the farthest side of the castle had fallen down, and this was the cause
of the prodigious noise.

The part of the castle in which they lived seemed, as Edmund said, to be
perfectly safe; but the children of the village were terrified, and
thinking that the whole would come tumbling down directly, they ran to
their homes as fast as they could. Edmund, who was a courageous lad, and
proud of showing his courage, laughed at their cowardice; but Mary, who
was very prudent, persuaded her brother to ask an experienced mason, who
was building at his master's, to come and give his opinion, whether their
part of the castle was safe to live in or not. The mason came, and gave
it as his opinion that the rooms they inhabited might last through the
winter but that no part of the ruins could stand another year. Mary was
sorry to leave a place of which she had grown fond, poor as it was,
having lived in it in peace and contentment ever since her mother's
death, which was now nearly four years; but she determined to look out
for some other place to live in; and she had now money enough to pay the
rent of a comfortable cabin. Without losing any time, she went to the
village that was at the end of the avenue leading to the vicarage, for
she wished to get a lodging in this village because it was so near to her
brother, and to the ladies who had been so kind to her. She found that
there was one newly built house in this village unoccupied; it belonged
to Mr. Harvey, her landlord, who was still in England; it was slated, and
neatly fitted up inside; but the rent of it was six guineas a year, and
this was far above what Mary could afford to pay. Three guineas a year
she thought was the highest rent for which she could venture to engage.
Besides, she heard that several proposals had been made to Mr. Harvey for
this house, and she knew that Mr. Hopkins, the agent, was not her friend;
therefore she despaired of getting it. There was no other to be had in
this village. Her brother was still more vexed than she was, that she