and of tlie darlings round about lies all her worldly treasure the weeping servants are dismissed their wages paid in fillip and with a present of prayer and hymn books from their mistress your ele gant house in harleystrcet is to let and you subside into lodgings in pentonville orkensington or brompton


how unlike the mansion where you paid taxes and distributed elegant hospitality for so many years you subside into lodgings i say and you find yourself very to lerably comfortable


i am


not surthat your wife is not happier than in what she calls her happy i days


she will be somebody hereafter she was nobody ahareystret that is everybody bise in her visiting book take the names all round was as good as she


they had the very same entres plated ware men towait cl at all the houses where you visited in the street


your candlesticks might be handsomer arid indeed they hid a very fine effect upon the dinnertable but then mr joness silver or electroplated dishes were much finer


yoliad move carriages af your door on the evenjng of your delightful soirees than mrs brown there is nd phrase more elegant and to my taste than that in which people re described as seeing a great deal of


carriage company


but yet mrs brown from the circumstance of her being a baronets niece teok precedence of your dear wife at most tables


hence


the latter charming womans scorn at the british baronetcy and hr many jokes at the order


in a word and in the height of your social prosperity there was always a lurking dissatisfaction and a something bitter in the midst of the fountain of delights at which you were permitted to drink


there is no good unless your taste isin that way living in a society where you are merely the equal of everybody else many people give themselves extreme pains to frequent company where all around them are their superiors and where do what you will you must be subject to continual mortificationas for instance when marchioness x forgets you and you cant help thinking that she cuts you on purpose when duchess z passes by in hr diamonds c


the true pleasure of life is to live with your in feriors


be the cock of your village the queen of your coterie and besides very great persons the people whom fate has specially endowed with this kindly consolation are those who have seen


what are called better daysthose who have had losses


i am like caesar and of a noble mind if i cannot be first in picca dilly let me try hatton garden and see whether i cannot lead the ton there


if i cannot take the lead at whites or the travel lers let me be president of the jolly sandboys at the bag of nails and blackball everybody who does not pay me honour


if my dar ling bessy cannot go out of a drawingroom until a baronets niece ha ha


a baronets niece forsooth has walked before her let us frequent company where we shall be the first and how can we be the first unles we select our inferiors for our associates


this kind of pleasure is to be had by almost everybody and at scarce any cost


with a shillings worth of tea and muffins you can get as much adulation and respect as many people cannot purchase with a thousand pounds worth of plate and profusion hired foot men turning their houses topsyturvy and suppers from gunters


adulation


why the people who come to you give as good par ties as you do


respectthe very menials who wait behind your suppertable waited at a dukes yesterday and actually pa tronise you


o you silly spendthrift


you can buy flattery for twopence and you spend ever so much money in entertainiug your equals aud betters and nobody admires you


now aunt honeyman was a woman of a thousand virtues cheerful frugal honest laborious charitable goodhumoured truthtelling devoted to her family capable of any sacrifice for those she loved and whenshe came to have losesof money for tune straightway compensated her by many kindnesses which no income can supply


the good old lady admired the word gentle woman of all others in the english vocabulary and made all around her feel that such was her rank


her mothers father was a naval captain her father had taken pupils gvot a living sent his son to college dined with the squire published his volume of sermons was liked in his parish where miss honeyman kept house for him was respected for his kindness and famous for his port wine and so died leaving about two hundred pounds a year to his two children nothing to clive newcomes mother who had


displeased him by lier first marriage an elopement with ensign casey and subsequent light courses


charles honeyman spent his money elegantly in wine parties at oxford and afterwards in foreign travel spent his money and as much of miss honey mans as that worthy soul would give him


she was a woman of spirit and resolution


she brought her furniture to brighton be lieving that the whole place still fondly remembered her grand father captain nokes who had resided there and his gallantry in lord rodne s action with the count de grasse took a house and let the upper floor to lodgers


the little brisk old lady brought a maidservant out of the coun try with her who was daughter to her fathers clerk and had learned her letters and worked her first sampler under miss honey mans own eye whom she adored all through her life


no indian begum rolling in wealth no countess mistress of castles and town houses ever had such a faithful toady as hannah hicks was to her mistress


under hannah was a young lady from the work house who called hannah mrs hicks mum and who bowed in awe as much before that domestic as hannah did before miss honeyman


atfive oclock in summer at seven in winter for


mrs honeyman a good economist was chary of candlelight hannah woke up little sally and these three women rose


i leave you to imagine what a row there was in the establishment if sally


appeared with flowers under her bonnet gave signs of levity or in


subordination prolonged her absence when sent forth for the beer or was discovered in flirtation with the bakers boy or the grocers young man


sally was frequently renewed


miss honeyman called all her young persons sally and a great number of sallies were consumed in her house


thequalities of the sally for the time being formed a constant and delightful subject of conversa tion between hannah and her mistress


the few friends who visited miss honeyman in her backparlour had their sallies in discussing whose peculiarities of disposition these good ladies passed the hours agreeably over their tea


many persons who let lodgings in brighton have been servants themselvesare retired housekeepers tradesfolk and the like


with these surrounding individuals hannah treated on a footing of equality bringing to her mistress accounts of their various goings on j how no was let how no had not paid his rent again how the first floor at had game almost every day and madedishes from muttons how the family who had taken mrs


bugsbys had left as usual after the very first night the poor little infant blistered all over with bites on its little dear face how the miss learys was going on shameful with the two young men actially in their settingroom mum where one of them offered miss laura leary a cigar how mrs cribb still went cuttin pounds and pounds of meat off the lodgersjints emptying theil teacaddies actially reading their letters


sally had been told sc by


polly the cribbs maid who was kep how that poor child wai kep hearing language perfectly hawful


these tales and anec dotes tot altogether redounding to their neighbours credit han nah copiously collected and brought to her mistresss teatable oi served at her frugal little supper when miss honeyman the labour of the day over partook of that cheerful meal


i need not say fha such horrors as occurred at mrs bugsbys never befel in mrs hoileymans establishment


every room was fiercely swept anc


sprinkled and watched by cunning eyes which nothing coule escape curtains were taken down mattresses explored every bom in bed dislocated and washed as soon as a lodger took his departure and as for cribbing meat or sugar saljy might occasionally ab stract a lump or two or pop a vealcutlet into her mouth whili bringing the dishes down stairssallies wouldgiddy creature bred in workhousesbut hannah might be entrusted with untoh gold and uncorked brandy and miss honeyman would as sooi think of cutting a slice off hannahs nose and devouring it as o poaching oh her lodgers mutton


the best muttonbroth the bes vealoitlets the best necks of mutton and french beans the bes fried fisli and plumpest partridges iii all brighton were to be ha at mis honeyniansand for her favourites the bestindian curri and rice coming from a distinguished relative at present an office in bengal


but very few were admitted to this mark of mis


hoiiej man confidence


if a family did not go to church the were not in favour if they went to a dissenting meeting she had no opinion of them at all


once there came to her house a quiet staffordshire family who ate ho meat oh fridays arid whom miss honeyman pitied as belonging to the romish superstition but when they were visited by two corpulent gentlemen in black one of whom wore a purple under waistcoat before whom the staf fordshire lady absolutely sank down on her knees as he went into the drawingroom mrs honeyman sternly gave warning to these idolaters


she would have no jesuits iner premises


she showed hannah


the picture in howells medulla of the martyrs burning at smithfield who said lord bless you mum and hoped it was a long time ago


she called on the curate and many and many a time for years after pointed out


to her friends and some times to her lodgers the spot on the carpet where the poor be nighted creature had knelt down


sb she went on respected by all her friends by all her tradesmen by herself not a little talking of her previous misfortunes with amusing equanimity as if her fathers parsonage house had been a palace of splendour and the one horse chaise with the lamps for evenings from which she had descended a noble equipage


but i know itis forthebest clive she would say to her nephew in describing those grandeurs and thank heaven can be resigned in that station of life to which it has pleared god to call me


the good lady was called the duchess by her fellow tradesfolk in the square in which she lived


i dont know what would have come to her had she been told she was a tradeswoman


her butchers bakers and marketpeople paid her as much respect as though she had been a grandees housekeeper out of kemp town


knowing her station yet she was kind to those inferior beings


she held affable conversations with them she patronised mr rogers who was said to be worth a hundred thousandtwo hun dred thousand pound or lbs


