bred fine lady, for she was as well-knit and clean-skinned a girl as
might be met with anywhere at the best. Dick stroked the beautiful
arm rather shyly, and pulled down the sleeve again, while she blushed
at his touch; and the old man said laughingly: "Well, I suppose you
DO like that; don't you?"

Ellen kissed her new friend, and we all sat silent for a little, till
she broke out into a sweet shrill song, and held us all entranced
with the wonder of her clear voice; and the old grumbler sat looking
at her lovingly. The other young people sang also in due time; and
then Ellen showed us to our beds in small cottage chambers, fragrant
and clean as the ideal of the old pastoral poets; and the pleasure of
the evening quite extinguished my fear of the last night, that I
should wake up in the old miserable world of worn-out pleasures, and
hopes that were half fears.



CHAPTER XXIII: AN EARLY MORNING BY RUNNYMEDE



Though there were no rough noises to wake me, I could not lie long
abed the next morning, where the world seemed so well awake, and,
despite the old grumbler, so happy; so I got up, and found that,
early as it was, someone had been stirring, since all was trim and in
its place in the little parlour, and the table laid for the morning
meal. Nobody was afoot in the house as then, however, so I went out
a-doors, and after a turn or two round the superabundant garden, I
wandered down over the meadow to the river-side, where lay our boat,