There was nothing for it but to reassure her by a solemn promise
that in no circumstances whatever would he, Lavender, go into a boat
without her express permission; whereupon Sheila was as grateful to
him as though he had dowered her with a kingdom.

This was not the Richmond Hill of her fancy--this spacious height,
with its great mansions, its magnificent elms, and its view of all the
westward and wooded country, with the blue-white streak of the river
winding through the green foliage. Where was the farm? The famous Lass
of Richmond Hill must have lived on a farm, but here surely were the
houses of great lords and nobles, which had apparently been there
for years and years. And was this really a hotel that they stopped
at--this great building that she could only compare to Stornoway
Castle?

"Now, Sheila," said Lavender after they had ordered dinner and gone
out, "mind you keep a tight hold on that leash, for Bras will see
strange things in the Park."

"It is I who will see strange things," she said; and the prophecy
was amply fulfilled. For as they went along the broad path, and came
better into view of the splendid undulations of woodland and pasture
and fern, when on the one hand they saw the Thames, far below them,
flowing through the green and spacious valley, and on the other hand
caught some dusky glimpse of the far white houses of London, it seemed
to her that she had got into a new world, and that this world was far
more beautiful than the great city she had left. She did not care so
much for the famous view from the hill. She had cast one quick look
to the horizon, with one throb of expectation that the sea might be
there. There was no sea there--only the faint blue of long lines of
country apparently without limit. Moreover, over the western landscape
a faint haze prevailed, that increased in the distance and softened
down the more distant woods into a sober gray. That great extent of
wooded plain, lying sleepily in its pale mists, was not so cheerful as
the scene around her, where the sunlight was sharp and clear, the air
fresh, the trees flooded with a pure and bright color. Here, indeed,
was a cheerful and beautiful world, and she was full of curiosity to
know all about it and its strange features. What was the name of this
tree? and how did it differ from that? Were not these rabbits over by
the fence? and did rabbits live in the midst of trees and bushes? What
sort of wood was the fence made of