"I was kindly welcomed by the squire and his lady, and by them introduced to their two sons, who had returned the same day from visiting friends; they both thanked me heartily for the service I had rendered to their sister, whom, they said, they 'would not have had hurt for the world.' This I could well believe, as I watched her darting hither and thither, like a good little fairy, in and out among her friends, with a word for one, a kiss for another, and a caress for a third.
"'I am so glad you are come,' said the fairy Allie, taking me by the hand; 'come and be introduced to all my friends.'
"I thought the introducing would never come to an end, so many were the friends with whom I had to shake hands; there were boys from school, and boys who never had been to school; there were short boys and tall boys, fat boys and lean boys; square boys and round boys; in fact, there were boys of all sorts and sizes; some who said very languidly, 'Ah! how d'ye doo?' and others who seized me by the hand and vowed I was a 'brick.'
"But the girls!—I beg their pardon, I mean young ladies!—how shall I describe them in all their loveliness and witchery! I never saw any like them before, with their long golden, or black, or silken curls, their white dresses and blue sashes, their bright faces and rosy lips! and their eyes! how can I describe them? I have seen a few diamonds in my time, but never any that sparkled so brightly as the eyes that flashed on me on this memorable day; indeed to compare them to diamonds was to offer them an insult. On early summer mornings, when the sun was shining over land and sea, I have seen the dew sparkling on every blade of grass, or in the cup or bell of every flower, with a whole rainbow of colours mirrored in their tiny globes, and such were the eyes that beamed on me each time that Allie said, 'Flo,' or 'Clara,' or 'Kate,' as the name chanced to be, 'this is the gentleman who saved me from the dog.'
"I may say I felt extremely uncomfortable during the process of introduction, and was glad when it all ended; for what with eyes, and the being called 'quite a hero,' and 'a darling brave boy,' and so on ad infinitum, I experienced as queer sensations, as if I had been birched by Price, or one of the under-masters.
"But it came to an end at last, and the eldest young Aveling invited me to see his live creatures. I never knew a boy so well off for pets as I found him to be; fine lop-eared rabbits that nibbled out of the palm of his hand, guinea-pigs, white mice, a large Newfoundland dog, which would carry anything he wanted it to carry, or go any where, or fetch anything from a distance; a pony came trotting out of the stable, as soon as it heard his voice, neighing with pleasure. There were plenty of pigeons flying about, and I inquired whether he also claimed them, in reply to which he said,—
"'No, they are my sister Allie's; you should see her come into the yard; they fly round her, perch on her shoulders, pick food from between her lips, and coo with delight. Indeed, every live thing about the place knows and loves Allie. But come, let us be off, and give some of the girls a swing.'
"It was rare fun swinging the girls; the hesitation with which each one seated herself, the injunction not to be sent 'too high;' the terrified scream given when sent off, the flutter of the light dress and the streaming of the curls in the wind, were things worth remembering. When tired with swinging, we started a game of kiss-in-the-ring, in which all heartily joined, except a few languid, swellish-looking fellows who thought it beneath their dignity, and begged to be excused, saying the game was 'too vulgar.'