on missionary duty among the blacks; here were we--The Seraph
expressed our feelings exactly just before we fell asleep. "We'm terr'ble
lucky chaps," he said, in the Devon dialect, "ban't us?"

V

Our bedroom window was always tightly closed, and, at night, so were the
shutters; yet a sunbeam, adventurous, like ourselves, found its way through
a broken slat, and, cleaving the heavy air of the chamber, flew straight to
The Seraph's nose, where it perched, lending a radiant prominence to that
soft feature.

The Seraph roused himself. He opened his eyes; the sunbeam found them two
dark forest pools, and plunged therein. The Seraph opened his mouth and
laughed, showing all his little white teeth, and the sunbeam dived
straightway down his throat.

"Hurrah!" cried The Seraph, "let's get up!" And scrambled out of bed.

At the same instant came a loud tapping on the door of Mary Ellen's
bedroom. We surmised, correctly, that Mrs. Handsomebody, listening in vain
for the sound of her handmaiden's descent of the back stairs had risen
wrathfully, and come to summon her in person. A chill of apprehension ran
along my spine. I got up and stole to the door, followed by my brothers.
Through a crack we peered fearfully in the direction of the rapping, our
trembling bodies close together.

Mrs. Handsomebody, in purple dressing-gown and red woollen slippers, stood
in a listening attitude, her gaze bent on the door that hid Granfa.

"Are you aware of the hour?" she demanded peremptorily. "Rise at once and
open this door."

There was a creaking of the mattress and sound of shuffling feet; the door
was opened reluctantly, and Granfa, bare-legged, white of beard and
red-shirted, stood in the aperture.

Mrs. Handsomebody did not shriek; rather she made the inarticulate noises
of one in a nightmare and put out her hands as if to keep Granfa off.
"Merciful Heaven!" she whispered. "What has happened to you?"

"I do feel far from peart," replied Granfa.

"This is horrible. Did you feel it coming on?"

"Off and on for a long time," said Granfa. "It's been a terr'ble
experience, and I ban't likely to be ever the same again, I'm afeared."

Mrs. Handsomebody looked ready to faint.

At that moment, Mary Ellen, having heard the voice of her mistress,
projected her face above the doorsill of the backstairs. It was always a
rosy face, but now with excitement and shamefacedness, it was as red as a
harvest moon, coming up from the darkness