was it


and who said law bless the old duchess she do make as much of a pound of vealcutlet as some would of a score of bullocks but you see shes a lady born and a lady bred shed die before shed owe a farden and shes seen better days you know


she went to see the grocers wife on an interesting occasion and won the heart of the family by tasting their caudle


her fishmonger it was fine to hear her talk of my fishmonger would sell her a whiting as respectfully as if she had called for a dozen turbots and lobsters


it was believed by those good folks that her father had been a bishop at the very least and the better days which she had known were supposed to signify some almost unearthly prosperity


i have always found hannah the simple soul would say that people know their place orean be very easily be made to find it if they lose it and if a gentlewo man does not forget herself her inferiors will not forget that she is a gentlewoman


no indeed mum and im sure they would do no such thing mum says hannah who carries away the teapot for her own breakfast to be transmitted to sally for her subsequent refection whilst her mistress washes her cup and saucer as her mother had washed her own china many scores of years ago


to be continued


utbmtoie


the stobt oe a feather sg


sffttgrs twain


a story from posch chapter xxvi


continued from our lostj trs


champs new suitorthe widows ap


yow neednt wait for mr cloudy show him out said mrs cramp


and becky go directly where told you


you know added the widow significantly and i felt becky clutch me closer as she answered icnow mem and she immediately turned from the room


ere however she closed the streetdoor i heard mrs cramp again loud in her silver laughter again evidently taking on for the buried cardmaker


it was nearly dark and becky tripped along with the true timidity of a london maidofallwork


for myself i was in despair


i felt iti knew iti was carried onward to be stained lost for ever widowhood had passed sentence upon me was to be dyed


i put it to the readerproud it may be of the clearness of his complexion w bat would be his agony if he knew that tomorrow morning he must inevitably rise a blackamoor


i put it to you madam you with your milky check carnationtintedwould you not break your glass when it showed j ou a hottentot


still becky tripped along inhumanly humming i think nancy dawson when a man crossing the way stood before her


becky immediately drew herself up and i could feel that her heart began to flutter and beat precisely as every i womans heart has beat since the first rubadub in paradise


becky knew not whether the monster was about to compliment or insult her she was equally prepared for cither incident


my pretty maid began the stranger


none o your nonsense broke in becky and i could feel her jerk and i have no doubt she sneered


dont be cruel child aid the man in a soft gentle voice


never was cruel in my life said becky the mans musical words melting in her bosom


well then my dear and the stranger laid hit hand upon the maid


none o your nonsense cried becky starting back youd better not i wears pattens


you have the advantage of me replied the man with a bow


but i am sure you are loo much a lady of honour to use it


ive two hands of my own and theyre quite enough upon me at one time thats all said becky so what youve got to say you can say with your hands in your pockets


beckys reproof evidently struck upon the fine sense of the stranger for he immediately pulled out his purse and oftering the maid as it appeared to me a piece of gold asked if she would make him happy by accepting it


becky received the coin merely observing there could bo no harm in that


and now my dear ono wordis your sweet mistress within asked the donor


in course crying her dear eyes out for poor mr cramp


thats a pity i said the stranger


shes murderin herself i answered becky


she must be saved cried the man


but its just like us answered the maid we arc nil fools alike


i wonder if hed hagone on so about her


not he men are flintsnot made as we are


and mrs cramp is at home


alone too no doubt said the stranger


alone i aid becky and xhe said no more


her manner warranted the solitude of her mistress


you must tell her that a gentleman wishes particularly to see her said the man


and her husband not been burled a week i cried the maid who however suffered the stranger to pass his hand under her elbow turning her towards the widows house


i wouldnt do it for a thousand pounds said becky as she stood at the late mr cramps door


twill be worth more than that to your dear mistress said the stranger


come lv no doubt youo th ky


well what a man you are cried becky immediately producing that domestic instrument


shouldnt wonder if i get turned away for it


who shall i say say edwardthats enough said the man


hushl slop minute while i see if missus is alone a neighbour may be with her said becky softly turning the key and entering the house with caution the stranger following her


becky immediately entered the parlour


you are alone mem oh yes answered mrs cramp and again she burst into laughter


ive made such a fool of the man


he thinks hush mem theres a gentleman in the passage wants to see you


he seized me in the street and would make me bring him to you


his name memits all hell tell mehis name he says is edward edward


oh heavens


bring the candles cried mrs cramp sinking upon a chair


becky immediately flung me upon a table and rushed out of the room in the same instant edward passed from the passage andwhy was not i already dyed to be spared my blushesand caught the widow in his arms


the worst remains to be told


mrs cramp neither squealed nor shrieked nor conjured the man to departcon jured him by the memory of her husband yet green in earth by the gloom and sadness of her desolate weeds noastounded by the violence all the poor woman was ebie to utter was edward


is it you


it is said edward and somehow it was impossible for th toman any longer to doubt it


can it be


is it possible


why does not becky bring the candles


edward kisses the widow kisses her and calls her his clarissa i to kiss a woman in a widows cap


excuse human infirmity as we may is there not very great presump tion in the act


is it not greeting the handmaid of death


thebut it is plain edward wants imagination again


we ask it is there not something awful freezing in that white chilling muslin that sometimes surrounds the face of venus with a frame of snowthat ices beauty for a twelvemonth


in the superstition of custom we think the dead has yet some lien upon hera years hold at least


is there notbut there is this excuse for edward


i it is dusk he cannot see the cap that ought to freeze him


thank goodness


i becky has brought the candles


was now enabled to have a good stare at edward


he was a very handsome fellow that is ninety women out of a hundred would have called him handsome


his figure wa thickset but far above the middle height with the chest and back of gladiator


his face was large and open with care leu good humour upon ithis brow unlined by thought


he bad a fine colour black whiskers a sufficiently large mouth and remarkably white teeth


i know that mrs cramp thought his eyesthey were black as coalsvery beautiful for my part liked not their expression


they were of those eyes that seem always trying to look gay and sparkle and then there was an occasional dropping down and pulling of the corners of the mouth as though twitched by uneasy heart strings


my gentleman had clothed his fleshy man with a due sense of its excellence


there was lace on his cravatgold lace on his coat and waistcoatgold loop and button in his beaver


he nore a jewel on his finger and took snuff from what seemed a box of embossed silver


and this was edward


i no reader it was not


it was clickly a brim highwayman


and did mrs cramp know this


not she poor widowed dove


the truth is she bad met the man at ranelagh and as conscientious soul


she could not boast of her husband ah had never spoken of his existence


again knowing that mr cramp could not much longer endure this sinful world his wife like a provident woman looked around her for a nore than substitute for the dying cardmaker and looking beheldedward


hence the bad always spoken of obstacles that tim might destroy and thenand thenedward


and she might wed but edward must wait to edward the widow li


th ward or niac of soma ancient villainfor she now lid then speke of au old tyrant whilst to uia widow edward vu tbi only darling ton of a rich lady of th manor soroewber car bo land


end


au this i afterwards discovered i but mm


i hat mystery i lay the case befen the reader at once


suppersomething nice said mrs cramp ia a whisper to becky as th widow crossed the room to lay me upon the mantelpiece and then ai he returnednever mind ei


arnt you surprised to find me asat i am


iked mrs cramp glancing at ber mourning


not in the least my angeli knew your husbands doctor all the time said abram


is it possible


well if id have known


i shall never forgive myself exclaimed the widow trying to look very like a penitent


and now the maids cone my sweet onename the day when shall it be


im tired of this dd london and i dont know how it is i get quite foolishi want to see the old ladyi want to hug my old mother again


such were the filial yearnings of edward but we fear that the stir caused by the highway robbery of clickly abram had some influence upon their wish for travel


when shall it be


he asked smiling upwards in the widows eyes


why do you ask me


you can leave london when you likecant you said mrs cramp with an innocence that would have adorned girlhood at sixteen


nono dont budge without my dear clarissa


come well say next week impossible edward


have you no respect for the world


and my husband onlyno you must wait a twelvemonth or twoa twelvemonth at least


why


a man isnt any more dead after a year than after a day is he asked the highwayman and to confess airs


cramp seemed willing to be puizled by the thiers philosophy


as for the world its a dd world my dear and not worth the pleasing but i tell you hatwe get coupled in the country come up to town in three or four years time and say were just married


