anticipation of my cousin's arrival convincing me that there would be no
fear of my finding anything but happiness in my intercourse with him.

My mother, on the contrary, as I afterwards had reason to know, was by
no means without anxiety. She knew that hitherto I had been completely
shielded from every possible trial. The darling of herself and my
father, and, as the only child, a favourite amongst the attached members
of our household, my wants had been all anticipated, and every pleasure
suited to my age had been planned for me so ingeniously, that I had
never had the chance of showing myself selfish or ill-tempered. She
feared that when for the first time I found myself not _first_
considered in all arrangements, I might fail in those particular points
of conduct in which she was most anxious I should triumph.

My mother's gentle admonitions, to which I at the time paid little heed,
were interrupted by the luncheon gong.

"When will the wonderful preparations at the gate be ready?" asked my
father whilst we were at table.

"Oh, there's nothing left to do but to fasten up the flowers. Old George
says it won't take an hour," I replied.

"Then if I come down at three o'clock the show will be ready?"

"Quite ready," I said. "And mamma will come too?"

"Of course mamma's coming too; unless, indeed, you mean to charge so
high a price for the exhibition," said my father comically, "that I
cannot afford it. But even then," he added, "mamma shall see it; I'll
give it up for her."

I was off from the luncheon-table as soon as possible, but found nurse
lying in wait to capture me and enforce upon my mind the first duty of
returning by four o'clock, to be dressed properly before the arrival of
our visitors, whose impression of me, she conceived, would be most
unfavourable were they to find me in what she was pleased to call "this
trumpery," referring to a little sailor's suit of white and blue in
which I was very generally attired, and which nurse chose to
disapprove. She wound up her admonition by a sort of lament over my
light-mindedness as to my best clothes; a spirit which, she remarked,
was apt to cling to people to their graves--sometimes afterwards; which
I scarcely thought possible.

Frisk and I darted down the Zig-zag at our usual pace, so soon as I was
released from nurse's kind offices, and joined old George, who was on
the look-out for us.

Very pleased we were with the result of our exertions when the