ands: but by the time
he had got to the bottom of a page, I used to hear the words
dragging out slower and slower--

Whereon the--lily--maid--of--Astolat
Lay--smiling--like--a--star-fish--fast--asleep."

Wherewith Rosamond dropped her head and closed her eyes; while the
brothers shouted with mirth, except Frank, whose countenance was 'of
one hurt on a vulnerable side.'

"Disrespect to Elaine? Eh, Frank?" said Charlie; "how many pegs has
Julius gone down in your estimation?"

Frank would not commit himself, but he was evidently at the era of
sensitiveness on the poetical side. Cecil spoke for him. "How very
provoking! What did you do to him, Rosamond?"

"I kept off the sand-flies! I can't say but I was glad of a little
rest, for I had been packing up for the whole family for ten days
past, with interludes of rushing out into the town; for whatever we
had not forgotten, the shops had not sent home! Oh! what a paradise
of quiet it was under the rocks at Filey--wasn't it, Julius?"

"We will go there again next time we have a chance," said Julius,
looking blissful.

"I would never go again to the same place," cried Cecil. "That's
not the way to acquire new ideas."

"We are too old to acquire new ideas, my dear," drawled Rosamond,
sleepily.

"What did you go to the Church Congress for!" asked Charlie.

"I hope Julius was awake by that time," said Frank.

"Not if we are to have all the new ideas tried on us," said Raymond,
dryly.

"I went to a Congress once!" exclaimed Cecil.

"Indeed!" said her husband, surprised.

"Yes. We thought we ought to encourage them. It was the Congress
of Sunday-school managers for our archdeaconry."

"Did you acquire any new ideas?" asked Frank; while Rosamond's very
eyelashes seemed to curl with suppressed diversion.

"Oh yes. We explained our system of tickets, and the Arch-deacon
said it was a very good one, and ought to be adopted everywhere."

This mode of acquisition of new ideas was quite too much for Julius
and Charlie, who both exploded; but Frank retained composure enough
to ask, "Did you explain it in person?"

"No. We made Mr. Venn."

"The schoolmaster?" said Julius.

"No. He is _our_ clergyman, and he always does as _we_ tell him;
and _so_ Dunstone is quite the model parish of the archdeaconry."

Julius could not help making an odd little bend of the head, half
deferential, half satirical; and Raymond said, "Cecil, I believe it
rests with you t