hose she loved could lean and be at rest. But in speaking of
these things I am going far beyond the impressions of the small
child skipping about the large rooms of the Admiralty.

There came a time when I not only went to parties and theatricals
at the Admiralty, but went in the afternoons to play with the
children. One great game was the ghost game. To the delightful
shudders produced by this was added some fear of the butler's
interference, for it took place on the large dining-room table. The
company was divided into two parties--the ghosts and the owners of
the haunted house. At four o'clock in the afternoon (so as to give
plenty of time to pile up the horror) the inmates of the house got
into bed--that is, on to the table. The ghosts then walked solemnly
round and round, while at intervals one of them imitated the
striking of the clock; as the hours advanced the ghosts became more
demonstrative and the company in bed more terror-stricken, and as
the clock struck twelve the ghosts jumped on to the table! Then
ensued a frightful scrimmage with ear-splitting squeals, and the
game ended. I imagine it was this climax which used to bring the
butler. We also had the game of giant all over the house. The yells
in this case sometimes brought Lady Minto on the scene, who was
always most good-natured. We were quieter when we got into
mischief; as when we made a raid on Lord Minto's dressing-room, and
each ate two or three of his compressed luncheon tablets and also
helped ourselves to some of his pills. This last exploit _did_
rather disturb Lady Minto; but, as it happens, neither luncheons
nor pills took any effect on the raiders.

There were often delightful theatricals at the Admiralty. The best
of the plays was a little operetta written by your mother, called
"William and Susan," in which Lotty and Harriet[13] sang
delightfully in parts; but this must have been later on than the
game period.

I come now to my first distinct impression of your mother. It is as
clear as a miniature in my mind's eye, and it belongs to a very
interesting time. I think her engagement to Papa [14] must just
have been declared. She came with Lord and Lady Minto to dine with
him at 30, Wilton Crescent, the house he owned since his marriage
to my mother. As she passed out of the room to go down to dinne