rat washing his wiry whiskers, the otter lying in the river like a stone for fear of dogs on the margin, all the beauties and excitements of nature. Put a poor unfortunate youngster to his

"As in praesenti perfectum format in avi,”

words whose meaning is beyond him, and flog him on a lovely summer afternoon for not remembering the miserable mnemonics, and in what temper or with what power of enjoyment will he run out upon the cool grass beneath the sunset sky?"

"I suspect, physiologically considered," said the Doctor, "that it does boys good to be flogged."

"I suspect, under all considerations, it does them more good not to be flogged. But that is not the question between us, Doctor. You attack me for reverting to ancient methods of learning, though you boast yourself to be a high Tory.

Neither Homer nor any of the

heroes he celebrated could read or write: why should we?"

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infinite plea

Well, Squire," said the Doctor, holding up a glass of Madeira to catch a sunbeam which shot gaily through a stained window, "I throw up the argument. But are those two young folk never to learn what everybody else knows? They are about eleven and twelve now, are they not?"

66

They are; and the world would call them uneducated: but are there any other two of the age in England who can give you As You Like It word for word? Are there any other two who, with a pointed stick upon the sea-sand, can prove that circles vary as the squares of their radii ?"

"Yet they have not begun to read?" said the Doctor.

"Nor to write. This library is open to them, and they can begin on any book they choose. There are a good many here that I can't read. In the chaos of alphabets which lies around them, the question is, which alphabet they will try first. There are materials here for their learning Chinese if they fancy it."

By the way, all this time I have not described the Doctor; and as the conversation was at that moment interrupted, now is just the time to do it. Dr. Sterne was a capital physician, a good scholar, a pleasant humorist, and had from time immemorial been engaged on a life of Arbuthnot, (yet unpublished,) whom he much resembled. He also resembled Hippocrates in his habit of uttering oracular maxims or aphorisms. Some of these have been preserved, and may possibly hereafter be published; and if any of his wise sayings should by accident

creep into this narrative, be it fully understood

that they are copyright.

Let us return to the interruption, which was slightly tragical.

In came a rather flyaway sort of servant-girl, who had been sent out with the children, exclaiming :

"O sir! please, sir! Miss Silvy's been and got drowned in the big fish-pond, and master Silvy's been and got drowned in saving her! O my! I'm took so bad."

Whereon she deliberately fainted, without drawing much notice. Squire and Doctor raced together to the big fish-pond-a mighty pool of immemorial white water-lilies, and of carp as old as the Conquest. The scene they saw on the old mossy margin was curious. A boy lying on the ground, faint and drenched; a girl drenched, but with no sign of faintness, trying to recover him; a mighty mastiff with broken chain standing by, and at intervals licking the boy's face.

The Doctor, lighter and so swifter than the

Squire, picked up Master Silvester.

"All

right!" he shouted to the father, who was some yards behind. Indeed the boy had just begun to open his eyes, and a drop of some reviving spirit which the Doctor carried about him made him fit to walk home.

"You must both go to bed at once," said Dr. Sterne, "and I'll bring you some physic."

The children went forward rapidly, under guidance of servants who had now arrived. The Squire and Doctor walked slowly up the lawn, followed by the great mastiff, who dragged a yard of chain. When they reached the corner opening to the courtyard, a groom said to Squire Silchester,

"Please, sir, what be us to do for Lion? He's been and smashed his kennel all to bits."

On turning into the stable-yard they saw that the heavy kennel had been dragged right across it, and shattered to fragments by the dog's impetuosity. The men about the stables