of the guns, powder, and shot, and any little odd
things requiring to be done I am ready to be called on to help."

"Very good. And you, Madame?" I gave her a warning glance not to say
anything about lessons, so, after a pause, she said, "I will undertake
to prepare the table for meals, and collect fruit and flowers, with the
help of my three little ones."

"Thank you very much, that will be very kind, and now you elder girls!"

"Oh! we'll do as we are bid, except lessons," said Gatty.

"Then, Gatty and Serena, you must always bring the water from the brook
morning and evening, and you, Sybil, must see that the children are tidy
and that the things all put away in the tent, and you must, all three,
help Jenny to wash up the things, and put them in their places tidy. And
now then we will all disperse, until eleven o'clock, when Jenny must
give us dinner as usual, and then we will all take siesta, and in the
evening we shall be ready for no end of fun and mischief. Our dinner may
seem somewhat early, but then we were obliged to be up very early to
enjoy the cool part of the day." But I will begin my next chapter with a
description of our doings.

CHAPTER XIV.

The first person that awoke in the morning generally rose and opened the
tent letting in the fresh sea breeze. This might be between two and
three in the morning, and always the most refreshing part of the whole
day. The first bathing party then went down to the sea, consisting of
Schillie, the three girls, Madame, and myself. Before we were well out
of the water, and finishing our toilettes under the tent, the boys used
to come rushing down with Jenny in attendance, who was always fearing
her heedless Master Felix would get into danger. Finally the three
little girls, with both the maids, habited in readiness to dip the
unwilling ones, finished the morning ablutions.

Afterwards we all proceeded to the great chestnut tree, where we had
prayers, the morning psalms, and lessons, and sung a hymn, which sounded
in that lone but lovely spot so soft and beautiful that it used to bring
tears to my eyes. So many young voices, gave a peculiar flute-like sound
to the music, and as each cadence rose swelling through the branches of
the great tree above us, so did the birds rise in clouds above us,
returning nearer and nearer, as the soft voices died away, at the end
of each verse. And to look at each young face uplifted with fresh sweet
feelings of piety and l