oh the art of man exclaimed airs


cramp throwing up her pretty eyes in sweet reproof


and i say clarissa are you fond of poultry nsked the thief


dont dislike a chicken answered the widow


but i mean poultry in its natural state


ha you should see my mothers doves a million of era my dear


how they will flock about you i


and then our sheep and our put lambs and the haycocks and the orchard and the peaches like your own velvet face ripening on the wall and the pigs and the harvesthome and the dairy and elieh clarissa and the highwayman laughed and rubbed his hands full of glee at the rural objects that his imagination had placed at his mothers


airs


cramp was evidently touched by the promised para


dise for she said with a sigh well i do like the country


and thus the loversfor we must call them sotalked until the supper came


becky proved herself bountiful as expedi tious


she had attacked thefarder of a neighbouring tavern and had carried off a most substantial and most varied banquet


wine and brandy also honoured the feast


eating and drinking soften the heart


edward became more urgent for instant flight and marriage in the country whilst airs


cramp said nothing but sighed the more heavily


bumper after bumper was swallowed by the wooer and his increased passion did honour to the distiller


no my angel well be offoff by tomorrow and you shall be like a shep herdess in chinaand as for that cap airs


cramp dreaming doubtless of the cardmaker had sat twiddling her capstrings until the tie was loosed where upon the enamoured and excited lover twitched the muslin from her head swearing it was wickedness to hide such lovely hair now edward


it looks like a bit of his shroudshall never wear it again nevernever


and so saying the husband elect threw the widows cap upon the fire thrusting it among the burning coals with the poker and thus he stood triumphant over burnt muslin whilst airs


cramp clasped her hands in what she intended for rage astonishment and wounded affection


to bo continued


fjtimttor the story of a feather


s aitfils strraf


a story from punch


chai ter xx


continued loni our last


a house in bloomsburyi again meet patty butler


tub coachman drove to his stand where with the patience of his tribe he sat meekly awaiting another call


i heard a church clock strike ten immediately afterwards a sharp shrill female voice cried coach and the driver instantly opened the door and handed in a woman who bade him drive to some street for the name escaped me in bloomsbury


the woman as it appeared to me was under some strange excite ment for now she giggled and now again she sighed heavily and now she cried well well he cant last for everand with that consolation laughed outright


in the midst of this she let fall her handkerchief and stooping to feel for it her hand caught mc


how her eyes sparkled as she held me to the window and by the dim lamps in the street scrutinized my shadowed beauty


it cant belong to the coachman she said and immediately concealed me


from the brief glance i had had of my uew possessor i did not feel particularly hila rious at my destiny


she was a woman of about three or four and twenty with an animated face but withal a certain viva cious boldness of the eye unpleasing to the sobriety of my con stitution


however she had taken possession of me by right of discovery


i was to her own satisfaction at least her lawful property


the coach stopt in a narrow dark street opposite a mean looking dirty housea house with all the outward indications of squalor and disrepute


i may be fanciful but there is a physiognomy in housesat least such is my belief


sure i am i have seen houses with a swaggering liatacock sort of look whilst other habitations have seemed to squint and leer wick edly from the corners of the windows


the house the coach stopt at was of this kind my heart fell as my new possessor gently struck the knocker


youllgive more than a shilling said the coachman with an afllcted air of wonderment


a shilling is your honest fareand as an honest man you can ask no more was the feminine reply


honest man muttered the coachman as if the woman talked of something altogether out of human experience


yes honest mau i answered my new ownerho continued to press me closely under her arm ringing honesty upon every note of her shrill quick voice


at length the coachman mounted his box in evident disgust at the gibberish he had been compelled to listen to for his de parting growl was honesty wilh no supplementary compli ment to that very respectable virtue


and here you arc agin mrs cramp i cried an old withered woman as my new mistress entered the house


and i hope youve enjoyed yourself not at all answered mrs cramp with sudden illhumour


well that is a bit of beauty exclaimed the old woman as mrs cramp laid mc upon the table


how much did it cost


got it quite a bargaini may say for next to nothing


and hows your lodger now said mrs cramp with an evi dent wish to withdraw mc as the subject of conversation


la i what do you think


well wonders will never cease


its only hnlfanhour after you went away when a gentleman comes here and inquires about her


i thought there was some mystery in that pale face of hers


well when he found out that she was the lost sheep hed been looking after he went on like mad


he told me as soon as she got well hed marry her and make a lady of herand more than that putting a golden guinea iu my hand he told me to let her want for nothing


here mrs cramp drew herself up saying airs


crum pet i knew i was rightthough never clapt my eyes upon lier knew she couldnt be any better than she should be


well well weve all our little faults said the charitable mrs crumpet


but i havnt told you all


besides the guinea the gentleman went away and in lils own pockets brought back two bottles of wine and told mc not to spare it for there was plenty more where that carne from


so my dear mrs cramp well take a little glass just to drink the poor things health


i have no objection to wish the gentleman health but as for your lodger we dont know whos who said mrs crump


oh shes a sweet quiet little pigeon cried the benevolent mis crumpet and her thin yellow face shone with a smile like new gold


the wine was produced the glasses filled when a knock at the streetdoor called the landludy from the room


in a moment she returned


its only becky hut she says mr cramp wont be pacified with any lies they can tell himhes doing nothing but screaming for you


well well he cant last for ever was the selfcomforting answer of the wife


she then took the glass and saying heres the gentlemans health whoever he is emptied it


well i suppose like the girl in the play i must take of my finery and be cinderella again said mrs cramp and she rose to leave the room


youll find every thing as you left it said mrs crumpet who during her mistresss absence called in becky and glori fied her with half a glass of wine


i suppose you dont get much of this sort of stuff with your master said mrs crum pet


the girl made no answer but gave a melancholy shake to her head drank the wine and heaved a deep sigh


and his the old fellow made much of a rumpus


hes been doing nothing but praying and swearing these two hours said becky


well providence is very good said mrs crumpet theres one good thinghes bedrid


thats the only blessing said becky for we can have the comfort of shutting all the doors and letting him hallo


more conversation of this consolatory cast took place ore the return of mrs cramp


at length she entered the room but


what a change i


she had thrown off every vestige of her finery and was drcst with scarcely more pretension than the smutchfaced blowsy maidofall work who had come to fetch her


youll take care of the thingsand of that particularly said mrs cramp pointing mc out to mrs crumpet


like the apples of my eyes answered the landlady with emphasis


she then took the candle and preceded her visitor to the street door


good night my dear mrs cramp let us hope for happier days


yes ho cant last long again repeated mrs cramp and lightened by such comfort i heard her trip quickly past the window followed hy becky


mrs


crumpet returned to the parlour and scttiug herself at the table whereon was still the wine divided her admiration between the bottle and myself


well they ought to bless their stars as arc born to such things said mrs crumpet her heart evidently softening un der vinous influence


she continued to soliloquize


ha i with such fine feathers whata fine bird i should have been i


and nowthe lord help me


ii lets lodgings to all sorts


then for new solace did mrs crumpet again address herself to the wine which still increased its kindly operation


she took rae from the table shook me blew through mc and then begun to hum the songs of her youth


for some minutes she said no thing but sure i am her brain was busy with the past with the glowing radiant hopes which hud faded into leadencoloured realities for after a time she dropt me upon the table and in a deeper key exclaimed confidentially to herself


and now i lets lodgings


at length mrs crumpet rose and placing the bottle affec tionately under one ann she carried me a wineglass and a candlestick from the room with as i soon perceived the in tention of ascending the stairs


this operation after some difficulty she effected and in due season i arrived at the door of one of the garrets


as airs


crumpet opened the doori know not how it wasbut the candle fell from her hand and was extinguished


with wonderful presence of mindi might even say with an intuitive instinctmrs crumpet held fast the bottle


who there cried a low gentle voicethe voice of suffer ing


instantly i recognised it a tremour thrilled me


it waa the little featherdreiser


patty butler


whos there


again she asked in darkness


they do make such candles now cried mrs crumpet and the groped for the lost treasure which with some difficulty be regained


ive a tinderbox in the cupboard for at my time of life i cant get up and down stairs as i used to do


saying this mrs crumpet with extraordinary facility took the box from the shelf


here however began a difficulty


mrs crumpet endeavoured to strike a light but by some accident neither flint nor steel would meet


