, and completing its construction. This occupation was far
more engrossing than the reading had proved; and almost sooner than I
had expected, the three-quarters chime of the clock proclaimed my
liberation. I seized my garden hat, ran down-stairs, and sped out upon
the lawn, determined to feel very merry, and to enjoy trying my
newly-made bow as much as possible. It was annoying that Frisk had gone
with the horses--it made me feel more lonely not to have him to play
with; but still, my hour's imprisonment being over, I thought I could
find plenty of amusement. So I began firing away certain home-made
arrows, to which my mother's loving fingers had carefully fastened
feathers; putting up a flower-pot on a stand as a mark, and trying to
hit it. But the arrows did not go very far after all, and I leant down
upon the bow and tightened the string, and then tightened it again,
until there was a sudden snap, and a collapse--it had broken in two
pieces! I threw the bow aside in disgust, and went off into the
shrubbery, and then down the carriage drive, hoping to meet my mother;
but she happened to be detained that afternoon at one of the cottages
where she was visiting, and missed her usual time for returning. Feeling
very dreary and disconsolate, I finally wandered back again into the
house, and hung about in the different rooms in a listless, dissatisfied
mood, until, at about half past five, I could hear the rapid tread of
horses' feet, and in another moment my father and Aleck cantered up to
the door. Frisk was flourishing about in his usual style, and found me
out in a moment, jumping up upon my shoulders, and licking my hands, and
expressing in perfectly comprehensible language his regret that I had
not been of the party, and his pleasure in seeing me again.

Aleck was in a high state of spirits, triumphant at having proved
himself sufficient of a horseman to manage the gray, and delighted with
all the incidents of the expedition. He did not know the reason of my
having stayed at home; but told me how sorry he was I had not been with
them, and tumultuously recounted the various pleasures he had enjoyed.

"See, I've got lots of shells," he said, "and several beautiful
madrepores. You must have some of them. They'd had a wedding, too, and
we had to eat some of the bride-cake, and drink their health, and--"

But Aleck's enumeration did not proceed further, for I think my father
perceived how keenly I was feeling the contras