his juncture, and the children were
called in to dinner. And after dinner Norton made some of his words
good. Mrs. Laval was not going out; she gave leave to Norton to do what
he pleased, and he took Matilda to drive in the basket phaeton.

"Norton," she said, as they were just setting forth.

"Well?"

"If you would just as lieve, I wish you wouldn't, please, go past Aunt
Candy's."

"Not go past?" said Norton. "Why, Pink?"

"If you would just as lieve, I would rather not."

Norton nodded, and they took another way. But now this was better than
fairyland. Fairyland never knew such a drive, surely. The afternoon was
just right, as Norton had said; there was no dust, and not too much
sun; the roads were in fine order; and they bowled along as if the
ponies had had nothing to do in a great while. Now it was hardly within
the memory of Matilda to have seen the country around Shadywalk as she
saw it this afternoon. Every house had the charm of a picture; every
tree by the roadside seemed to be planted for her pleasure. The meadows
and fields of stubble and patches of ploughed land, were like pieces of
a new world to the long housed child. Norton told her to whom these
fields belonged, which increased the effect, and gave bits of family
history, as he knew it, connected with the names. These meadows
belonged to such a gentleman; his acres counted so many; were good for
so much; taken capital care of. Here were the fields and woods of
such-a-one's farm; _he_ kept cows and sent milk to New York. That house
among the trees was the homestead of one of the old county families;
the place was beautiful; Matilda would see it some day with Mrs. Laval;
that little cottage by the gate was only a lodge. Matilda desired to
know what a lodge was; and upon the explanation, and upon many more
details correlative and co-related, went into musings of her own. But
the sky was so fair and blue; the earth was so rich and sunny; the
touches of sear or yellow leaves here and there on a branch gave such
emphasis to the deep hues still lingering on the vegetation; the
phaeton wheels rolled so smoothly; that Matilda's musings did not know
very well what course to keep.

"Well what are you thinking of?" said Norton after a silence of some
time.

"I was thinking of Lilac Lane, just then."

"Lilac Lane! Do you want to see it?"

"Very much, Norton," said Matilda, gleefully; "but not this afternoon.
I haven't been there in a great, great while.