sometimes the stone jagged one set of the strikers knucklessometimes the steel the other


and thus mrs crumpet sat andstruck and struck butno spark came i


oh winewinebacchusbacchus here in a wretched garret with an old crone of a landlady was thy subtle wicked ness made manifest


how often does excess of wine prevent the spark that might otherwise have cast its radiance far around how often has the genius drenched with grape done nought when working hard to scintillate but blindly strike his own knuckles


i the rain must have come in upon the tinder said mrs crumpet and more than that ive cut my fingers aillo ininccirteat


well well people at my time of life oughtnt to do nothing


o dear shea ed in despairthe flints they make nowadays i give it to me snid patty i am sure i can get a light


youl bless the dear chilli


cried mrs crumpet and vigor ously she struck and struck until striking her knuckles past patience she flung the steel and flint upon the bed where she had thrown me some minutes before


well if you will have your way you must cried the landlady and she pushed the tinderbox ns i thought towards patty


in a minute patty set up in bed


once or twice she struck the flint then she was seized with a cough which compelled her to desist


again she essayed


surely there was some truth in the saying of mrs crumpet the flint was bad worn out its fire quenched


again and again patty struck


and now the sparks come thick


i it is plain the rain has spoilt the tinder


no


i it kindles i pattyi had been thrown almost within a hand of herblows the spark the fire casts a red hue upon her face but yet i see the change


how wauhow thinbow much more like tier dead mother


the candle is lighted but the exertion has proved too much for the girl


she coughs and coughs and exhausted yet with such sweet mildness in her eyes her face she sinks hack upon vvhal ber landlady would call a pillow


looked round lim garret


oh god i to be continued


flastetr plustltpre ilocalt


personal adventures of master humiphrey


tulb old curiosity anopctiaptnn lxii


a faint light


twinkling from the window of the countinghouse on quilps wharf and looking in flamed and red through the night fog as though it suffered from it like an eye forewarned mr sampson brass as he approached the wooden cabin with a cautious step that the excellent proprietor his esteemed client wasinside and probably waiting with accustomed patience and sweetness of temper the fulfilment of the appointment which now brought mr brass within his fair domain


a treacherous place to pick ones steps in of a dark night muttered sampson as he stumbled for the twentieth time over some stray lumber and limped in pain


t believe that the boy strews the ground differently every day on purpose to bruise and maim one unless his master does it with his own handswhich is more than likely


i hate to come to this place without sally


shes more protection than a dozen men


as he paid this compliment to the merit of the absent charmer mr brass came to a halt looking doubtfully towards the light and over his shoulder


whats he about i wonder murmured the lawyer standing on tiptoe and endeavouring to obtain a glimpse of what was passing inside which at that distance was impossible


drinking i supposemaking himself more fiery and furious and beating his malice and mischievousness till they boil


im always afraid to come here by myself when his accounts a pretty large one


i dont believe hed mind throttling me and dropping me softly into the river when the tide was at its strong


eat any more than hed mind killing a rat indeed i dont know whether he wouldnt consider it a pleasant joke


hark


i


now hles singing


mr quilp was certainly entertaining himself with vocal exercise but it was rather a chant than a song being a monotonous repetition of one sentence in a very rapid manner with a long stress upon the last word which he swelled into a dismal roar


nor did the burden of this performance bear any reference to love or war or wine or loyalty or any other the standard topics of song but to a subject not often set to music or generally known in ballads the words being these the worthy magistrate after remarking that the prisoner would find some difliculty in persuading a jury to believe his tale committed him to take his trial at the approaching sessions and directed the customary recognizancres to be entered into for the prosecution


every time he came to this concluding word and had exhausted all possible stress upon it quilp burst into a shriek of laughter and began again


lles dreadfully imprudent muttered brass after he had listened to two or three repetitions of the chant


horribly imprudent


i wish he was dumb


i wish he was deaf


i wish he was blind


hang him cried brass as the chant began again i wish he was dead


giving utterance to these friendly aspirations in behalf of his client mr sampson composed his face into its usual state of smoothness and waiting until the shriek came again and was dying away went up to the wooden house and knocked at the door


come in cried the dwarf


how do you do tonight sir said sampson peepingin


ha ha


ha


how doyou do sir


oh dear me how very whimsical


amazingly whim


sical to be sure i come in you fool returned the dwarf and dont stand there shaking your head and showing your teeth


come in you false witness you perjurer you suborner of evidence come in i he has the richest humour i cried brass shut


ting the door behind him the most amazing vein of comicality


but isnt it rather injudicious sir whats demanded quilp what judas


judas cried brass


he has such extraor


dinary spirits i his humour is soextremely playful i judas t oh yaedear me how very good


ha ha ha i all this time sampson was rubbing his hands and staring with ludicrous surprise and dismay at a great goggle eyed blunt nosed figurehead of some old ship which was reared up against the wall in a cor ner near the stove looking like a goblin or hideous idol whom the dwarf worshipped


a mass of timber on its head carved into the dim and distant sem blance of a cocked hat together with a representation of a star on the left breast and epaulettes on the shoulders denoted that it was intended for the effigy of some famous admiral but without those helps any observer might have supposed it the au thentic portrait of a distinguished merman or sea monster


being originally much too large for the apartment which it was now employed to decorate it had been sawn short off at the waist


even in this state it reached from floor to ceiling and thrusting itself forward with that excessively wide awake aspect and air of somewhat obtrusive polite ness by which figureheads are usually characterised seemed to reduce everything else to mere pigmy proportions


do you know it t said the drawf watching sampsons eyes


do you see the likeness eh said brass holding his head on one side and throwing it a little back as connoisseurs do


now i look at it again i fancy i see ayes there is certainly something in theamile that reminds me ofand yet upon my word i


now the fact was that sampson having never seen anything in the smallest degree resembling this substantial phantom was much perplexed being uncertain whether mr quilp considered it like himself and had therefore bought it for a family portrait or whether be was pleased to consider it as the likeness of some enemy


he was not very long in doubt for while he was surveying it with that knowing look which people assume when they are contemplating for the first time portraits which they ought to recognise but dont the dwarf threw down the newspaper from which he had been chanting the words already quoted and seizing a rusty iron bar which he used ton lie of poker dealt the figure such a stroke on the nose that it rocked again


is it like kitis it his picture his image his very self cried the dwarf alming a shower of blows at the insensible countesance and covering it with deep dimples


is it the exact model and counterpart of the dois itis itis it


and with every repetition of the question he battered the great image until the perspiration steamed down his face with the violence of the exercise


although this might have been a very comical thing to look at from a secure gallery as a bull fight is foucd to be a comfortable spectacle by thusre who are not in the arena and a house on fire is better than a play to people who dont live near it there was something in the earnestness of lr


qulips manner which made his legal adviser feel that the countinghouse was a little too small and a great deal too lonely forthe due enjoyment of these hrumours


therefore he stood as far off as he could while the dwarf was thus engaged whimpering out but feeble applause and when he left off and sat down again from pure exhaustion approached with more obsequiousness than ever


excellent indeedl cried brass lie he i


oh very good sir


you know said sampson looking round as if in appeal to the bruised admiral hes quite a remarkable manquie l sit down said thedwarf


j bought the dog yesterday


ive been icrewing gimlets into him and sticking forks in his eyes and cutting my name son him


i mean to burn him at last


iha hal cried brass


extremely entertain ing indeed come here said quilp beckoning him to draw near


whats injudicious hey


nothing sirnothing


scarcely worth men tioning sir but i thought that songadmirably humourous in itself you klowwas perhaps rather syes said qrilp lather what


sjust bordering or as one pay sey remotely verging upon the confines of injudiciousnens per haps sir returned brass looksig timidly at the dwarfs cunning eyes which were turned towards the fire and reflected its red light


why inquired quilp without looking up


why you know sir eturned brass venturing to be more familiar the fact is isir that any allusion to these little combiniongs together of friends for objects in themselvesaextremely laudable but which the law terms conspiracies areyou take me alrlbest kept snug and among friends you know


ehl said quilp looking up with a perfectly vacant countenance


what do you mean i cautious exceedingly cautious very right and proper cried brass nodding his head


