t summer with
father.'

Whether it was the wish of obliging the young ladies, or the desire of
seeing her parents, I cannot pretend to say, but in a luckless hour
Susan yielded, and the party soon reached the village.

Susan's mother was delighted at seeing her, and highly honoured by the
young ladies' presence.

'Oh, sweet, dear creatures!' said the old woman, 'I must get something
for them to eat after their long walk, and my oven's quite hot, and I
can bake them a little cake in a quarter of an hour, and I'll milk Jenny
in ten minutes.'

The temptation of her hot cake and new milk was not to be withstood, and
Susan began taking down some smart china cups, which were arranged in
form upon the mantelpiece, and carefully dusted them for the young
ladies' use.

Eliza followed the old woman into the cowhouse, and began asking a
thousand questions, when her attention was suddenly attracted by the
appearance of a tame lamb, who went up bleating to its mistress with a
view of asking its accustomed breakfast.

'You must wait a little, Billy,' said the woman, 'and let your betters
be served before you. Don't you see that we have got gentlefolks to
breakfast with us this morning?'

Eliza was so delighted with the beauty of the little animal that she
wanted to kiss it, and attempted to restrain it for that purpose, whilst
Billy, ungrateful for her intended kindness, gave a sudden spring and
frisked away.

Eliza followed in hopes of being able to catch him, but he ran baaing
along into the high road.

A woman whose appearance was descriptive of poverty but whose smiling
countenance indicated good nature, at that moment happened to pass, and,
accosting Eliza in a tone of familiarity, said: 'That's not half such a
pretty lamb, miss, as I have got at home, and not a quarter so tame, for
if you did but say, Bob, he'd follow you from one end of the town to the
other, and then he'll fetch and carry like a dog, stand up on his hind
legs, when my husband says "Up" for the thing, and play more tricks than
a young kitten.'

'Oh, the pretty creature,' replied Eliza, 'how I should like to see it!'

'Well, come along with me, miss,' said the woman, 'for I only lives just
across the next field, but you must run as hard as you can, because my
husband is going to work, and he generally takes Bob with him.'

'Well, make haste, then,' said Eliza.

'Give me your hand, miss,' replied the woman; 'for we can run faster
together. But