"'So it is, sir; but my friends are away on the Continent, and I am staying at the school through the holidays.'
"How do you like it?'
"'Not at all; I am as lonely and miserable as a rat that has lost its hole.'
"'Well, come up to the house and give your clothes a brush. I suppose you know who I am?'
"'Yes, sir; you are Squire Aveling.'
"When we arrived at the house, Squire Aveling introduced me to his wife, as beautiful and kind a lady as I have ever known, who, when she heard what I had done, fairly kissed me as if I had been her own son. Both the squire and his wife would not hear of my going away until evening; so I stayed and had dinner with them, while their little girl—Alice, they called her—took me round the gardens and grounds to show me all the beauties of the place. Some preparations were going on at the end of the lawn, which was opposite the front of the house; a marquee was being erected, several swings were being put up, while the lawn itself was being mowed. My conductress informed me these preparations were to celebrate her birthday, which was the day after.
"In the evening, the squire himself walked to Ascot House with me, where he saw the doctor's wife, and asked her to allow me to visit them on the morrow, as his little girl was going to entertain a host of young friends, the number of which would not be complete unless I made one of them. Permission was given, and I went to bed to dream of the pleasures the morrow was to bring.
"I was up early enough on the following morning, no such thing as oversleeping one's-self when there was a prospect of pleasure in view. (How well it would be if we—you and I, young reader—could be as active when duty and not pleasure calls!) I oiled and scented my hair to perfection, put on my best frilled shirt, made Jim, our odd boy, polish my boots until he could see his face in them; discarded my straw hat and took to the chimney-pot (i.e. my best beaver), saw that there was not a speck of dirt on my clothes, viewed myself all over in the glass, nearly dislocated my neck in trying to get a glimpse of my back, but found my efforts fruitless; and finally put on my best kid gloves, after which I found I had still two hours to spare, and dinner to eat in the meantime.
"The time went by, and at length I set out for my destination, with both a bounding heart and a bounding step, the one keeping pace with the other, as though there existed some private agreement by which they acted in unison, and fulfilled the requirements of the old proverb, 'A light heart, a light step.'