Oldport. It was perfectly still; the tide swelled and swelled
till it touched the edge of the green lawn behind the house,
and seemed ready to submerge the slender pier; the water looked
at first like glass, till closer gaze revealed long sinuous
undulations, as if from unseen water-snakes beneath. A few rags
of storm-cloud lay over the half-seen hills beyond the bay, and
behind them came little mutterings of thunder, now here, now
there, as if some wild creature were roaming up and down,
dissatisfied, in the shelter of the clouds. The pale haze
extended into the foreground, and half veiled the schooners
that lay at anchor with their sails up. It was sultry, and
there was something in the atmosphere that at once threatened
and soothed. Sometimes a few drops dimpled the water and then
ceased; the muttering creature in the sky moved northward and
grew still. It was a day when every one would be tempted to go
out rowing, but when only lovers would go. Philip and Hope
went.

Kate and Harry, meanwhile, awaited their opportunity to go in
and visit Aunt Jane. This was a thing that never could be done
till near noon, because that dear lady was very deliberate in
her morning habits, and always averred that she had never seen
the sun rise except in a panorama. She hated to be hurried in
dressing, too; for she was accustomed to say that she must have
leisure to understand herself, and this was clearly an affair
of time.

But she was never more charming than when, after dressing and
breakfasting in seclusion, and then vigilantly watching her
handmaiden through the necessary dustings and arrangements, she