one all ready in case it's horrid,' said Horatia, with
pretended resignation.

'I can do better than that,' said Mr Howroyd, as, getting up from the
table, he opened a cupboard and produced a long, flat box wrapped up in
white paper. 'Now, if you don't like our Yorkshire mixture, you shall
have one of these; but if you do like it you shall have the box.'

'Chocolates!' cried Horatia, opening the box. Then she took a spoonful of
apple-tart, put a square piece of cheese in the middle of it, and ate it;
but hastily took a chocolate out of the box, put it in her mouth, and
said, 'Delicious!'

Both Sarah and her uncle laughed at Horatia's way out of the difficulty.
'You didn't like it a bit. I saw by your face, so you don't deserve that
box of chocolates,' said the former.

'Indeed, she does, and she shall have them if she will accept them!'
protested Mr Howroyd.

So Horatia won her chocolates.

Mr Howroyd had telephoned to Balmoral to say that the girls were staying
to lunch, and a message was sent back that the motor would be sent about
an hour and a half after the lunch. So, when they had finished, William
Howroyd led the way into the drawing-room, a big, old-fashioned room,
and, drawing two chairs up to the large window, brought out all sorts of
quaint, old things for Horatia to see.

'Oh dear! I never saw anything like these things before; I can't possibly
put them into my essay, because I can't describe them. It is a pity,
because I really think I should get the prize. I'm sure no one else will
see anything so interesting in her holidays,' cried Horatia, as she
examined Mr Howroyd's family treasures with interest and reverence.

'I'm sure, I can't see what you find so interesting in these old things;
every one has them,' said Sarah half-impatiently.

'Nay, lass, every one has not got a tree made of hair, nor a beautiful
model of their church, a hundred years old, made of cork,' her uncle
corrected her.

'They may not have exactly that; but they have things that belonged to
their grandmothers,' declared Sarah. 'I know you have much grander things
at home, Horatia, though you pretend to admire these so much,' she
protested.

Horatia coloured a little; but it was not easy to offend her, and she
said, with a little laugh, 'I'm not pretending at all; and I only said
what was quite true, that I had never seen such things before.'

'Then you are simply laughing at us. You are only interested because we
are lik