"Mamzelle! Mamzelle Paddy, we have boats in our house!" cried Viva eagerly. "Three boats with cushions, and a punt, and one with a funnel in the miggle. And Cousin Jim takes us out with the 'nother gentleman, and we splash with our hands, and the lady was cross because of her sash, and she dried it in the sun. And there's tea in the garden, and a big steamer that makes waves, and muzzer says if we are very good you will play with us at being gipsies under the wheel-barrow." "An' we got in a box, and the water went up, an' up, an' up, an' then it went down, an' down, an' down, an' then we came home," contributed fat little Inda in her deep, gurgling voice, and Pixie turned from one to the other and cried, "Vraiment!" "Sans doute!" "Bravo!" and beamed in delighted expectation. The house-party were assembled on the lawn drinking tea when the pony- carriage turned in at the gate, and Pixie looked round with sparkling eyes, quite dazzled by the beauty of the scene. The narrow road, running at the back of the houses, had been dull and uninteresting, but before many yards of the drive had been traversed, there came a view over the wide sunlit river, and beyond it green meadows stretching away as far as the eye could reach. The house was not a cottage after all, but quite a large, imposing- looking house, and the lawn sloping to the river bank was smooth and soft as velvet. Baskets of flowers hung from the verandah; picturesque stumps of trees were hollowed out to receive pots of geraniums; a red and white awning shaded the tea-table; and the wicker chairs were plentifully supplied with scarlet cushions. It was Pixie's first peep at the summer glories of the river, and she felt as if she had stepped into fairyland itself. The little girls seized her hands and dragged her in triumph across the lawn, and Mrs Wallace looked round, and said smilingly to her friends-- "Here's my French governess--the latest addition to the household. What do you think of my choice?" "Governess! That girl! She looks a child herself. Edith, what nonsense are you talking?" "Sense, my dear, I assure you. The wisest thing I ever did, as you will see before many hours are past. We shall have some peace now that she has arrived. Bon jour, Mamzelle. How I am happy to see thee again! Thou are not fatigued--no? Seat thyself in this chair, and I will make known to thee my friends." She spoke in French, and evidently wished her governess to appear as French on this occasion at least; and Pixie rose to the occasion, sweeping elaborate bows from side to side, unconsciously elevating her shoulders, and waving expressive hands. She discoursed volubly about her long and adventurous journey of three-quarters of an hour's duration, and Mrs Wallace's guests looked on with smiling faces, putting an occasional laborious question as she appeared to be reaching the end of her story.