It was quite a pet day in the beginning of July; if there was a fault it was its sultriness, an uncommon one in Scotland, where the hottest days are generally tempered by a cool breeze. The arch of the heaven above was blue and cloudless, and the sun, still high, shone with a dazzling brilliancy. Rising above the Lammermoors, however, were piled some splendid cumulus clouds, white as carded wool; and across them one or two dark streaks cut their snowy wreaths, and seemed to betoken the presence of thunder in those white pavilions. It was about three in the afternoon, and still the hottest part of the day; not a breath relieved the dead heat, not a leaf was swayed, and all nature seemed as though she slumbered beneath the hot beam, and took her siesta. A blue, misty haze rose above the silent woods, whose every leaf basked in the sunshine; the deer had fled to cool retreats, or the umbrageous oaks in the park; the songsters had hushed their notes in brake and tangled dell, and no bird tempted the glare save one solitary hawk, which with outspread wings poised himself on the thin air, and ever and anon quivered as he beheld his prey, possibly some tiny harvest mouse which little dreamed of its airy foe. The birds were silent;--not so the thousand grasshoppers, whose harsh whirr resounded from the grass--not so the myriad insect forms that flitted to and fro beneath the dark-green beeches,--not so the bees that hummed over their feast among the sweet lime-blossoms. The only other sounds were the rippling, musical purlings of the rivulet in the dell beneath: the stream was now reduced to its smallest dimensions by the long-continued drought, and the melodious sound now rose clear, and now dwindled to almost imperceptible thinness, as a fuller or lesser flow of water shook the pebbles, and gurgled among the moss-covered rocks. As the carriage drew nearer the castle, other rustic sounds were heard--the mower whetting his scythe, or the merry laugh of the haymakers, whilst the sweet smell of the new-made hay was delicious. The trees now ceased to fringe the road, which ran through the park towards the west tower of the castle; a neat wattling on either side kept out the cattle; and our friends had an uninterrupted view of the park, dotted over with haycocks, round which strolled many busy figures, some engaged in tossing the hay, some heaping it into haycocks, and others raking the ground. "How jolly!" exclaimed Johnny; "I shall soon be there helping--lots of time before dinner." "You must remember, Johnny, you are a guest, and only do what you are asked," said his father. "Oh, I am quite at home here, papa; every one may do as they please at the Towers--it is Liberty Hall. Besides I see Lord Wentworth among them. I am sure no one would stick at home on a day like this." "You must not abuse your liberty, my boy, but have patience; everything in its time."