Parliament say, and the whole party returned down the hill.

"Now, Auntie," said Grimkie, as they rode back to the hotel, "the clerk said we must be at the stage office at a quarter before eight. Would you like to ride there ?"

"If it is not far," said his aunt, "we can walk just as well, and so we shall see more of the town,"

"Yes," said Grimkie, "I should like that, and Mr. Boots will carry our luggage for us."

CHAPTER XIV.

NIGHT RIDE BY DAYLIGHT.

A LITTLE before eight o'clock that evening, the whole party proceeded on foot from the hotel to the stage office. The porter of the hotel went with them, taking the trunk and some smaller parcels. The coach soon came out in front of the office, the trunk and the parcels were put upon the roof. Mrs. Morelle and Florence took their places inside, while Grimkie and John mounted to the top, and established themselves upon a long cushioned seat, which extended from one side of the coach to the other, directly behind the coachman.

Instead of a rack behind, as in American stage-coaches, there was a sort of box, with a door opening into it, for the mail bags, and seats above, over the back part of the coach. One of these seats is occupied by the man who has care of the mails, and who is called the guard. The other seats are for such passengers as choose to ride there. (rimkie and John, however, chose

to ride on the forward seat, so that they could see before them as they rode along.

The coach drove first through the village and stopped at the postoffice to take the mails, where quite a little crowd of men and boys assembled to witness the setting off. The horses were soon in motion again, the coachman cracking his whip with a very smart air, as the wheels ran rapidly over the pavement. From their elevated seat, Grimkie and John could look down with great advantage upon every thing around them. They soon came to the end of the pavement, and then the horses trotted and cantered swiftly along over a hard and smooth road, across the canal by a beautiful bridge, and then on among green fields, through turnpike gates, and along the walls of gardens, and parks, and pleasuregrounds, while pretty cottages, and porters' lodges, and green hedges, and milestones, and peasant girls, going or returning from milking, and a thousand other such objects as mark the rural scenery of Scotland in a summer evening, glided by them in rapid succession.

In the distance all around them lofty mountains were seen, the summits of some of them covered with snow, and the sun still high in the sky in the northwest, though half concealed by

golden clouds, promised to accompany and cheer them on their journey for a long time.

"It is after eight o'clock," said Grimkie, "and see how high the sun is !"

"Very high," said John.

"I don't believe

the sun will set before ten o'clock."

"Yes, the sun sets here a little after nine," said Grimkie.

"How do you know ?" asked John.

"I looked in a Glasgow almanac,” replied Grimkie. "The sun sets in Glasgow one or two minutes after nine to night, and here it must be some minutes later, for we are two or three degrees farther north."

"I don't see why that is any reason," said John.

"Oh that is very plain," rejoined Grimkie. "Don't you see that we are going round over the curvature of the earth toward the north ?"

As he said this, Grimkie made a gesture with his hand, pushing it out before him in a manner to denote a motion in advance over the curved surface of a ball.

"Yes," said John.

"And don't you see that the sun is going down over the roundness of the earth in the same direction ?"

"Yes," said John, almost in the north-in the northwest."

"Then don't you perceive," added Grimkie, "that the farther we go, on the same course that he is going, the longer we can see him ?"

"Ah yes," said John.

"And that is the rea

son why we shall see the sun longer here to-night than they will in Glasgow."

'Exactly," said Grimkie.

In the meantime the horses, having been now trotting and galloping for about an hour over the hard and smooth road, were brought up by the coachman somewhat suddenly at the door of an inn in a small village, in order to be changed. The coachman descended from his seat, the postboys led out the fresh horses from the stable of the inn, and the guard took the mail bags which were to be left at that place out of his box, and threw them down into the road.

Grimkie availed himself of this opportunity to inquire after the welfare of his aunt and cousin. He leaned over as far as he could on one side, toward the coach window below, and called out: "Auntie, are you getting along pretty well ?" Immediately Florence's head appeared at the window.

'Grimkie," said she, "where are we ?"

"We have stopped to change horses," said Grimkie.

"Already ?" said Florence.