ten with a smother of that delicacy peculiar
to Devonshire, clotted cream. Every body was very hungry, and not much
was said till the first rage of appetite was satisfied.

"Ah!" said the Squire, as he filled his glass with amber-hued
cider,--"you don't get anything so good as this to drink over in
America, Lionel."

"Indeed we do, sir. Wait till you taste our lemonade made with natural
soda-water."

"Lemonade? phoo! Poor stuff I call it, cold and thin. I hope Geoff has
some better tipple than that to cheer him in the High Valley."

"Iced water," suggested Lionel, mischievously.

"Don't talk to me about iced water. It's worse than lemonade. It's the
perpetual use of ice which makes the Americans so nervous, I am
convinced."

"But, papa, are they so nervous? Clover certainly isn't."

"Ah! my little Clover,--no, she wasn't nervous. She was nothing that she
ought not to be. I call her as sweet a lass as any country need want to
see. But Clover's no example; there aren't many like her, I fancy,--eh,
Lion?"

"Well, Squire, she's not the only one of the sort over there. Her
sister, who married Mr. Page, our other partner, you know, is quite as
pretty as she is, and as nice, too, though in a different way. And
there's the oldest one--the wife of the naval officer, I'm not sure but
you would like her the best of the three. She's a ripper in
looks,--tall, you know, with lots of go and energy, and yet as sweet and
womanly as can be; you'd like her very much, you'd like all of them."

"How is the unmarried one?--Joan, I think they call her," asked Mrs.
Templestowe.

"Oh!" said Lionel, rather confused, "I don't know so much about her.
She's only once been out to the valley since I was there. She seems a
nice girl, and certainly she's mighty pretty."

"Lion's blushing," remarked Imogen. "He always does blush when he speaks
of that Miss Carr."

"Rot!" muttered Lionel, with a wrathful look at his sister. "I do
nothing of the kind. But, Squire, when are you coming over to see for
yourself how we look and behave? I think you and the Madam would enjoy a
summer in the High Valley very much, and it would be no end of larks to
have you. Isabel would like it of all things."

"Oh, I know I should. I would start to-morrow, if I could. I'm coming
across to make Clover and Imogen a long visit the first moment that papa
and mamma can spare me."

"That will be a long time to wait, I fear," said her mother, sadly.
"Since Mr. Matt