'But all this time they were so solemn. I wanted to make them laugh. There was a little table in the window—a bow window, of course, as it was at the sea-side, and certain to catch winds from every quarter of the heavens—upon which I mounted Gip, and set to work putting him through his tricks. I made him perform "ready, present, fire," with a leap to catch the bit of biscuit off his nose. I made him "beg," "lie dead," like Mother Hubbard's immortal pet, and do everything a well-educated dog could be expected to do. And, oh, how funny it was to watch the trots! Evidently they had never seen anything of the kind before; they stared at first as if they could hardly believe their eyes, and then they smiled, and, at last, they laughed. How prettily they laughed—they looked more like two fat cherubs than ever.
'But their laughing attracted their maid's attention. She too turned round, and I was pleased to see that she had a pleasant pretty young face. "I shouldn't have liked those dear trots to have a cross old nurse," I said to myself, and the maid still further raised herself in my good opinion by laughing and smiling too. In a minute or two when she thought "that was enough for to-day," she stooped and whispered to the trots. They immediately lifted their little hands, the right of one, the left of the other—for nothing, you see, could have persuaded them to let go of their precious lambs—to their rosy mouths and blew a kiss to me, and I could see them say, "Zank zou, lady; zank zou, doggie."
'You may be sure I kissed my hand to them in return, and off they toddled, each with a hand of "Bessie," as I afterwards heard them call their maid, and hauling back manfully as before, which gave Bessie the look of a very large steam-tug convoying two very little vessels.
'I watched them till they were quite out of sight. Then I turned to my mother.
'"I have made two friends here any way, mamma," I said. "The trots are sure to stop every time they pass. It will be something to watch for."
'Mamma smiled. She was pleased to see me pleased and interested, for she had been beginning to fear that the dulness and strangeness of our new life would prevent St. Austin's doing me as much good as she had hoped.
'"To-morrow, dear," she said, "if it is fine, I hope you will be able to go a little walk, and we'll look out for your little friends."
'It was fine the next day, and we did go out, and we did meet the trots!
'They caught sight of me (of Gip, rather, I should perhaps say) and I of them, just about the same moment. I saw them tug their nurse, and when they got close up to me they stopped short. It was no use Bessie's trying to get them on; there they stood resolutely, till the poor girl's face grew red, and she looked quite ashamed. Gip, who I must say, had a wonderful amount of tact, ran up to them with a friendly little bark. Bessie let go the trots' hands and stooped to stroke him.
'"He won't bite, miss, will he?" she said gently, looking up at me.