AS we drove along, my spirits revived again, and I turned, withpleasure, to the contemplation of the new life upon which I wasentering. But though it was not far past the middle of September,the heavy clouds and strong north-easterly wind combined to renderthe day extremely cold and dreary; and the journey seemed a verylong one, for, as Smith observed, the roads were 'very heavy'; andcertainly, his horse was very heavy too: it crawled up the hills,and crept down them, and only condescended to shake its sides in atrot where the road was at a dead level or a very gentle slope,which was rarely the case in those rugged regions; so that it wasnearly one o'clock before we reached the place of our destination.Yet, after all, when we entered the lofty iron gateway, when wedrove softly up the smooth, well-rolled carriage-road, with thegreen lawn on each side, studded with young trees, and approachedthe new but stately mansion of Wellwood, rising above its mushroompoplar-groves, my heart failed me, and I wished it were a mile ortwo farther off. For the first time in my life I must stand alone:there was no retreating now. I must enter that house, andintroduce myself among its strange inhabitants. But how was it tobe done? True, I was near nineteen; but, thanks to my retired lifeand the protecting care of my mother and sister, I well knew thatmany a girl of fifteen, or under, was gifted with a more womanlyaddress, and greater ease and self-possession, than I was. Yet, ifMrs. Bloomfield were a kind, motherly woman, I might do very well,after all; and the children, of course, I should soon be at easewith them - and Mr. Bloomfield, I hoped, I should have but littleto do with.

'Be calm, be calm, whatever happens,' I said within myself; andtruly I kept this resolution so well, and was so fully occupied insteadying my nerves and stifling the rebellious flutter of myheart, that when I was admitted into the hall and ushered into thepresence of Mrs. Bloomfield, I almost forgot to answer her politesalutation; and it afterwards struck me, that the little I did saywas spoken in the tone of one half-dead or half-asleep. The lady,too, was somewhat chilly in her manner, as I discovered when I hadtime to reflect. She was a tall, spare, stately woman, with thickblack hair, cold grey eyes, and extremely sallow complexion.

With due politeness, however, she showed me my bedroom, and left methere to take a little refreshment. I was somewhat dismayed at myappearance on looking in the glass: the cold wind had swelled andreddened my hands, uncurled and entangled my hair, and dyed my faceof a pale purple; add to this my collar was horridly crumpled, myfrock splashed with mud, my feet clad in stout new boots, and asthe trunks were not brought up, there was no remedy; so havingsmoothed my hair as well as I could, and repeatedly twitched myobdurate collar, I proceeded to clomp down the two flights ofstairs, philosophizing as I went; and with some difficulty found myway into the room where Mrs. Bloomfield awaited me.

She led me into the dining-room, where the family luncheon had beenlaid out. Some beefsteaks and half-cold potatoes were set beforeme; and while I dined upon these, she sat opposite, watching me (asI thought) and endeavouring to sustain something like aconversation - consisting chiefly of a succession of commonplaceremarks, expressed with frigid formality: but this might be moremy fault than hers, for I really could NOT converse. In fact, myattention was almost wholly absorbed in my dinner: not fromravenous appetite, but from distress at the toughness of thebeefsteaks, and the numbness of my hands, almost palsied by theirfive-hours' exposure to the bitter wind. I would gladly have eatenthe potatoes and let the meat alone, but having got a large pieceof the latter on to my plate, I could not be so impolite as toleave it; so, after many awkward and unsuccessful attempts to cutit with the knife, or tear it with the fork, or pull it asunderbetween them, sensible that the awful lady was a spectator to thewhole transaction, I at last desperately grasped the knife and forkin my fists, like a child of two years old, and fell to work withall the little strength I possessed. But this needed some apology- with a feeble attempt at a laugh, I said, 'My hands are sobenumbed with the cold that I can scarcely handle my knife andfork.'

'I daresay you would find it cold,' replied she with a cool,immutable gravity that did not serve to re-assure me.

When the ceremony was concluded, she led me into the sitting-roomagain, where she rang and sent for the children.