mum sir even heremy meaning sir erectly


lyour meaning exactly you brazen scarecrow whalts your meaning retorted quilp


why do you talk tome of combining togethler do i com binel


do i know anything about your combin e ings no no sircertainly not not by any means returned brass


if you so wink and nod at me said the dwarf looking about him as if for his poker ill spoil the expression of your monkeys face i will


dont put yourself out of the way i beg air rejoined brass checking himself with great alacrity


youre quite right sir quite right


i shouldnt have mentioned the subject air


its much better not to


youre quite right sir


let us change it if you please


you were asking sir sally told me about our lodger


he has not returned sir


no said quilp heating some rum in a little saucepan and watching it to prevent its boiling over


why not why sir returned brass ihedear me mr quilp str


whats the matter said the dwarf stopping his hand in the act of carrying the saucepan to his mouth


you have forgotten the water air said brass


andexcuse me sirbut its burning hot


deigning no other than a practical answer to this remonstrance mr quilp raised the hot saucepan to his lips and deliberately drank off all the spirit it contained which might have been in quantity about half a pint and had been but a moment before when he took it off the fire bubbling and hissing fiercely


having swallowed this gentle stimulant and shaken his fist at the admiral he bade mr brass proceed


but first said quilp with his accustomed grin have a drop yourselfa nice dropa good warm fiery drop


why sir replied brass if there was such a thing as a mouthful of water that could be got with out trouble theres no such thing to be had here cried the dwarf


water for lawyers


melted lead and brimstone you mean nice hot blistering pitch and tar thats the thing for themeh brass eh


ha ha ha i laughed mr brass


oh very biting i


and yet its like being tickled theres a pleasure in it too sir i drink that said the dwarf who had by this time heated some more


toss it off dont leave any heeltap scorch your throat and be happy


the wretched sampson took a few short sips of the liquor which immediately distilled itself into burning tears and in that form came rolling down his cheeks into the pipkin again turning the colour of his face and eyelids to a deep red and giving rise to a violent fit of coughing in the midst of which he was still heard to declare with the constancy of a martyr that it was beautiful indeed i while he was yet in unspeakable agonies the dwarf renewed their conversation


the lodger said quilp what about him


he is still sir returned brass with intervals of coughing stopping with the garland family


he has only been home once sir since the day of the examination of that culprit


he informed mr richard sir that he couldnt bear the house after what had taken place that he was wretched in it and that he looked upon himself as being in a certain kind of way the cause of the occurrence


a very excellent lodger sir


i hope we may not lose him


yah i cried the dwarf


never thinking of anybody but yourself


why dont you retrench then scrape up hoard economise eh why air replied brass upon my word i think sarahs as good an economiser as any going


i do indeed mr quilp


moisten your clay wet the other eye drink man cried the dwarf


you took a clerk to oblige me


delighted sir i am sure at any time replied sampson


yes sir i did


then now you may discharge him said quilp


theres a means of retrenchment for you at once


discharge mr richard air cried brass


have you more than one clerk you parrot that you ask the question


yes


upon my word sir said brass i wasnt prepared for this how could you be


answered the dwarf when i wasnt how often am i to tell you that i brought him to you that i might always have my eye on him and know where he was and that i had a plot a scheme a little quiet piece of enjoyment afoot of which the very cream and essence was that this old man and grandchild who have sunk under ground think should be while he and his precious friend believed them rich in reality as poor as frozen rats


i quite understood that sir rejoined brass


thoroughly


well sir retorted quilp and do you under stand now that theyre not poor that they cant be if they have such men as your lodger searching for them and scouring the country far and wide


of course i do sir said sampson


of course you do retorted the dwarf viciously snapping at hlis words


of course do you under stand then that its no matter what comes of this fellow of course do you understand that for any other purpose hes no man for me nor for you


i have frequently said to sarah sir returned brass that he was of no use at all in the business


you cant put any confidence in him sir


if youll believe me ive found th t fellow in the commonest little matters of the office that have been trusted to him blurting out the truth though expressly cau


tioned


the aggravation of that chap sir has exceeded anything you can imagine it has indeed nothing but the respect and obligation i owe to you sir as it was plain that sampson was bent on a com plimentary harangue unless he received a timely tnterruption mr quilp polhtely tapped him on the crown of his head with the little saucepan and re quested that he would be so obliging as to hold his peace


practical sir practical said brass rubbing the place and smiling but still extremely pleasant immensely


so i hearken to me will you returned quilp or ill be a little more pleasant presently


heres no chance of his comrade and friend returning


the scamp has been obliged to fly as i learn for some knavery and has found his way abroad


let him rot there


certainly sir


quite properforcible cried brass glancing at the admiral again as if ihe made a third ton company


extremely forcible i i hate him said quilp between his teeth and have always hated him fur family reasons


besides he was an intractable ruffian otherwise hie would have been of use


this fellow is pigeon hearted and lightbeaded


i dont cant him any longer


let him hang or drownstarvego to the devil


by all means air returned brass


when would you wish him sir toha ha ito make that little excursion when this trials over said quilp as soon as thats ended send him about his business


it shall be done sir returned brass by all means


it will be rather a blow to sarah sir but she has all her feelings under control


ah mr quilp i often think sir if it had only pleased pro vidence to bring you and sarah together in earlier life what blessed results would have flowed from such a union


you never saw our dear father sir t


a charming gentleman


sarah was ills pride and joy sir


the wotld have closed his eyes in bliss would foxey mr quilp if he could have lotnd her such a partner


you esteem her sirl i love her croaked the dwarf


youre very good sir returned brass i am sure


is themre any other order sir that i can take a note of besides this little matter of mr richard none replied the dwarf seizing the saucepan


let us drink the lovely sarah


if we could do it in something sir that wasnt quite boiling suggested brass humbly perhaps it would be better


i think it will be more agreeable to her feelings when she comes to hear from me of the honour you have done her if she learns it was in liquor rather cooler titan the last sir


but to these remonstrances mr qulp turned a deaf ear


simpson brass who was by this time anything but sober being compelled to take further draughts of the same strong bowl found that instead of at all contributing to his recovery they had the novel effect of making the counting house spin round and round with extreme velocity and causing the floor and ceiling to heave in a very distressing man


ner


after a brief stupor he awoke to a consciousnesa of being partly under the table and partly under the grate


this position not being the most comfortable one he couldhave chosen for himself he managed to stagger to his feet and holding on by the admiral looked round for his host


mr brasss first impression was that his host was gone and had left him there aloneperhaps locked him in for the night


a strong smell of tobacco however suggesting a new train of ideas he looked upwa do and saw that the dwarf was smoking in his hammock


good bye sir cried brass faintly


good bye sir


wont you stop all night said the dwarf peeping out po stop all night


i couldnt indeed sir replied brass who was almost dead from nausea and the closeness of the room


if youd have the goodness to show me a light so that i may see my way across the yard sir quilp was out in an instant not with his legs first or his head first or his arms first but bodily altogether


to be sure he said taking up a lantern which was now the only light im the place


be caerful how you go my dear friend


be sure to pick your way among the timber for all the rusty nails are upwards


theres a dog in the lane he bit a man last night and a woman the night before and last tuesday he killed a childbut that was in play


dont go too near him


which side of the road is he sir i asked brass in great dismay


he lives on the right hand said quilp but sometimes he bides on the left ready for a spring


hes uncertain in that respect


mind you take care of yourself


ill never forgive you if you dontr


theres the light out never mindyou know the waystraight on


quilp had slyly shaded the light by holding it against his breast and now stood chuckling anui shaking from head to foot in a rapture of delight as he heard tha lawyer stumbling up the yard and now and then talling heavily down


at length however he not quit of the place anti was out of hearing


the dwarf shut himself up again and sprung once more into his hammock


to be continued


bush life in australia


ast original taie


chatter ii


sure enough harry had at last uncoiled himself from hi sleepingplace where he nightly vowed that he had to tie his back bone into a knot to fit inand wab how stretching his long legs on deck and look ing about him with a bored and bewildered air


say charley where the devil are we


where nre you man


why half way up the river and within twenty miles of the flourishing capital of the clarence where the mayor and public authorities arc anxiously waiting to welcome your arrival with a feu


dcjoie and a public dinner


ah will


let them give mo the dinner and they may bestow the shooting upon you j with all my heart


but what a horrid old turk the governor must be to send us to an infernal hole like this


