the very clouds, while the crackling beams, the waving flames, and falling tiles, resounded to a great distance. At length the flames reached the very room in which the poor dog was confined; and the agonies of Edward were wrought up to the highest pitch. O my dog, my Cæsar cried the poor boy; 'O my Cæsar!'

"For a moment the cries of the dog were more dreadful than ever: a terrible crash ensued; the floor of the loft above the room where he had been confined, had fallen in; and those who loved Cæsar were indulging the last sad hope, that his death might be speedy, and his sufferings short, when suddenly the dog appeared, making his way through the flames, which burst from the open door: and, though singed and scorched, no otherwise hurt; but springing towards his master, exhibited the wildest testimonies of delight. The chain by which he had been held had been broken some days before, as it was afterward remembered, and the links united by a piece of rope, the knots of which had remained firm until the flames had reached the poor dog, and by burning the cord had set him free. And now," said Mr. Nash, "how shall I describe the joy of Edward? It was quite affecting to witness it. I should never forget it were I to live a thousand years. He hugged his dog in his arms, he kissed him, he congratulated him, as if he could have understood every word he said; and the poor animal, in return, testified his delight by every expression of joy of which a dumb creature is capable."

"Oh!" said Henry Milner, "I am so glad that Cæsar was saved. I really expected that he would never escape; did he live many years after that time?" "Yes," said Mr. Nash. "He lived, I think, ten years after that; and I am told that Edward never would suffer him to sleep out of his own room, or to be chained up again."

By this time they had left the farm-house far behind them, and were descending into a lovely part of the valley of the Teme, where they soon stopped at the door of an old house, in which Mr. Nash had been born. There they were kindly received and regaled with beans and bacon, and fruit-pie; after which they proceeded to a curious place in the neighbourhood called Southstones Rock, where a venerable couple, formerly known to Mr. Nash, resided in a little cottage on the top of the rock.

Southstones Rock is situated in a narrow valley not very distant from the Teme. This valley on either side is enriched with orchards, beyond which, to the right and left, the heights are crowned with coppices and forest trees; the rock closes the valley, standing forth in a manner so bold and so abrupt, and forming such a contrast with the green and flourishing sides of the valley as could not fail to excite the wonder and admiration of every stranger. On the summit of this rock stood the old cottage of John and Mary Garmeson, and their fertile and flowery garden was situated on its irregular heights. A clear and exceedingly cold spring, which had the power of petrifying every thing which lay in its channel, ran from the heights above the rock; and passing by the door of the cottage, came tumbling down into the vale beneath.

In elder days it is said that a hermit dwelt in this rock, and Mr. Dalben showed Henry the remains of this hermitage scooped out of the rock; also a little apartment, supposed to have been his chapel, and a winding way cut in the rock, by which the old man could ascend to its summit, where was probably his garden.

Henry was much pleased with this hermitage, and asked many questions about the hermit, which neither Mr. Dalben nor Mr. Nash could answer.

"Was he an old man, uncle ?" said Henry; "and did he worship idols? And what was his name?"

"Indeed, my dear boy, I cannot answer these questions, from knowledge," said Mr. Dalben: "but you may picture the old gentleman to yourself, in a gray suit of clothes, with a long white beard and a bald head; and we will suppose that he was a Roman Catholic, which was most probable; and fancy that he had a large crucifix in his grotto, and a cross suspended from his neck, and a string of beads hanging from his girdle. But now come, my boy, let us hasten up to the good old people at the top of the rock."

It was a lovely little cottage in which Mr. Nash's old friends resided, and the good couple were delighted to see their visiters. Mrs. Garmeson, though dressed in the humblest manner, had such manners as showed that she had seen better days, and uttered such sentiments as proved her to be a Christian. She insisted that the gentlemen should sit down and have some tea; and Henry was very much delighted to see the preparations VOL. I.-E

she made for this repast. He followed her to the brook, whither she went to fill her kettle, and to her dairy to skim her cream, for she kept two cows; and when she put her little white loaf and pat of butter on the table, he thought he had never seen any thing before that looked so good.

"Pray, ma'am," said he, while thus following her about, "do you remember the hermit?"

"What hermit, master?" said Mrs. Garmeson.

"The hermit, ma'am," said Henry, "who lived in this rock."

"I am very old to be sure, master," said Mrs. Garmeson, "but not quite so old as that neither; but if you will follow me, I will show you a chair which was said to be his."

