ingles, as a dove's breast; some are dark, some light, but all
are feathery in effect; and altogether The Moorings, with its gables,
and porches, and bow windows, and balconies and wide verandahs, gives
the effect of a huge, ruffly and motherly grey bird with her wings
spread wide to shelter her birdlings.

I felt quite content to be one of the birdlings as I went in. I am
sorry to say I'm not a bit fonder of Mrs. Ess Kay than I was in the
ship; but the "cottage" looked so hospitable and jolly, and the air and
the sunshine sparkled so, that I couldn't help feeling that it was
pleasant to be young, and alive, and on the threshold of amusing new
adventures. I was happy, and I would have liked to sing. I wanted to be
very good friends with everybody, including Potter; and I fell in love
with the house, the minute I set foot on the front verandah.

The great gorgeous palace in New York is far grander, of course, and
must have cost four or five times as much; still, only very rich people
could have built and furnished The Moorings, or afford to live in it.

There is a big square hall, not to be compared to ours at Battlemead,
of course, though the Persian rugs and the pictures are fine; but the
staircase is peculiarly charming. It looks a staircase made for sitting
out dances with men you like, and evidently it knows its value as a
flirting place and lives up to it, for there are fat, bright-coloured
silk and satin cushions resting invitingly against the wall, on each
one of the shallow steps. Most of the rooms are enormous, and consist
half of quaint leaded windows, with seats underneath. But better than
anything else is the verandah, which runs all round the house, and is
not only as wide as a good-sized room, but is fitted up like a
succession of rooms. The delicate bead curtains that glitter like a
rain of green and white and rose-coloured jewels give you a feeling of
privacy, for you can see through them without being seen. The satiny
grey floor is half covered with exquisite rugs; and everywhere there
are Oriental tables and chairs, and cushiony sofas and green hammocks
with frilly pink pillows, and screens, and bowers of palms and bright
azaleas. I should like to live on that verandah swinging slowly in a
hammock, and looking through the cascade of glittering beads at the sea
and sky. I spoke this thought out aloud, but Potter said I would soon
learn that there wasn't much time in Newport for looking at the sea and