'You will find them not very far advanced in their attainments,'said she, 'for I have had so little time to attend to theireducation myself, and we have thought them too young for agoverness till now; but I think they are clever children, and veryapt to learn, especially the little boy; he is, I think, the flowerof the flock - a generous, noble-spirited boy, one to be led, butnot driven, and remarkable for always speaking the truth. He seemsto scorn deception' (this was good news). 'His sister Mary Annwill require watching,' continued she, 'but she is a very good girlupon the whole; though I wish her to be kept out of the nursery asmuch as possible, as she is now almost six years old, and mightacquire bad habits from the nurses. I have ordered her crib to beplaced in your room, and if you will be so kind as to overlook herwashing and dressing, and take charge of her clothes, she need havenothing further to do with the nursery maid.'

I replied I was quite willing to do so; and at that moment my youngpupils entered the apartment, with their two younger sisters.Master Tom Bloomfield was a well-grown boy of seven, with asomewhat wiry frame, flaxen hair, blue eyes, small turned-up nose,and fair complexion. Mary Ann was a tall girl too, somewhat darklike her mother, but with a round full face and a high colour inher cheeks. The second sister was Fanny, a very pretty littlegirl; Mrs. Bloomfield assured me she was a remarkably gentle child,and required encouragement: she had not learned anything yet; butin a few days, she would be four years old, and then she might takeher first lesson in the alphabet, and be promoted to theschoolroom. The remaining one was Harriet, a little broad, fat,merry, playful thing of scarcely two, that I coveted more than allthe rest - but with her I had nothing to do.

I talked to my little pupils as well as I could, and tried torender myself agreeable; but with little success I fear, for theirmother's presence kept me under an unpleasant restraint. They,however, were remarkably free from shyness. They seemed bold,lively children, and I hoped I should soon be on friendly termswith them - the little boy especially, of whom I had heard such afavourable character from his mamma. In Mary Ann there was acertain affected simper, and a craving for notice, that I was sorryto observe. But her brother claimed all my attention to himself;he stood bolt upright between me and the fire, with his handsbehind his back, talking away like an orator, occasionallyinterrupting his discourse with a sharp reproof to his sisters whenthey made too much noise.

'Oh, Tom, what a darling you are!' exclaimed his mother. 'Come andkiss dear mamma; and then won't you show Miss Grey your schoolroom,and your nice new books?'

'I won't kiss YOU, mamma; but I WILL show Miss Grey my schoolroom,and my new books.'

'And MY schoolroom, and MY new books, Tom,' said Mary Ann.'They're mine too.'

'They're MINE,' replied he decisively. 'Come along, Miss Grey -I'll escort you.'

When the room and books had been shown, with some bickeringsbetween the brother and sister that I did my utmost to appease ormitigate, Mary Ann brought me her doll, and began to be veryloquacious on the subject of its fine clothes, its bed, its chestof drawers, and other appurtenances; but Tom told her to hold herclamour, that Miss Grey might see his rocking-horse, which, with amost important bustle, he dragged forth from its corner into themiddle of the room, loudly calling on me to attend to it. Then,ordering his sister to hold the reins, he mounted, and made mestand for ten minutes, watching how manfully he used his whip andspurs. Meantime, however, I admired Mary Ann's pretty doll, andall its possessions; and then told Master Tom he was a capitalrider, but I hoped he would not use his whip and spurs so much whenhe rode a real pony.

'Oh, yes, I will!' said he, laying on with redoubled ardour. 'I'llcut into him like smoke! Eeh! my word! but he shall sweat for it.'

This was very shocking; but I hoped in time to be able to work areformation.

'Now you must put on your bonnet and shawl,' said the little hero,'and I'll show you my garden.'

'And MINE,' said Mary Ann.

Tom lifted his fist with a menacing gesture; she uttered a loud,shrill scream, ran to the other side of me, and made a face at him.

'Surely, Tom, you would not strike your sister! I hope I shallNEVER see you do that.'

'You will sometimes: I'm obliged to do it now and then to keep herin order.'

'But it is not your business to keep her in order, you know - thatis for - '

'Well, now go and put on your bonnet.'

'I don't know - it is so very cloudy and cold, it seems likely torain; - and you know I have had a long drive.'

'No matter - you MUST come; I shall allow of no excuses,' repliedthe consequential little gentleman. And, as it was the first dayof our acquaintance, I thought I might as well indulge him. It wastoo cold for Mary Ann to venture, so she stayed with her mamma, tothe great relief of her brother, who liked to have me all tohimself.