"Oh! pray do, ma'am," said Henry.

The old lady then took him up a narrow staircase into a very neat little bedroom, where stood a wormeaten oak chair, much larger and higher than those in common use; it was carved and adorned with many oldfashioned figures, among which was still discernible the figure of a bishop with his mitre and pastoral staff leading a procession, and being followed by a number of monks in their gowns and hoods.

"I cannot pretend to say," said Mrs. Garmeson, "that this was really the hermit's chair; but, at any rate, it is a very old chair; and many strangers have come here to see it."

"What a great man the hermit must have been!" said Henry, seating himself in the chair: "I did not think he was so large."

"Now come, my little master," said Mrs. Garmeson; "the water boils by this time; and I dare say you are ready for your tea."

"Indeed I am," said Henry; "I never was so hungry in my life, I think."

The little party then sat down to tea, and Mr. Nash asked the old people many questions about such of the neighbouring families as he remembered.

"When I was a little boy," said Mr. Nash, "my father and mother used often to bring me and my brother to drink tea in this place. Your father, you know, then lived here, John Garmeson; and it was the greatest treat we could have to visit Southstones Rock."

"Ah! sir," said John, "I remember those times well;

but what has become of the dear young gentleman, your brother ?"

"He has been long dead, John," returned Mr. Nash: "after my poor parents' death, he entered into the army, and went to the East Indies, where he died almost as soon as he landed, having been very ill at sea. I had one letter from him from on board ship, and in that letter he said, 'I have been long ill; I have had a violent fever; and when confined in my cabin, I thought of the green fields and fragrant woods and gardens of the happy island which gave me birth. The bleating of the poor sheep confined in the vessel suggested to me many ideas of thymy pastures and breezy downs, which added to my anguish; inasmuch as I felt myself for ever separated from these lovely scenes. And when parched with an unquenchable thirst, I felt that one draught, only one draught, of the water of Southstones Rock would have restored me to health. But I now thank God,' he added," continued Mr. Nash, " that these longings after my native plains, and this thirst for the water which perishes, have now subsided, other desires having, by the divine blessing, been suggested; and I now am brought earnestly to seek for the water only which he that drinks shall never thirst again; and, with the patriarch Abraham, to desire a better country, even an heavenly one.""

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Very sweet and affecting indeed," said Mrs. Garmeson, wiping her eyes; "and I hope and trust that that dear young gentleman has long since found that better country which he so eagerly sought."

In such discourse as this did the little party pass the remainder of their time till it was necessary for them to take leave; when Mr. Nash having presented the good old couple with a handsome old Bible, which he had brought expressly for them, they departed. Henry and the old gentleman having walked to a little public house, where they had left their carriage, they seated themselves once again in the blue one-horse chaise, and arrived safely at home about nine o'clock in the evening.

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CHAPTER XVIII.

The Grotto, Grasses, and Mosses.

MR. NASH did not remain long at Mr. Dalben's after this visit to Southstones Rock; and as soon as he was gone Henry began to consult his uncle about a plan which had occupied him ever since his visit to the old hermitage.

"Uncle," said Henry, "I want to make a grotto, and a hermitage, and a hermit, and an old chair."

"An old chair," said Mr. Dalben; "you will find some difficulty in making an old chair."

"Yes, uncle," said Henry, "I think it will be difficult; but I was thinking of asking the carpenter to help me. If he would make the chair, you know I could draw the picture of the bishop upon it, and that will do as well as if the people were cut in wood."

"As to making an old chair, Henry," said Mr. Dalben, "there is not a workman in England could do it."

"Dear uncle, why ?" said Henry.

"Because," said Mr. Dalben, "in whatever fashion a man were to make a chair, it would be a new chair when it came out of his hands, and not an old one."

"Oh! uncle," said Henry, "I understand you; now you are joking with me. But I don't mean that I want to make an old chair, but a chair that looks like an old one."

"But what size do you mean to make your hermitage, and your hermit, and your old chair."

"Oh! very little," said Henry, "so little, that I may put them on my shelf when they are done."

"Well," said Mr. Dalben," then I will tell you what you must do. You must first get a small flat board, and some strong cement, such as glue or gum; and I will give you some of the petrifactions which I brought from Southstones Rock; and you must fix them at one end of your board, in the shape you like best, but in such a manner as to form a hollow or cave for your hermit; and these must be strongly fixed in their places; and