Haymaking was delicious, so were snow-balling and sliding; blindman's buff and snapdragon at Christmas were not bad, nor were strawberries and cream in summer." The children drew a long breath.
"Had you all those ?" they said.

"Oh, what a happy little girl you must have been!" "And all the year round," pursued grandmother, "there was another delight that never palled.

When I look back upon myself in those days I cannot believe that ever a child was a greater adept at it." "What was that, grandmother ?" said the children, opening their eyes.
"_Mischief_, my dears," said grandmother.

"The scrapes I got into of falling into brooks, tearing my clothes, climbing up trees and finding I could not get down again, putting my head through window-panes--ah dear, I certainly had nine lives." "And what did your grandmother say?
Did she scold you ?" asked Molly--adding in a whisper to Ralph and Sylvia, "Grandmother must have been an _awfully_ nice little girl." "My grandmother was to outward appearance quiet and rather cold," replied _their_ grandmother.

"For long I was extremely afraid of her, till something happened which led to my knowing her true character, and after that we were friends for life--till her death.