The water of the clear pool in the centre of the yard was led away, on the side we sat on, in a little canal, amongst the rocks, out of which it was hewn, and this was thickly planted with lotuses. We had dined, and the golden sky overhead began to be spangled with a bright silver star here and there, and the distant and scarcely perceptible buzz of a solitary scout of a musquitto, would every now and then suddenly increase to a loud singing noise, as he reconnoitred your auricle--presently you heard the hum of a whole picket of them--the advanced guard of a host of winged pests, which were thus giving token of the approach of evening. "Master Hudson," quoth Listado again--"you have a beautiful situation here, certainly; magnificent scenery, and a good house; fine water, and pure air--but a damnable quantity of musquittoes--beg, pardon, ladies, for the lapse--yet really, just as I am expatiating, one of those devils has flown into my eye, half-a-dozen into my mouth, and--Lord, if a big fellow has not got into my ear, and is at this identical moment thundering away at the timpanum, ay, as if he were a bass drummer!" Here our friend started up, and began to dance about and shake his head, as if he would have cast it from his shoulders into the pool. "Mr Brail," said Helen, laughing, as soon as the Irishman had subsided--"do you see how carefully those beautiful water-lilies have folded up their silver leaves before retiring to their watery pillows?--there, that one nearest your foot has already sunk below the water; and the largest, that is still gently moved by the small ripple that radiates from the splashing water in the middle of the basin, will soon follow--See, it is gone"--as, one by one, the whole of the beautiful plants gradually sank under the surface for the night. I was struck with this, and fascinated by the tone and manner of the speaker;--when suddenly the lotuses again emerged. "Heyday," said De Walden--"your poetry is all lost, Miss Hudson; the flowers don't seem to sleep sound on the watery pillows you spoke of--they are as gallant and complimentary as Don Lorenzo there; for see, they are all back to have another peep at you." "Probably they found their beds were not made, De Walden," rapped out Listado. "Very extraordinary; what can that mean?" said Sophie Duquesné. "My dear Miss Duquesné," said Listado, "I see I must give you some lessons in pronunciation still--why will you worry your R's so in your beautiful throat?" "It is my French accent, you know, and I cannot help it," said the lovely creature, laughing. "But really what _is_ this?" said Helen; and as she spoke, the jet gradually became weaker and weaker; the water in the pool rapidly subsided for a minute; and then, with a loud, gurgling noise, disappeared altogether, leaving the rocky bed dry, and the poor pet mountain-mullets walloping amongst the water-plants like so many silver wedges.