etween her sobs. It
did not mean to scratch; it was a dear little kitten. She was very fond
of it. It should not be sent away. It should stay and sleep on her
bed.

At last she submitted to have her arm bathed, and discovered that it was
not such a very bad scratch after all, and soon the arrival of the
musical box gave her something else to think of. For the time the white
kitten was forgotten, and it took the opportunity of crawling behind the
curtains, where it curled itself up and went to sleep.

But though the musical box had come, the rain still continued to fall,
and as there was no possibility of going out, it was settled that
Philippa should play with her friends in the long gallery.

The long gallery was a very delightful place to amuse one's self in on a
rainy day. It was the only old part of Haughton which remained, and it
was much prettier than the new. Six tall latticed windows stood in
recesses all down one side, and facing them were dark old portraits of
straight-nosed ladies with powdered hair, and gentlemen in wigs. These
had the gallery all to themselves, for there were no furniture or
ornaments in it, except some great china vases in the window-seats. At
either end there was a high stone mantelpiece, carved all over in quaint
patterns. The ceiling was oak, and so was the floor--this last very
slippery, so that it was as good as ice to slide upon.

Dennis and Maisie were glad to hear that they were to go into the long
gallery when they arrived, and they found all Philippa's visitors
assembled there, with the musical box tinkling out its tunes in one of
the window-seats. Miss Mervyn, who felt the long gallery very cold and
draughty, was there too; she had brought in a chair from the play-room,
and sat shivering by the huge fireplace, where a fire had been lighted;
but the children, warmed with their games, looked merry and gay.

"Let's have a dance!" exclaimed Philippa, as the musical box began a
lively waltz tune; "Dennis shall be my partner."

All the little figures in their bright dresses went whirling down the
long shining floor, two and two, skirts fluttering and hair streaming
out with the rapid movement. At the end of the long gallery the musical
box was quite invisible, and its little thin voice could hardly be
heard.

"It's like a fairy tune being played up in the air," said Maisie.

The musical box finished its waltz, and almost immediately struck up a
solemn march.

"N