done their morning lessons, had just gone out of the
hall-door, on their way to Henry's arbour, when they heard the wheels
of a carriage sounding from a distance.

The sound was not like that of a waggon, which goes along heavily,
crashing and breaking the stones in its passage, whilst the feet of the
horses come down with a heavy beat upon the ground; but horses and
wheels went lightly, and as if the carriage was coming near quickly.

Very few light carriages passed that way, and therefore when anything
of the kind was heard or seen, everybody left off what they were doing
to look, let them be ever so busy. Lucy and Emily and Henry ran down to
the gate which opened on the road. Henry climbed to the top of the
highest bar; but the little girls stood on one side, where they were
half hidden by a rose-bush.

When they were got there the carriage was heard more plainly: and
Henry was hardly fixed upon the top of the gate before John came up,
with a hoe and a basket in his hand.

"So, Master Henry," he said, "you are come to see the coach; I just
caught sight of it as it went round the corner below, and I promise you
it is worth seeing; it beats Sir Charles Noble's to nothing--but here
they come."

At first there appeared a groom, dressed in a glazed hat, and a livery,
and shining boots; and he was riding a fine horse, and he went forward
quickly; he had several dogs running by him. Lucy and Emily were glad
that John, with his hoe, was close by, for they did not love strange
dogs.

But the groom and his dogs were very soon out of sight; he was riding
on to see that the gates were open where the coach was going.
Immediately afterwards the coach came in sight--and a fine new coach it
was; and there were four horses, with postillions whipping and cutting
away; and ladies and gentlemen in the coach.

Lucy and Emily and Henry did not look at the grown people, but at a
very pretty little lady, of Emily's age perhaps, who was looking out of
the window on their side.

They saw her face, which was fair and very pale, and they saw her
curling light hair, and her blue satin hat, which had white feathers in
it; and they knew that she saw them, for she rather smiled and looked
pleased, and turned to speak about them, they thought, to the lady next
to her. But the coach was gone in a minute, not rattling like a
hack-chaise, but making a sort of low rumbling sound, and that sound
was not heard long.

"Who are those?" said Hen