Six to Sixteen

he de Vandaleurs, and I fancy extended to my own case. My guardians were not my great-grandparents, but Major Buller, an

over the side of the pony-carriage and said, "You will let the child come to me? Soon, very soon?" Major Buller had taken her hand in b

as I had not felt since I persuaded my father to promise that I should dine w

th the bright qualities which made her admirable in herself, she combined the gracious art of putting other people at ease with themselves; and, remembering how sore the wounds of a c

nger trip about in short and simple skirts, and tie up my curls with a ribbon, but should sweep grandly and languidly in to the parade service, bury half a pew under the festoons and furbelows of my silk dress and velvet trimmings, sink into a nest of matchless m

h one's very own eyes. The faces of the fine ladies I had envied were a little apt to be insipid in expression, and to pass from the memory; but my great-grandmother's quick, bright, earnest face was not easily to be forgotten. I made up my mind that w

ch I should choose, and I thought so much of it that I remember dreaming that my great-grandmother had presented me with a pony and chaise the counterpart of her own. The dream-joy of this acquisition, and the pride of driving up to the Bullers' door and offering to take Matilda for an expedition, was only marred by one of those freak

with her. Perhaps sometimes alone, driving myself, with only the rosy-cheeked Adolphe to open the gates and deliver me from any unexpected difficulties with the reins. But I

combined for some little time to hinder

of air. Then small-pox prevailed in Riflebury, and we were kept away, even after Major Buller returned to his duties. When we did return, bef

covered the south wall on one side of the porch, and crept over a framework upon the roof. I do not now remember how many pounds of grapes it had been known to produce

best," said Elspeth; "for ripe grapes would be picked all along, and the house not a

s Victoire" when she first married. As Mary's health failed, and she grew old, her young niece was sent for

o exchanging them for "the fly-away bits of things servants stick on their heads at the present time," Elspeth would as soon have thought of abandoning the faith of her fathers. She was a strict b

cdote of me connected with this

, little one?" she had said to me

s very big,"

as wide as she is tall," said

the treasures of her work-box, the idea seized me of measuring Elspeth for my own satisfaction on the point. But the silken measure slipp

Elspeth, please?

deeply engaged in darning a very large ho

two yards?

be six feet; and I'm not just that tall, th

peth, please?" I persis

for it takes the full width of a coloured cotton t

I said, drawing my ribbon to its full length

a piece of darning-cotton; but I rightly concluded

," I announced over the tea-tabl

a trick of requiring observations

t you are right," said my great-grandmother. "Bu

her-at least, the ribbon would slip when I measured her, so I asked her; and she's a yard tall, but

y cakes, and tarts of curious shapes, when she was busy pastry-making, and did some clear-

a sharp lecture one day for some lack of respect in his manner to "Miss Margery"; and, on the

time that I made my morning curtsy, my knees shaking under me, and Elspeth watching from the passage; but my great-grandfather and mother seemed to take it

a light waistcoat, a frilled shirt, and a very stiff cravat. On the wall of the drawing-room there hung a water-colour portrait of a very young and very handsome man, with longish wavy hair, features refined to weakness, dreamy, languid eyes,

, and also by the way that the hair was thrown back from the high, narrow forehead, just as my great-grandfather's grey hairs were combed away from his brow. Children are great admirers of beauty too, especially,

etch one morning, when my great-grandfather ca

his eyes gazed steadily into mine, there was a likeness there also;

ed our friendship. I always remained i

think it must have been a great trial to a woman of my great-grandmother's energy, that her husband should have made no effort to add to their resources by work of some kind. But then I ca

child; for he would share the fancies and humours of one child companion for hours, but was quite incapable of managing a larger number-as, indeed, he was of any kind of domestic admin

s not to shock my grandpapa's standard of good manners, I might make almost any demands on his patience and good-nature. Children and pet