The garden was a large one, and tastefully laid out; besidesseveral splendid dahlias, there were some other fine flowers stillin bloom: but my companion would not give me time to examine them:I must go with him, across the wet grass, to a remote sequesteredcorner, the most important place in the grounds, because itcontained HIS garden. There were two round beds, stocked with avariety of plants. In one there was a pretty little rose-tree. Ipaused to admire its lovely blossoms.

'Oh, never mind that!' said he, contemptuously. 'That's only MARYANN'S garden; look, THIS is mine.'

After I had observed every flower, and listened to a disquisitionon every plant, I was permitted to depart; but first, with greatpomp, he plucked a polyanthus and presented it to me, as oneconferring a prodigious favour. I observed, on the grass about hisgarden, certain apparatus of sticks and corn, and asked what theywere.

'Traps for birds.'

'Why do you catch them?'

'Papa says they do harm.'

'And what do you do with them when you catch them?'

'Different things. Sometimes I give them to the cat; sometimes Icut them in pieces with my penknife; but the next, I mean to roastalive.'

'And why do you mean to do such a horrible thing?'

'For two reasons: first, to see how long it will live - and then,to see what it will taste like.'

'But don't you know it is extremely wicked to do such things?Remember, the birds can feel as well as you; and think, how wouldyou like it yourself?'

'Oh, that's nothing! I'm not a bird, and I can't feel what I do tothem.'

'But you will have to feel it some time, Tom: you have heard wherewicked people go to when they die; and if you don't leave offtorturing innocent birds, remember, you will have to go there, andsuffer just what you have made them suffer.'

'Oh, pooh! I shan't. Papa knows how I treat them, and he neverblames me for it: he says it is just what HE used to do when HEwas a boy. Last summer, he gave me a nest full of young sparrows,and he saw me pulling off their legs and wings, and heads, andnever said anything; except that they were nasty things, and I mustnot let them soil my trousers: end Uncle Robson was there too, andhe laughed, and said I was a fine boy.'

'But what would your mamma say?'

'Oh, she doesn't care! she says it's a pity to kill the prettysinging birds, but the naughty sparrows, and mice, and rats, I maydo what I like with. So now, Miss Grey, you see it is NOT wicked.'

'I still think it is, Tom; and perhaps your papa and mamma wouldthink so too, if they thought much about it. However,' Iinternally added, 'they may say what they please, but I amdetermined you shall do nothing of the kind, as long as I havepower to prevent it.'

He next took me across the lawn to see his mole-traps, and theninto the stack-yard to see his weasel-traps: one of which, to hisgreat joy, contained a dead weasel; and then into the stable tosee, not the fine carriage-horses, but a little rough colt, whichhe informed me had been bred on purpose for him, and he was to rideit as soon as it was properly trained. I tried to amuse the littlefellow, and listened to all his chatter as complacently as I could;for I thought if he had any affections at all, I would endeavour towin them; and then, in time, I might be able to show him the errorof his ways: but I looked in vain for that generous, noble spirithis mother talked of; though I could see he was not without acertain degree of quickness and penetration, when he chose to exertit.

When we re-entered the house it was nearly tea-time. Master Tomtold me that, as papa was from home, he and I and Mary Ann were tohave tea with mamma, for a treat; for, on such occasions, shealways dined at luncheon-time with them, instead of at six o'clock.Soon after tea, Mary Ann went to bed, but Tom favoured us with hiscompany and conversation till eight. After he was gone, Mrs.Bloomfield further enlightened me on the subject of her children'sdispositions and acquirements, and on what they were to learn, andhow they were to be managed, and cautioned me to mention theirdefects to no one but herself. My mother had warned me before tomention them as little as possible to HER, for people did not liketo be told of their children's faults, and so I concluded I was tokeep silence on them altogether. About half-past nine, Mrs.Bloomfield invited me to partake of a frugal supper of cold meatand bread. I was glad when that was over, and she took her bedroomcandlestick and retired to rest; for though I wished to be pleasedwith her, her company was extremely irksome to me; and I could nothelp feeling that she was cold, grave, and forbidding - the veryopposite of the kind, warm-hearted matron my hopes had depicted herto be.