Dinner being over, we observed, what had
before escaped our notice, that the sky was becoming overcast with dark
clouds, and soon a heavy rain began to fall, which put an end to all our
plans of out-of-door enjoyment for the afternoon. As I mentioned at the
beginning, Harry was very much disappointed, for outside sports were his
especial delight; and for a time his face looked almost as dark and
forbidding as the sky itself. We tried to cheer him up, saying we would
have some quiet games in the large dining-room, and we did succeed in
getting him to join us; but somehow or other our games afforded us no
enjoyment, and the question, "what shall we do with ourselves?" began to
pass from one to the other among the group of eager, restless boys.
"Would you like me to tell you a story, boys?" enquired Harry's mother,
after observing for a time our vain attempts at enjoyment. Mrs. Knights
was a lady of high culture, and possessed the happy faculty of rendering
herself an agreeable companion to either the young or old; and more than
one pair of eyes grew bright with pleased anticipation when she proposed
telling us a story; and, of course, we all eagerly assented to her
proposal. Seating herself in our midst, she took up a piece of
needlework, saying, "I can always talk best when my hands are employed,"
and began as follows:
"I suppose none of you, perhaps not even my own Harry, is
aware that my home has not always been in Canada; but I will now inform
you that the days of my childhood and youth were passed in a pretty town
near the base of the Alleghany Mountains in the State of Virginia.
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