rry to escape from Miss Quigley and the tender, and for a
stage ride or two in Clive's britzska. The little girls cry sometimes to
be admitted to that privilege. I dare say Ethel would like very well to
quit her place in the caravan, where she sits, circumvented by mamma's
dogs, and books, bags, dressing-boxes, and gimcrack cases, without which
apparatus some English ladies of condition cannot travel; but Miss
Ethel is grown up, she is out, and has been presented at Court, and is
a person of too great dignity now to sit anywhere but in the place
of state in the chariot corner. I like to think, for my part, of the
gallant young fellow taking his pleasure and enjoying his holiday, and
few sights are more pleasant than to watch a happy, manly English youth,
free-handed and generous-hearted, content and good-humour shining in
his honest face, pleased and pleasing, eager, active, and thankful for
services, and exercising bravely his noble youthful privilege to be
happy and to enjoy. Sing, cheery spirit, whilst the spring lasts; bloom
whilst the sun shines, kindly flowers of youth! You shall be none the
worse to-morrow for having been happy to-day, if the day brings no
action to shame it. As for J. J., he too had his share of enjoyment; the
charming scenes around him did not escape his bright eye, he absorbed
pleasure in his silent way, he was up with the sunrise always, and at
work with his eyes and his heart if not with his hands. A beautiful
object too is such a one to contemplate, a pure virgin soul, a creature
gentle, pious, and full of love, endowed with sweet gifts, humble and
timid; but for truth's and justice's sake inflexible, thankful to God
and man, fond, patient, and faithful. Clive was still his hero as ever,
his patron, his splendid young prince and chieftain. Who was so brave,
who was so handsome, generous, witty as Clive? To hear Clive sing, as
the lad would whilst they were seated at their work, or driving along on
this happy journey, through fair landscapes in the sunshine, gave J. J.
the keenest pleasure; his wit was a little slow, but he would laugh
with his eyes at Clive's sallies, or ponder over them and explode with
laughter presently, giving a new source of amusement to these merry
travellers, and little Alfred would laugh at J. J.'s laughing; and
so, with a hundred harmless jokes to enliven, and the ever-changing,
ever-charming smiles of nature to cheer and accompany it, the happy
day's journey would c