, she had quite forgotten her sulky reserve, and talked with much
earnestness and animation, Flora subsiding into a listener, with a
willing interest which raised her in my estimation considerably.

And now that I am alone in my room, and journalizing, it behooves me
to gather up and record some of those words, precious from their
rarity. Flora and I, in our merry nonsense, had a mock dispute, and
referred the matter to Miss Etty for arbitration.

"Etty, mind you side with me," said Flora.

"Be an impartial umpire, Miss Etty," said I, "and you will be on my
side."

Little Ugly was obliged to confess that she had not heard a word of
the matter, her thoughts being elsewhere, intently engaged.

"I must request you to excuse my inattention," she said, "and to
repeat what you were saying."

"The latter request I scorn to grant," said I, "and the former we will
consider about when we have heard what thoughts have been preferred to
our most edifying conversation."

"You shall tell us," said Flora. "Yes, or we till go off and leave you
to your meditations, here in the dark woods, with the owls and the
tree-toads, whom you probably prefer for company."

Miss Etty condescended to confess she should be frightened without my
manful protection.--Quite a triumph!

"I must thank you," she said, "for the novelty of an evening walk in
the woods. I enjoy it, I confess, very highly. Look at those dark,
mysterious vistas, and those deepening shadows blending the bank with
its mirror; how different from the trite daylight truth! It took
strong hold of my imagination."

"Go on. And so you were thinking--"

"I was hardly doing so much as thinking. I was seeing it to remember."

"Etty draws like an artist," said Flora, in a whisper.

"I was taking a mental daguerreotype of my companions, by twilight,
and of all the scene round, too, in the same grey tint, just to look
at some ten or fifteen years hence, when--"

"Let us all three agree," said I, "on the 28th of September, 18--, to
remember this evening. I am certain _I_ shall look back to it with
pleasure."

"O horrid!" shrieked Flora; "how can you talk so! By that time you
will be a shocking, middle-aged sort of person! I always wonder how
people can be resigned to live, when they have lost youth, and with it
all that makes life bearable! Fifteen years! Dismal thought! I shall
have outlived every thing I care about in life!" So moaned Little
Handsome.

"But you may have f