'Mamma says it in the transparency of youthfulness. You know he has
never been at school; so his thoughts come out in security of sympathy,
without fear of being laughed at. But it is very late. Good night.'

The frost turned to rain the next morning, and the torrents streamed
against the window, seeming to have a kind of attraction for Philip and
Guy, who stood watching them.

Guy wondered if the floods would be out at Redclyffe and his cousins
were interested by his description of the sudden, angry rush of the
mountain streams, eddying fiercely along, bearing with them tree and
rock, while the valleys became lakes, and the little mounds islets; and
the trees looked strangely out of proportion when only their branches
were visible. 'Oh! a great flood is famous fun,' said he.

'Surely,' said Philip, 'I have heard a legend of your being nearly
drowned in some flood.

'Yes,' said Guy, 'I had a tolerable ducking.'

'Oh, tell us about it!' said Amy.

'Ay! I have a curiosity to hear a personal experience of drowning,' said
Charles. 'Come, begin at the beginning.'

'I was standing watching the tremendous force of the stream, when I saw
an unhappy old ram floating along, bleating so piteously, and making
such absurd, helpless struggles, that I could not help pulling off my
coat and jumping in after him. It was very foolish, for the stream was
too strong--I was two years younger then. Moreover, the beast was very
heavy, and not at all grateful for any kind intentions, and I found
myself sailing off to the sea, with the prospect of a good many rocks
before long; but just then an old tree stretched out its friendly
arms through the water; it stopped the sheep, and I caught hold of the
branches, and managed to scramble up, while my friend got entangled in
them with his wool'--

'Omne quum Proteus pecus egit altos
Visere montes,'

quoted Philip.

'Ovium et summa, genus haesit ulmo,'

added Guy.

'_Ovium_,' exclaimed Philip, with a face of horror. 'Don't you know that
_O_ in _Ovis_ is short? Do anything but take liberties with Horace!'

'Get out of the tree first, Guy,' said Charles, 'for at present your
history seems likely to end with a long ohone!'

'Well, Triton--not Proteus--came to the rescue at last,' said Guy,
laughing; 'I could not stir, and the tree bent so frightfully with the
current that I expected every minute we should