in amongst the honeysuckles in the arbour I have spoken of; and old Mary was even more than usually disposed to give free liberty to that much-indulged member her tongue. She was reckoning up, as usual, the things and people of her younger days, when gentlemen wore lace ruffles and powdered wigs, and when, as she told them for the hundredth time, "Taplow Moor was a moor, though now it's the finest farm-land in the county."

"And there used to be real robbers and highwaymen upon it too, my dears; and people used often to ride into Springfield after dark, who had been stopped on the way there and been robbed. Several times my dear old master, the squire, was served like this, and all that was worth anything, even to his silver spurs, was taken away from him. But the robbers were always gentlemen, he said, and always made handsome excuses; and once they gave him back a shillin' to pay the turnpike gate. There was one man by the name of Simpkins, who was kind of first man among 'em, and well known all over, They tried to get him a long while, and he had a vast of narrow escapes, but they got him at

last; and then they put up a gibbet at the corner of the road, just beyond where Farmer Yates's barn stands now, and they hung him up there in chains. It was a very fearsome sight, I can tell you, for folks that went by, to see the body of a man swingin' to and fro, and all black with the time and weather. And whenever I went across the moor, which I did sometimes to my sister's at Notbury, I used to shut my eyes when I went past, and I always took care to come back by daylight; for people did say, you know, how that Simpkins's ghost used to ride about over the moor just as he did when he was alive. But once I was dreadfully frightened, which it was about Christmas time, I havin' been over to Notbury; and the days bein' very short, it grew on to be dark before I well noticed it. I set off home directly, and John, which was my sister's husband, came with me to see me safe across the moor. But as we were comin' through the village, who but Mr. Noble should we meet; and he took John off to see after some sheep that had broken the hurdles, and got away out of the folds, being that John was Mr. Noble's shepherd. So I had to go on alone, and

dreadfully frightened I was too, my dears, as you may think; and frightened you would have been, I'm sure, if you had been in my shoes. To make it worse, a thick storm of snow came on just when I had got fair on to the moor, so that I got half-blinded with it, and couldn't by no means see my way. Hows'ever, I managed to go on, with the snow drivin' in my face, and the wind blowin' hard against me, till somehow or other I felt that I was comin' close to the gibbet. I didn't dare to look-I couldn't raise my eyes to it for the worth of anything; I couldn't bear to see it even in the daytime, and it would ha' been as good as death to me if I had seen it then. I tried to hurry past it as quick as I could. But it seemed as if I couldn't get byas if I was forced to stand still, and listen; and just then the wind dropped all of a sudden, and I heard a noise that seemed like-"

Here something came crashing through the leaves at the side of the arbour. Ellen and Maud screamed out at this sudden interruption. But it was only old Mary's tortoiseshell cat which had jumped into her lap, and curling himself snugly round, went to sleep directly.