be managed, for Mr
Jones had left for the sea-side, and Bill Jenkins had gone to a
situation. However, Fred bade farewell to everybody he could think of,
and left messages for those he could not see; and at last the time of
starting arrived, and Old Sam brought the pony and chaise round to the
door.

The box was lifted in; and the little hamper filled with fruit, and the
large bandbox full of curiosities that Fred had collected, all found a
place by the departing visitor. The morning was brighter than ever, and
everything around him looked so fresh and lovely, that a great sob would
keep trying to get up into poor Fred's throat to make a noise, and the
efforts he made to keep it down quite upset him. He gave such a longing
farewell look up at the front of the house, and round at the garden,
then kissed Mrs Inglis, and shook hands with Sam, who returned the
grasp warmly, and said in a whisper about the greatest thing he could
say, and that was that he wished he "warn't a-going."

Harry and Philip were in the dickey of the four-wheel chaise, both
sitting in very uncomfortable positions on account of Fred's luggage;
but I very much doubt whether they ever thought of their position, so
engrossed were they with the _one_ sole idea--that Fred was going, and
the holidays were over. But Mr Inglis had now taken the reins from
Sam, and had mounted to his seat; so that nothing remained but for Fred
to follow his example, for the train wou