After breakfast the trunks arrived and the young ladies were busy; and two or three days passed quietly in getting wonted.

“Mr. Landholm,” said Miss Cadwallader, a few mornings after, “will you do one thing for me?”

“A great many, Miss Rose,” he said, stopping with his hands on his knees as he was about to leave the table, and looking at her attentively.

“I want you to send somebody to shew me where the strawberries are.”

“Strawberries!  Do you want to go and pick strawberries?”

“To be sure I do.  That’s what I came here for.”

“Strawberries, eh,” said Mr. Landholm.  “Well, I guess you’ll have to wait a little.  There aint a soul that can go with you this morning.  Besides, I don’t believe there are any ripe yet.”

“O yes there are, papa!” said Asahel.

“I guess Bright Spot’s full of them,” said Mrs. Landholm.

“Bright Spot!” said the farmer.  “Well, we must be all off to the hay-field.  You see, there’s some grass, Miss Rose, standing ready to be cut, that can’t wait; so you’ll have to.”

“What if it wasn’t cut?” said Miss Cadwallader pouting.

“What if it wasn’t cut! —­ then the cattle would have nothing to eat next winter, and that would be worse than your wanting strawberries.  No —­ I’ll tell you, —­ It’ll be a fine afternoon; and you keep yourself quiet, out of the sun, till it gets towards evening; and I’ll contrive to spare one of the boys to go with you.  The strawberries will be all the riper, and you can get as many as you want in an hour or two.”

So upon that the party scattered, and the house was deserted to the ‘women-folks;’ with the exception of little Asahel; and even he was despatched in a few hours to the field with the dinner of his father and brothers.  The girls betook themselves to their room, and wore out the long day as they could.

It grew to the tempting time of the afternoon.

“Here they are!” said Rose who sat at the east window.  “Now for it!  That farmer is a very good man.  I really didn’t expect it.”

“They?” said Elizabeth.

“Yes —­ both the ‘boys,’ as the farmer calls them.”

“I should think one might have been enough,” said Elizabeth.

“Well, there’s no harm in having two.  Isn’t the eldest one handsome?”

“I don’t know.”

“You do know.”

“I don’t! for I haven’t thought about it.”

“Do you have to think before you can tell whether a person is handsome?”

“Yes; —­ before I can tell whether I think he is.”

“Well, look at him, —­ I tell you he has the most splendid eyes.”

“Rose Cadwallader!” said her cousin laying down her book, “what is it to you or me if all the farmer’s sons in the land have splendid eyes?”

Elizabeth’s eyebrows said it was very little to her.

“I like to look at a handsome face anywhere,” said Rose pouting.  “Come —­ will you.”