ground. They found the trees loaded with nuts, and began at once to gather and crack them.

"The young squirrels had been enjoying themselves for half an hour, when they heard a stealthy step amongst the leaves on the ground, and looking down they saw the gardener pointing his gun at them. They screamed, dropped their nuts, and began to run away. There was a bang, a great smoke, and one of the squirrels dropped down, amongst the leaves on the ground, dead. The other crept away wounded.

"It was late in the afternoon when madam returned. She was surprised as she came near to hear no noise in her home; but she thought that perhaps her children had grown tired and had gone to sleep, so she entered her house very quietly, but they were not there. She went out and called them, but she heard no answer. She became alarmed, and rushed eagerly from tree to tree, still she could not find them. At length she thought she heard a moaning at the foot of the old tree, and she ran down as fast as possible, and there with a broken leg, and a spoilt tail,

sat one of her children crying and moan

ing.

66 6

Oh, dear, dear me ! what's the matter?' said madam,

"Her son only groaned.

"Where have you been? Where's your brother?' asked the mother.

"We went to the filbert ground and the man shot us; brother is dead, and the man picked him up, and my leg is. Oh, dear, how it pains me.'

"Poor madam was so shocked that she could not speak for some moments; but as soon as she recovered she assisted her wounded son up the tree to the house, and did all she could to alleviate his suffering.

"Later in the evening when the poor wounded young squirrel was asleep, madam was heard to say to a neighbouring squirrel, 'What a pity it is that young people will bring so much suffering and sorrow on themselves, because they will not attend to the advice of older and experienced people.'

"Ah, yes!' replied her neighbour. "Disobeying the good advice of kind parents nearly always ends in sorrow.'

"True, very true." said madam."

"Thank you, Aunt Lucy? Thank you, aunt," broke from all the children when she had finished; Nellie declaring, "It was one of her very best stories."

They then sang some of their favourite pieces together, and at nine o'clock the bell rang for prayers.

CHAPTER VIII.

A QUIET MORNING.

THE room occupied by Kate at the Dale was in the second story, and had been formerly the nursery. It was at the western end of the house, and had two windows in the oldfashioned, pointed gables, one looking westward, the other southward. The view from each was exceedingly beautiful, and all who knew the room agreed in pronouncing it the pleasantest room in the house. The outlook westward was limited, but very charming. Immediately before you lay the extensive garden, with its well-kept gravelled paths stretching away towards the great filbert ground which bounded its southern and western sides; beyond this, stretched mile on mile of the splendid Leyoak Park. The view southward was more varied and beauti

ful still; just below was the trim lawn and richly fruited orchard, and looking over these, you saw the embattled walls of an armoury, and the fine old tower of Chesterton Church, its exquisite tracery and graceful pinnacles being easily discerned against the blue or grey background of sky. Farther still than the town of Chesterton, you could see the rich grounds of an ancient abbey, and these stretched away until lost in the bleak uplands of the Woldcot hills.

Kate was very fond of this room and spent many quiet hours there; it was very large, and during the severe weather, a fire was kept continually burning in it.

Against the window looking south stood an old-fashioned easy chair near a small round table, on which were placed an antique ink-stand and a few books. This chair was Kate's favourite seat, and almost every morning she might be found spending an hour in the quiet reading of a little purple-covered Bible with strong silver clasps. This Bible had been her mother's, and had been given by her to Kate when on her dying bed. Many kind and blessed, counsels had been