The Stokesley Secret

ildren in lesson-time and out of it! Talk of the change of an ol

o would believe that these were the merry, capering, noisy creatures, full of fun and riot, clattering and s

overness, thinking of illumina

burning weeds. Don't you smell them? How nice they are

ain smoky odour, usually to be detected in July breez

them for tea!" bellowed all the voices; so that Miss Fosb

know whether I ought to

roared the childre

e's a bonfire. Mamma always lets us

s; Mamma

said Miss Fosbrook gladly; "only you must let me come out

e'll roast you

et. Sam and Hal, who had been waiting in the hall, took Miss Fosbrook between them, as if they thought it their duty to do the honours of the bonfire, and conducted her across the garden, through the kitchen-garden, across which lay a long sluggish bar of heavy and very odorous smoke, to a gate in a quickset hedge. Here were some sheds and cart-hou

ound it, some on their knees, some jumpi

es." "There's no flame-not a bit!" "Get out of the way, can't you? I'll make a hot place." "We'll e

ollowed, "Don't, Bessie, you will tread upon G

ome symptoms of red embers appeared, which he diligently puffed with his mouth, feeding it with leaves and small

ing Sam on another side of the fire, and Johnnie uttered a

eld to it, glowing as he blew-fading, smoking, when he took breath. Try again-puff, puff, puff diligently; the fire evidently has a taste for the delicate little shaving that Annie has found for it; it seizes on it; another-another; a flame at last. Hurrah! pile on more; not too much. "Don't put it out!" Oh, there! strong flame-coming crackling up through those smothering heaps of stick and haulm; it won't be kept down; it rises in the wind;

"keep it down well with sticks, to make some nice w

through the thick smoke, that was like an absolute curtain hiding everything on the farther side, came headlong a huge bundle of weeds launched overwhelmingly on the fire, and falling on the children's heads in an absolute shower, knocking Johnnie down, but on a

rday, leaning on the fork with which he had t

cumvented us!" cried Hal; "but we smelt you out, you ol

with an odd gruff noise, "Mischief enough-ay, to be sure-hucking the fire all abroad. I

e felt that it would be a tremendous trial o

er!" mut

thing about, "I won't," and "very cross;" and David lay flat on his face, puffing at his own particular oven, like a little Wind in an old picture. Sam waited, leaning

t himself, much less the new London Lady; so he made up an odd sort of grin, and said, "No, no, Ma'am, it ain't that they do so much harm; let 'em bide;" and he proceeded to shake on the rest of his bar

said Johnnie to Annie, never hearing or he

d believe that Miss Fosbrook was so cross as to want to hi

erials for Sam till she was out of breath, and joined in all the excitement as the fire showed symptoms of reviving, after being apparently crushed out by Purday. Sam and Susan,

ze the moment for some quiet reading; but she had not reached the house

d anywhere but where the smoke gets into my eyes, and Ge

Miss Fosbrook, "but I am sorr

to me," said Bessie

d good-humoured with them, and

It will be a nice

head; that was not the difficulty, but the cardboard, the ribbon, the real good paints. One little slip of card Miss Fosbrook hunted out of her portfolio; she cut a pencil of her own, and advised the first attempt to be made upon a piece of paper. The little bird that Bessie produ

ters to buy the Prussian blue, lake, and gamboge in London, and send them in a letter. This was a new idea to Bessie, and she was only not quite decided between the certainty that London paints must be better than country ones, and the desire of the walk to Bonchamp to buy some; but the thought that the r

ty busy parents, and the rude brothers and sisters, who held her cheap for being unlike themselves. But then she bethought her, that perhaps Bessie might have grown up vain and affected, had all these tastes been petted and fos

was rather in a fretful mood; and Susan had left all her happy play to bring him in to rest and comfort him, coming to the school-room because Nurse Freeman was out. Before Elizabeth had time to hide away her doings, George had seen the bright pincushion, and was hol

; "let your sister alone. She has a ri

little George, and hug and kiss him. "Poor dear little man! is Betty cross

that I don't want him to spoil

t is to please the children; but you are just such

Elizabeth was gone, and George a little pacified by an ivory ribbon-measure out of Miss Fosbrook's work-box, she

nkind to them," sai

tyrannize over her, and force her to give wa

must give way to the

y whether she w

uldn't; and I could not ha

lly. "Justice first, Susan; you had no right to rob Bessie for George, any more than

aid Susan, rather goi

Bessie forced out of her rights for the little ones. Not Bess

sical," was all Susa

w more, you would see that all is not nonsense that

Bessie was the only one among us that was capable of civilisatio

ant to go out to your play again, my

ng moment of seeing whether the potatoes were done enough, and George was perfectly contented with measuring everything on the ribbon, so she ran quickly off, without the manners to

r with the sight of what he must not have. Miss Fosbrook could not draw her into the merry game with little George, which made his shouts of glee ring out through the house, and meet Nurse Freeman's ear

t to call the rest. But Bessie returned no more than the rest; and the governess set forth herself, but had not made many steps before the voices of the rabble rout were heard, and they all were dancing and

self as those cinder-coated things, tough as leather outside, and within like solid smoke. Indeed the children, who had been bathing in smoke all day, had brought in the air of it with them; but their tongues ran fast on their adventures, and their taste had no doubt that their own bonfire potatoes were the most perfect cookery in art! Miss Fosbrook picked out the most eatable

as well as to learn that tyranny is wrong, even on behalf of the weak; and Bessie, if she would take home the lesson, had received one in readiness to be cheerful, and to turn from her own pursuits to oblige others. Something had been attemp