its green undulations, and
its lake, and still further away westward to the purple Welsh mountains.
In every way this was a beautiful garden, a place to dream of, and live,
and love, and die in.

Springtime had come, and Cecil and his tutor were sitting in their
study, looking out at the linnets flitting about the garden, and at the
primroses and blue violets which grew in front of the windows. The
lessons of the day were over, and the Doctor was pursuing his favorite
amusement, namely, drawing mathematical deductions, and coming to
logical conclusions upon all matters. Although he was a ripe scholar, he
would frequently forget himself, and break out in his strong Scotch
accent; but that signified nothing, as Cecil perfectly understood his
speech, and the family all liked him, for they knew he was a good man
and greatly interested in the well-doing of his pupil.

"Ye had a lang walk wi' your cousin this morning," said the Doctor. "I
hope ye understand her better than ye did."

"I am not sure that I do," answered Cecil. "I don't see why she moves so
quickly and is always well; I don't like people who are always well,
they cannot feel for others."

"Ye should no say that, Cecil, when ye look at your aunt; she's no
invalid, but she gi'es up her life for the sak' o' others. Did ye ken
that these verra rooms are the anes she likes most, the anes she lived
in till we came, and she gave them up that ye might enjoy the best she
had to offer?"

"O yes, I know that," said Cecil. "My aunt is very kind, but I was not
thinking of her when I spoke, I was thinking of Cousin Anna; she runs so
fast and when she is not singing, she is laughing, and I don't believe
she has any nerves, for the other day my pony got a stone in his shoe,
and she was off hers in a moment, seized my pony's fetlock and snatching
up something in the road, knocked out the stone and mounted in less time
than I have taken to tell you. Now none of the young ladies in India
would take a pony's fetlock in their hand, so I think Cousin Anna cannot
possess nerves."

"In one respect ye are right," said the Doctor, "Such a young leddie as
ony o' those we used to see in India, would ride on and leave ye, and
when she got home, she would tell one of the servants to tell some one
of the other servants to see aboot it, and when they had passed the
order through half a dozen, in the course of a few hours perhaps one of
them would be with you, and, in the meantime, she