it is as hot as surajah dowlas waitingroom at calcutta and nothing to bo seca but water and trees trees and water


i was piqued at his obstinate affectation knowing that few men had a keener appre ciation of the beauties of nature than him self


well said i the man who camiol enjoy a scene like this ought lo be shut up in bat same blackbole you speak of


look at that splendid leach ahead and that per fect garden of ati island with the sunlight shining


oh bodi


give me gasliht


and as for reachesoh would that i could reach regentstreet or even geoigetreet in the worst brickfielder that ever blew i verily believe that even the blackfellows have abandoned the place in disgust and that its only living inhabitants nie wild ducks ami tho wretched exiles on board this dreary cutter


take care you dont see two many black fellows before long mr hastgntc said dick putting in his oar thom chaps never show when theyre wanted but often too plenty when youd wish em fur enough way


oh aye well said did that reminds mo


well have your yarn


steward a glass of grog


or bring the bottle while youre aboutit


now harry sit down on the companiondintch if you can manage to stow your awkward pins away


dick is going to give us a taste of his experience


some confounded lie i suppose


dick threw ono indignant glance at tho questioner of his veracity but was too old a bushman to fall out with his own party so tossing off his balfpanuican of brandy and water and politely wiping his mouth on his sleeve he commenced


thought it right in the first instance to give a faithful report of the manner in which my overseer was in the habit of emphasising his discourse but as these little poetic outbreaks had really no bearing upon his story about the south arm i shall leave the reader to insert them in their proper places


you see said dick balancing himself on the bulwark edge i thought last year of leaving the bush altogether


i had been knocking about for a long time ami fancied i was sick of it so


up i goes to sydney and hoe the master


daresay you gentlemen bare heered as ive a little money by me


i was never much of a drinker so thinking it time to settle in life i asked mr drummond to lend a hand to bet me up in apublic house


a what dick said i dont yo know that the tempter is worse than the i tempted


if you were not a drunkard your i self how could you have the face to sell grog to others


oh ive heered a great deal of that sort of talk replied dick but if i keep from getting drunk why cant another man


or if i drink to make a beast of myself instead ot to do mo good how is the publican to blame


not a bit more than a doctor if he aclis me a dose for a man


and i give it to a baby


a mans a fool if he doesnt know his own head but how caua publican know it v very well dick


i will not argue the point so turn iihcad


wt sir the master advised mc to hold on a bit and see if something better mightnt turn up sol took a turu about sydney and if l didnt soon get til ed of that its a pity


after going two or three limes to the play and walking about the sheets for a fortnight saw there was nothing for it but to get jolly well drunk like the rest that i hied and i got sobergavo up all thought of the publichouse


mr drummond wanted to know something about this river and i was very glad when he offered mc good terms to como and have a look at it


when i got here i found nobody but sawyers so i put in with them and stopped altogether nigh two months


by george the blacks wero awful bad


not one of them could we got in and whenever the sawyers left their huts to look out for timber in the scrub thovillains were down on them like hawks


not a bit of flour or a rag of clothing could they keep and many a night they carno home hungry enough and found their bark humpies burnt down nd every bite and every stitch carried off


at last one day i stopped behindplanted whilo the meu went out to look for some more cedar


it wasnt long beforo the black devils showed but i was ready for them


one fellowthe biggest black i ever saw in my lifecame up boldly enough just as if he was going to a teaparty and twenty more behind him


i had the gun already present ed and two moro loaded alongside but just as i put my eye down totho sight excuso me dick said harry quietly it is quite plain to me that the lamentablo accident that deprived the world of your duplicate eye occurred more than twelve months ago


how do you manage to shoot with the left


in a moment dick laid the butt of his left thumb against his left shoulder ami brought his only left eye byan extraordinary twist down to the first joint of the fore fingerlevelling that weapon with deadly certainty at harrys somewhat conspicuous proboscis


tho sceptic was convinced but not satisfied


how is it said he that they nick named you terrible dick


are yon in the habit of eating all the people you kill


well sirsaid dick stroking the corners of his mouth with the thumb and fingers of his left hand when we come to know one another better i might tell you that


but if you want to chaff me youve got hold of the wrong mark i can toll you


oh nonsense dick said i you know that mr eastgato is only joking


and you harry do let tho man go on with his story


hore you have been stowed away all tho passage and now that you exhibit yourself for the first time you want to make dick as unintoresting as yourself


go on dick


nico comfort you gave me in that dog hole of a cabin replied eastgate but i submit


and at this moment he did so in deed for there was a gentle shock a flap of tho sails a swing of the boom across tho companion and thov lofty was laid low for poor harry was deposited in the scuppers giving dick and myself ample warning to


ti


oder will piesse to remember that this waa eighteen years ego


get out of the way


the skipper being be low our helmsman bad been ratler too at tentive to the yarn and had steered us stem on to one of those muddy sand banks wbicb are numerous h the river but m ly easily be avoided in five minutes all hands mere busy getting out a kedge to warp i s off ho tide inn ing begun to fall the cutter stuck f ibt so after a tnost eloquent inter change of compliments in the nortbumbei land enghbh and anglo su edibb dialects be


tween captain john and trod the mite phi losophy had nothing left for it but to clew up the sails and go to dinner


it was an noying to be thus pulled up in full career but tied excused himself on the ground tint do vint luffled rount de ent of dat tarnt is hnd a rtfeience which reminded us in various ways of master dicks story so as there is not much temptation to linger at the dinner table of a coasting cutter ive hoon ad joumed to the deck and got the yarn once moro under way


well resumed dick i was just going to shoot this big blackfellow and you wouldnt baie iven a fig of tobacco for his life when a long faiut coo o


o


ey from tho scrub maclo me start and the gun went off without lattin anybodv so fn as know


avhen the hmoke cleaicd way not a black waj lo be seen them fellows ia nish in a moment and i could hudly bellco my eye only one dick said hany i could baldly believe su continued dick tuinine hu back to his tormentoi and ii hcssing mc tint ascouof raging blood thiulv bl ickftllows had tood theic a minute bcfoic


but i lindn t any time to think for i mi th it coo


o o ey soundi d and to mournful and faint like that i felt mik something dreadful had happened i knew veiy


well it was one of oin own men foi there is ill the diflcienc in the wwld be tween a bn


inn iii s cooey and the blunt hoo hu


i of the d ukies i coo o o cd in le ply ind piel mg up tho two loidtd guns ma le oft in the direction of the sound


a i kept pushing through ilia thick sciul ojo o ocy i ig eveiy nniuiteto keep the poor lellow


he ut upfor his voiee bounded like oinibody waihi ovci a dead body couldnt bel thinking how easy it would be for the muidenng lascis to send a donn spcais through me


beloie i could say knile but i knew icry


well theie was no fe ir of them now iheyd done their day woik and that harmless rhot had sent them wn glmg oft to their holes like sn ikes i soon carno up to jem brown for he was the man hitting on n dead log with his head and face all coveied with lhod and his brother bill afine young fellow not moie than twenty years old lying down on his bick with the blood bubbling out ot his mouth every time ho breathed pooi jem was almost done up and it was not till afterwards that i heard how the whole thins happened tour of them had left the but in the moining jem and his brothei nnd two otlieis n imed raikes nnd boiler


hey saw nothing of the blacks and after picking out some moie timler the two biothers were sawing at the pit while the otheis weie cross cutting a lnige cedar tice which they h d cut donn the lay befoie


you see there weie only five of us altogether at this pi ice thomji there were other saw y el s lower down and oin paity nibteut of lining then hut close lo then pit ia mostly ib the t ist liked lo keep then head


btation ou the b ink of the mci fji they had v boat to tike care of well jem blown w is in the pit and ins brother on the top and the saw as going up and down quite merril when all of a siukten the pitman found it stop in his hands while a loud sereani fiom bill aud a yell from twenty s ivageb told him m a moment whit was up he w lsjiibt bei imbling out and could sec his brother lying bleedin


where he had fell after jumping off the log when a blow on the head fiom a waddy nocked him back btunned into the pit he saw the fellow


th it did ita blick liki agnnt neaily seien feet luh he thought and the same devil no doubt


th it


i w ib st near settling well he lav stunned for n bug time and when he cuno to hi nself all was quiet he git out giddy enough and theie w is billy biown lying wheit he saw lum befoie with a pool of blood round lum ile hit five speai wounds iii the bieabt but f ii a wondci not i blow on the head and be had just hie


