explain everything as she went along,
ghost stories as well; and being a remarkably affable lady, with a
great gift of language, we had a very intelligent and edifying lecture
in every room we passed through, now upon ornithology, now chronology,
next on pisciculture and the habits of stuffed pike and other
fish. But this was not all. Our guide was wonderfully well read in
architecture, and displayed no end of knowledge in pointing out the
different orders and sub-orders, periods of, and blendings of the
same, so that we were quite ready for lunch as soon as that period
should mercifully arrive.

But it was not exactly yet. There were many other curiosities to be
shown. For instance, we had not done the Warburton Library, which was
a most singular apartment, as we were informed, I don't know how
many stories high, at the top of a very singular tower, with as many
languages in it as the Tower of Babel itself, and very nearly as tall.
One only wished the whole thing would topple down before we could come
to it.

At last, however, we climbed to this lofty eminence and revelled
as well as we could amongst the musty old books, which themselves
revelled in the dust of ages.

Having seen all the shelves and the backs of the books, and heard all
the accounts of them without receiving any information, we commenced
our descent by means of the winding staircase towards the garden. On
our way a curious circumstance took place. There was an enormously
great Danish boarhound, which had, unperceived by us, followed Mrs.
Hailstone from the library; it pushed by without ceremony, and
proceeded until it reached the lady, who was some distance in advance.
He then carefully took the skirt of her dress with his mouth and
carried it like an accomplished train-bearer until she reached the
bottom of the stairs and the garden, when he let go the dress and
gazed as an interested spectator. We were now in the midst of a very
beautiful and well-kept garden, with a lawn like velvet stretching far
away to the lake, where ultimately we should have to wait for a
boat to ferry us along its placid water. This was part of our
entertainment, and a very beautiful part it was.

But before we parted from Mrs. Hailstone, and while I was talking to
her, I felt my hand in the boarhound's mouth, and a pretty capacious
mouth it was, for I seemed to touch nothing but its formidable fangs.

It was not a pleasant experience, but I preserved sufficient presenc