he
very top of the little tower, was covered with ivy and woodbine, and
surmounted by tufted barberries, bird cherries, acacias, covered with
their snowy chains, and other pendent and flowering trees. Beyond rose
two poplars of unrivalled magnitude, towering like stately columns over
the dark tall firs, and giving a sort of pillared and architectural
grandeur to the scene.

We were now close to the mansion; but it looked sad and desolate, and
the entrance, choked with brambles and nettles, seemed almost to repel
our steps. The summer-house, the beautiful summer-house, was free and
open, and inviting, commanding from the unglazed windows, which hung
high above the water, a reach of the river terminated by a rustic mill.

There we sat, emptying our little basket of fruit and country cakes,
till Emily was seized with a desire of viewing, from the other side of
the Loddon, the scenery which had so much enchanted her. 'I must,' said
she, 'take a sketch of the ivied boat-house, and of this sweet room, and
this pleasant window;--grandmamma would never be able to walk from the
road to see the place itself, but she must see its likeness.' So forth
we sallied, not forgetting the dear musk roses.

We had no way of reaching the desired spot but by retracing our steps a
mile, during the heat of the hottest hour of the day, and then following
the course of the river to an equal distance on the other side; nor
had we any materials for sketching, except the rumpled paper which had
contained our repast, and a pencil without a point which I happened to
have about me. But these small difficulties are pleasures to gay and
happy youth. Regardless of such obstacles, the sweet Emily bounded on
like a fawn, and I followed delighting in her delight. The sun went in,
and the walk was delicious; a reviving coolness seemed to breathe over
the water, wafting the balmy scent of the firs and limes; we found a
point of view presenting the boat-house, the water, the poplars, and the
mill, in a most felicitous combination; the little straw fruit basket
made a capital table; and refreshed and sharpened and pointed by our
trusty lacquey's excellent knife (your country boy is never without
a good knife, it is his prime treasure), the pencil did double
duty;--first in the skilful hands of Emily, whose faithful and spirited
sketch does equal honour to the scene and to the artist, and then in the
humbler office of attempting a faint transcript of my own imp