Must I explain? It is rather awkward to expose one’s own little plots and manœuvres, but I really see no help for it, as this particular one happens to be the centre around which all my movements revolved. We lived in the village, which was quite a pretty collection of half houses half villas, but still it was not _quite_ the country; there were no handsome edifices standing far back from the road, with noble, English-looking lawns in front, and endless gardens and a beautiful water prospect back; oh no! every thing looked far more exact and methodical, and an actual tea-drinking, with strawberries and cream, at a real country-seat was not to be despised. There was a very handsome place about a mile from the village, which had lately been taken by an old friend of my mother’s, who, on moving from the city, was considerably shocked and discouraged by the many inconveniences attending a residence in the country. Mrs. Morfield, when she had time, was a very entertaining woman, and always had a great deal to say to my mother, and not much in particular to me; but she had repeatedly pressed me in a very kind manner to come and take tea with her sociably; and having never before availed myself of this invitation, I had now concluded to go. Mrs. Morfield’s good qualities, however, were considerably enhanced in my estimation by the knowledge of her being the happy sister of a brother who had been quite a favorite with me in my younger days. It was now three years since Henry Auchinclass departed for college, and during that time I had never once seen him, but his name had been frequently brought forward with a grand flourish of trumpets, till my curiosity was quite excited to see if he had altered so much from what I remembered him. Once a fugitive piece of poetry fell into my hands, after passing through various channels, and having just begun to admire sentiment, this production of my old playmate’s stirred up all my ecstasy and enthusiasm. Prizes were showered upon him at every examination, and in the eyes of his old acquaintances his brow was encircled with a wreath of laurel that raised him almost to a level with Shakspeare and Milton. This hero was now actually coming among us with all his honors fresh upon him; whether he really had arrived, or was going to arrive that afternoon, I did not know, but thinking it extremely probable that, as the distance from Mr. Auchinclass was not far, he would visit his sister as soon as possible, I was seized with a sudden fancy to execute one of my long promised tea-drinkings. At our last parting something of a fracas took place; but I was quite a juvenile then, not more than fourteen, and now, with the experience and improvement of three additional years, I _collected_ all my energies to startle him with my fancied transformation.