o shake his head and talk to himself
while uttering a low, harsh, chuckling laugh.

Bruce, Rodney, MacWhirlie and all the elect escort, together with their
families, made the voyage across the Atlantic safely though somewhat
uncomfortably. But their trials were not over when they landed in
Philadelphia. The chest was hoisted into a big road wagon covered with
canvas, known as a "Conestoga wagon," and wheeled on for many days over
the Allegheny mountains. Down by old Fort Pitt it trundled, along the
banks of the beautiful river Ohio, to the frontier village of
Steubenville. There the wagon stopped. Parson Wille built his cabin on
Hillside. The Brownies, happy as the beasts and birds that were turned
out of Noah's Ark after the flood, were released from their prison in
the old chest, and took up once more old duties and pleasures in the
clearings, cornfields and garden of the new home.

That was many years ago. The good parson has long since been received to
a fairer Home than either Scotland or America ever gave; but his
grandson, Governor Wille, lives at Hillside. It is not the same Hillside
that the brave and godly minister first built his log cabin upon, you
may be sure. Great changes have occurred. But the same Brownies are
there; as good natured, as frolicsome, as fond of their friends and as
true to them as ever, yet, we are sorry to say, not so fortunate and
happy. What has troubled them?

CHAPTER II.

SPITE THE SPY.

When the Assembly of Brownies, which had been held at the old Scotch
Manse, was quite dispersed, a spider-pixie entered the vacant tent and
began to spin a web. He belonged to a race of sprites as vicious and
cruel as the Brownies are kind and good. They are called spider-pixies
because they do much of their mischief by means of silken webs or snares
which they spin, and in which they catch their enemies. The fact,
however, should work no prejudice against those remarkable creatures,
the spiders, which are doubtless worthy of all the loving attention that
naturalists give them.

The chief enemies of these Pixies (next to themselves, to be sure) were
the Brownies. Not that the good little fairies wished to harm any
creature; but then, as the Pixies wished harm to every one, and were
always showing their ill will by naughty tricks, the Brownies, out of
very goodness, tried to thwart their evil plans and save intended
victims from harm. Thus it came that the Brownies and Pixies lived in