it h enough to say that the tall bl ick li id the chief hand m his murdeifoi mindel ed he was that was plain a lew v ards lw ay r ukes and bollei wero ly m


quite dca with their skulls and faces bat tered in and then irms and legs broken with waddles the attack was so sudden that thoy had no time to get at their guns ind is luck would have it the blaeks


h id no noticed wheie they hyplauted with so eartudses close by jem was hardly abl to hold up but it lit he had manigedt get pool bill upon his back and here he hail brought him as far is he could till he


w is clean knocked up and obliged to sitdowi and cooey in h


pus


i should he u him i could seo that jem was in no dnngei but ns for poor bill it was all over with bin his brother wanted me to lend a li ind nu get lum on to the hut but i knew very iiell by the blood coming from his mouth th ti ho w is spcaied through the lungs and besides just at this minute hib eyes turnen right upwards till we could see nothing but the white put and i tok hold ot jems hand for i couldn t spc ik to lum it


a vciy melancholy thing sir to see a pool fellow dying like tins in the bush


it wa not tho first time by many that i had seei things of that sort


i ut i couldn t help bein a little soft heal ted at thib foi though al the sawyers ire lough fellows enough knew thebo brothers wero very fond of eacl other and had gone thiough a good deni ol d mgei together iry li id b th been s uh i ind inn aw ly fiom a ship with a tartai ot a captain being obliged to swim ashoi tueetlier m sydney im bor to get away hey carno down heie with the hist sjdnci vessel and wtie always talking about get tins back to liverpool where then ol m thei lived when they could get moue enouch you gentlemen don t know w li


it it is t be in a scrub just about sundown


it is dull place enough at all timen hut after yin se the little sun tint ever bhincb there it


i liko a great gravo and a mnte of mine th i was a bit of a scholar used to say that th uslialian scrubs weie dtbeeiatcd to uk ghuts of eleparted tubes conseci ited suggested hail


well may be so sir but i don t sec muth difference at all events it was iiiibeiabh enough with the night coming on to so poor jem biown with ins big hand spren over his bloodstained face and poor bill lying dead enough nowall his troubles ovei and no mort hopes of livcipool for bim pool fellow i couldnt help puttinc my arm lound jems shoulclei so he stood up and when he did so lus biothei s up tinned


ey cb looked just as if they wore fixed upon him


i shall ucvei forget how jen knelt down on bi th neos and


laid hold of his biothei b two hands like a savage as he cued out aye billi i kn w what you mean and bv the


do it


ho then swoio the most dicadlul oath i evei heaid that the hist black he caught alive ho would put across tho pit iud cross cut lum with the pit baw


we li id no mc ins of digging a grave for tho muidered man so we bioko off some boiuhs and covcied him and iftorjem had cut off a pieco of his hair with his knife we bad hardly time to got to the hut boforo dark


you may be sure we were dull enough that night


i washed jems head and dressed his wound but it was a mere nothing only he had dreadful headache


we had all been laughing and yarning together the night before little thinking that in a few hours three out of the five would be lying stark and


stiff in the scrub


i wanted jem to take the boat at once and let us set away tothe next cedar party about six or seven miles lower downbut he wouldnt hear of this till he had buried his brother and at last we made up our minds to take our guns and a spade at daylight and bury all the dead bodies nfter which we would go off t


and get help from the other sawyers


even this way it puzzled us for there was a chance n of the black wretches stealing our boat or staving it while we were away but it would never do for one to go alone and though i knew thut the right way was to go off im mediately as wo could do nothing for the cold corpses of the three men yet jem was so resolute not to leavo his brothers body to the native dogswho would surely be at it next day if not that nightthat i gave over arguing with him


to be continued


plagiamsmthe melbourne examiner thus touches upon the charges of plagiarism which have been made on the colonial press some charges of plagiarism lately freely urged against certain writers in the colonial press have been so keenly felt as to induce more than one indirect defence of the sys tem


the fnllowiogsjlctter in the aye will be understood


it is signed antigallipot


every one will know whose hand wrote the signature and to whom the allusions poiut tuntane anhnis eclcstibus irac


some of he stupid scribblers of slip slop who hang on to the muddy skirts of colonial literature having lately preferred a charge of plagiarism against writers who will not probably conde eud to notice the small malignity of their petty opponents perhaps you would allow me space in your columns fur an extract on the subject of plagiarism from the works of one of the most brilliant powerful and original writers of he present day


refer to john ruskin who replying in the third volume of his modern painters to some of his critical gadflies observes the charge of plagiarism is hardly ever made but by plagiarists and persons of the unhappy class who do not believe in honesty but on evidence


touching plagiarism in general it is to be remembered that all men who have sense and feeling are being continually helped


they are taught by every person whom they meet and enriched by everything that falls in their way


the greatest is he who has been oitenest aided and if the attainments of all human mines could be traced to their real sources it would be found that the world has been laid most under contribution by the men of most original power and that every day of their existence deepened their debt to their race while it enlarged their gifts to it


the labor devoted to trace the origin of any thought or any invention will usually issue in the blauk conclusion that there is nothingnew under the sun yet nothing that is truly great can ever be altogether borrowed and he is com monly the wisest and is always the happiest who receives simply and without envious question whatever good is ofleicdhim with thanks to the immediate giver


barnaby


rudge


cihapter iv


in the venerable suburbit was suburb onceof clerkenwell towardsthat part of its confines which is nearest to the charterhouse and in one of those cool shady streetpof which a few widely scat tered and dispersed yet remain in such old parts of the metropolis each tenement quietly vegetatiog like an ancient citizen who long ago retired from busitess pod dozing on in its infirmity until in course of time it tumbles down and is replaced by some extravagant young heir flaunting in stucco and ornamental work and all the vanities of modern days in this quarter and in a street of this description lhebusiness of the present chapter lies


at the tine of which it treats though only six andsixtyyears ago a very large part of what is lon don now had no existence


even in the brains of the wildest spectilators there had sprung up no long rows of streets connecting highgate with white chapel no assemblages of palaces in the swampy levels nor little cities in the open fields


although this part of town was then as now parcelled out in streets and plentifully peopled it wore a different aspeci


there were gardens to many of the houses andtrees bythe pavement side with an air of freshness breathing up and down which in these days would besosght in vain


fieldi were nigh at hspdthrough which the new river took its wind ing course and where there was merry haymaking in the surimer time


neature was npt so far re moved or herd to get at as in thesa days and although there were busy trades in clerkenwell ald working jesyellers byscores it was a purer place witl farmllouses nearer to it than tmany modern lndoners would readily believe and lovers walks tit nd reat distance which turned into squalid courts long before the lovers of this age were born or as the phrase goes thought of


in one of these streets the cleanest of them all and on the shady side of the wayfor good house


wives know that sunlight damages their cherished furniture and so choose the shade rather than its in trusive glarethere stood the house with which we have to deal


it was a modest building not over newly fashioned not very straight not large not tall not bold faced with great staring windows but a shy blinking house with a conical roof going up into a peak over its garret window of four small panes of glass like a cocked hat on the head of an elderly gentleman with one eye


it was not built of brick or lofty stone but of wood and plaster it was not planned with a diill and wearisome regard to regularlty for no one window matched the other or seemed to have the slightest reference to anything besides itself


the shopfor it had a shopwas with reference to the first floor where shops usually are and there all resemblance between it and any other shop stopped short and ceased


people who went in and out didnt go up a flight of steps to it or walk essilyin upon alevel with the street but dived down three steep stairs is inio a cellar


its floor was paved with stone and brick as that of any other cellar might hei and in lieu of window framed and glazed it had a preat black wooden flapr shuter nearly breast high from the giound which turned back ii thedaytime admitting as much cold air as light apidnery often more


behind this shop was a wainscoted parlour looking first into a paved yard and beyond ihat again into a little terrace garden raised bmrn few feet above it


any stranger would have supposed that this wainscoted parlour saving for the door of communication bywhich he had en teredvas eut off and detached from all the world and indeed most strangers on their first entrance were observed to grow extremly thoughtful as weighlng adlpondering in their minds whether the upper rooms were only approachable by ladders from without never suspecting that two of the most uiassumsng aid unlikely doors in existence which the inost ingenious mechanician on earth must of ne cessity have supposed to be the dcors of closets opened out of this roomeach without the smallest preparation or so much as a quarter of an inch of passageupon two dark winding flights of stairs the oneupward the other downward which were the sole means of communication between that chimhbei and the other portions of the house


