haracter," said Flora;
"so that everything conspires to render us leaders, and our age alone
prevented us from assuming our post sooner."

They were at home by this time, and entering the hall, perceived that
the whole party were in the lawn. The consolation of the children
for the departure of Hector and Tom, was a bowl of soap-suds and some
tobacco pipes, and they had collected the house to admire and assist,
even Margaret's couch being drawn close to the window.

Bubbles is one of the most fascinating of sports. There is the soft
foamy mass, like driven snow, or like whipped cream. Blanche bends down
to blow "a honeycomb," holding the bowl of the pipe in the water; at her
gurgling blasts there slowly heaves upwards the pile of larger, clearer
bubbles, each reflecting the whole scene, and sparkling with rainbow
tints, until Aubrey ruthlessly dashes all into fragments with his hand,
and Mary pronounces it stiff enough, and presents a pipe to little
Daisy, who, drawing the liquid into her mouth, throws it away with a
grimace, and declares that she does not like bubbles! But Aubrey stands
with swelled cheeks, gravely puffing at the sealing-waxed extremity.
Out pours a confused assemblage of froth, but the glassy globe slowly
expands the little branching veins, flowing down on either side, bearing
an enlarging miniature of the sky, the clouds, the tulip-tree. Aubrey
pauses to exclaim! but where is it? Try again! A proud bubble, as Mary
calls it, a peacock, in blended pink and green, is this transparent
sphere, reflecting and embellishing house, wall, and shrubs! It is
too beautiful! It is gone! Mary undertakes to give a lesson, and
blows deliberately without the slightest result. Again! She waves
her disengaged hand in silent exultation as the airy balls detach
themselves, and float off on the summer breeze, with a tardy, graceful,
uncertain motion. Daisy rushes after them, catches at them, and looks
at her empty fingers with a puzzled "All gone!" as plainly expressed by
Toby, who snaps at them, and shakes his head with offended dignity at
the shock of his meeting teeth, while the kitten frisks after them,
striking at them with her paw, amazed at meeting vacancy.

Even the grave Norman is drawn in. He agrees with Mary that bubbles
used to fly over the wall, and that one once went into Mrs. Richardson's
garret window, when her housemaid tried to catch it with a pair of
tongs, and then ran downstairs screaming that there