"Come, come, Jack," said Mme. Zermatt, "you are not suggesting that your brother should write poetry for the whole farm and poultry yard, are you?"
"Of course not, Mamma, and I don't suppose the excellent creatures would appreciate the most beautiful verses in the world. But they do deserve that we should wish them a happy new year and give them double rations and fresh litter."
"Jack is quite right," said Mr. Wolston; "to-day all our beasts——"
"Including Jenny's jackal and cormorant," said Hannah Wolston.
"Well said, my dear," said Mrs. Wolston. "Jenny's pets shall have their share."
"And since to-day is the first day of the year the whole world over," said Mme. Zermatt, "let us think of those who have left us, who are certainly thinking of us."
And affectionate thoughts were wafted by both families to the beloved passengers on the Unicorn.
All the animals were treated according to their high deserts, and sugar was lavished upon them as well as caresses.
Then the whole party sat down in the dining-room at Rock Castle to an appetising luncheon, the gaiety of which was increased by a few glasses of old wine presented by the commander of the corvette.
There was no question of doing any of the usual daily work on a holiday like this, so M. Zermatt proposed a walk to Falconhurst, a short two and a half miles that could be travelled without much fatigue beneath the shade of the fair avenue which connected the summer and winter residences.