hardly
begun to realise the golden prospects which he had seen before him.
This had happened some fifteen years before our story commenced, so
that the two girls hardly retained any memory of their father. For
the first five years of her widowhood, Mrs Dale, who had never been
a favourite of the squire's, lived with her two little girls in such
modest way as her very limited means allowed. Old Mrs Dale, the
squire's mother, then occupied the Small House. But when old Mrs Dale
died, the squire offered the place rent-free to his sister-in-law,
intimating to her that her daughters would obtain considerable social
advantages by living at Allington. She had accepted the offer, and
the social advantages had certainly followed. Mrs Dale was poor, her
whole income not exceeding three hundred a year, and therefore her
own style of living was of necessity very unassuming; but she saw
her girls becoming popular in the county, much liked by the families
around them, and enjoying nearly all the advantages which would
have accrued to them had they been the daughters of Squire Dale of
Allington. Under such circumstances it was little to her whether or
no she were loved by her brother-in-law, or respected by Hopkins. Her
own girls loved her, and respected her, and that was pretty much all
that she demanded of the world on her own behalf.

And Uncle Christopher had been very good to the girls in his own
obstinate and somewhat ungracious manner. There were two ponies in
the stables of the Great House, which they were allowed to ride, and
which, unless on occasions, nobody else did ride. I think he might
have given the ponies to the girls, but he thought differently. And
he contributed to their dresses, sending them home now and again
things which he thought necessary, not in the pleasantest way in the
world. Money he never gave them, nor did he make them any promises.
But they were Dales, and he loved them; and with Christopher Dale to
love once was to love always. Bell was his chief favourite, sharing
with his nephew Bernard the best warmth of his heart. About these
two he had his projects, intending that Bell should be the future
mistress of the Great House of Allington; as to which project,
however, Miss Dale was as yet in very absolute ignorance.

We may now, I think, go back to our four friends, as they walked out
upon the lawn. They were understood to be on a mission to assist Mrs
Dale in the picking of the peas; but pleasure in