with all these oddities there was not a neater more scrupulously tidy or more punctiliously or dered house in clerkenwell in london in all england


there were not cleaner windows or whiter floors or brighter stoves or morehighly shining articles of old furniture in old mahogany there was not more scrubbing burnishing and polishing in the whole street put together


nor wa this excellence attained without some cost and troulble and great expenditure of voice as the neighfours were frequently reminded when the good lady of the house overlooked and assisted in its being


putto rights on cleaning days which were usually from fmonday morning till saturday night both days inclusive


leaning against the doorpost of this his dwelling the locksmith stood early on the morning after he had met with the wounded man gazing discon


solately at a great wooden emblem of a key painted in vivid yellow to resemble gold which dangled from the house front and swung to and fro with a mournful creaking noise as if complaining that it had nothing to unlock


sometimes he looked over his shoulder into the shop which was so dark and dingy with numerous tokens ofhis trade and so blackened by the smoke of a little forge near which hisprentice was at work that it would have been difficult for one tnused to such espials to have dis tinguished anything butvatious tools of uncouth makeand shape great hbunches of rusty keys firagmeints of iron half finished locks and such like things which garnishled the walls and hung in clusters from the ceiling


after a long at id patient contemplation of the golden key and many such backward glances gabriel slept into the road and stole a look at the upper windows


one of them chanced to be thrown opei attblie noeirt o taiid a roguish face met his a ate lighted sii i the loveliest pair of sparkling eyes that ever locksmith looked upon the face of a pretty laughinog girl dimpled and fresh and healthrilb the very impersonation of good humour anidb lonii n benhuy


hush she whispered bendintforward and pointig ar ly tothe window underneatlh


mo lh


lstill


nl ee sstill my dear returned the locksmith in the same tone


you talk as if she had been asleep all night instead of littlei more thanhalf an hour


lut


im very thankful sleeps a blessingno dpuht about that


the last feny words he mut teretio himnelf


nw ciuel


o yoq to keqp us up so late this mornitg andnever tell u where you were or send usvyqrdl


sedthe girl


ah dotl h dolly i returned the loiksrmith shakinghis head aidsmilingf how cruel of you to run up astairs to bed i come down to breakfast madcap and come dbwn lightly or youll wake your mother


she must be tired i am srei am


skeepingtheselatter wdrds to himnself and return ing his daughters nod he was passing into the workshop withl thie smile alsoe had awakened still ilaming op his face when he just caught sight of hiia sentici birowp paper cp didkiang down to soldobseivatldnnsnl shrinkiiig frm the window bi to i f


foimer lc which the wearer no sooner rhaihed than he begal to hapimer


ustily


s lstesning again smoh said gabriel to him silft


thats bad


what in the name of wonder doiehihetel iect the girl to say thaut ialways catch imlif liieningewhen ahe speaks ind never at any other time


a bad habitsim a sneaking under thandedway


ahl i you may hammer butyou wont beatthat out of me if you work till your times up


ssosaying


and shaking his headgravely heire enjered the workshloppapd confronted thle subject of these remarks


theres enough


of that jidst now dald the lock smiths


you neednt make any more of lthat con foundedclatter


breakfasts ready


sir said sim looking up with amazing polite ness and a peculiar little bow cut short of at the sleck iashall attend you immediately


i suppose muttered ogbriel


thats outso thepronices garlaod or tho preiltices dolight or the prenticos


warbler or the preritices guide to the galloway or some suchlstimproving text hook


inow


hos oing to lieautyhslmselfheres a prcidous loyeksmlithlsi


up


r


quite unconscioua thartlhisnaster wai lookotlg on from the dark eornersbythe parloir doorjsim threw off ihe paper cp


sprang from hli seiat ardintwo extraordinary steps sometlhiog beiveen skakig and minuet dancing bounded to a washingplaceatthe otherend of thie shop andtthere removedfromhis face and hiands all traces of his previodetwdrk precl tisln the same slep all the tme with thedutst as rvntllhisidoaeet sehedrevv fromsoriecotededle place little scrap of lookingglass and with its tofltatcarransged his halrand dascertiined the exact state of a little carbuncleon hiliastloae


having notrcompleted hietoilet heplaccdilhe fragment ofi


i


i i


mirror on a low bench and looked overhis shoulder atlso much of his legs as could be reflected in that smallcompass with the greast possible complacency and satisfaction


sim as lie was called in the locksmiths family or lr


simon lappertit as he called himself and required all men to style him out of doors on holi


days and sundays out was an old fashioned thin faced sleek haired sharp nosed small eyed little fellow very little more than five feet high and thoroughly convinced in his own mind that he was above the middle size rather tall in fact than otherwise


of his figure which was well enough formed though somewhat of the leanest he enter


tained the highest admiration and with his legs which in knee breeches were perfect curiosities of littleness he was enraptured to a degree amounting to enthusiasm


he also had some majestic shadowy ideas which lhad never been quite fathomed by his most intimate friends concerning the power of his eye


indeed he had been known to go so far as to boast that he could utterly quell and subdue the haughtiest beauty by a simple process which he termed eyeing her over but it must be added that neither of this faculty nor of the power he claimed to have through the same gift of vanquish ing and heaving down dumb animals even in a rabid state had he ever furnished evidence which could be deemed quite satisfactory and conclusive it may be inferred from these premises that in the small body of mr tappertit there was locked up an ambitious and aspiring soul


as certain liquors confined in casks too cramped in their dimensions will ferment and fret and chafe in their imprison


ment so the spirited essence or soul of mrtappertit would fume within that precious cask his body till withll great foam and froth and splutter it would force a vent and carry all before it


it was his custom to remark in reference to any one of these occasions that his soul had got into his head and in this novel kind of intoxication many scrapes and mishaps befel him which ihe had frequently con cealed with no small difficulty from his worthy master


sip tappertit among the other fancies upon twhiclh his beforementioned soul was for over feasting and regaling itself and which fancies like the liver of prometheus grew as they were fed upon had a mighty notion of his order and had been heard by the servant maid openly expressing his regret that the prentices no longer carried clubs wherewith to mace the citizens that was his strong expression


he was likewise reported to have said that in former times a stigma had been cast upon the body by the execution of george barnwell to which they should not have basely submitted but should itave de manded him of the legislature temperately at first then by an appeal to arms if necessary to be dealt with as they in their wisdom might think fit


these thouglhts always led him to consider what a glorious engine the prentices might yet become if they had but a master spirit at their head and then he would darkly and to the terror of his hearers hint at cer tain reckless fellows that he knew of and at a cer tain lion heart ready to become their captain who once afoot would make the lord mayor tremble on his throne


in respect of dress and personal decoration sim tappertit was no less of an adventurous and enterprising character


he had been seen beyond dispute to pull off ruffles of the finest quality at the corner of the street on sunday nights and to put them carefully in his pocket before returning home and it was quite notorious that on all great holiday occasions it was his habit to exchange his plain steel knee buckles for a pair of glittering paste under cover of a friendly post planted most conveniently in that same spot


add to this that he was in years just twenty in his looks much older and in conceit at least two hundred that he had no objection to be jested with touching his admiration of his mas ters daughter and had even when called upon at a certain obscure tavern to pledge the lady whom he honoured with his love toasted witl many winks and leers a fair creature whose christian name he said began with a i and as much is known of sim tappertit who has by this time followed the locksmith in to breakfast as is necessary to be known in making his acquaintance


it was a substantial meal for over and above the ordinary tea equipage the board creaked beneath the weight of a jolly round of beef a ham of the first magnitude and sundry towers of buttered yorkshire cake piled slice upon slice in most alluring order


there was also a goodly jug of wellbrowned clay fashioned into the form ot an old gentleman not by any means unlike the locksmith atop of whose bald head was a fine white froth answering to his wig indicative beyond dispute of sparkling homebrewed ale


but better far than fair homebrewed or york shire cake or ham or beef or anything to eat or drink that earth or air or water can supply there sat presiding over all the locksmiths rosy daughter before whose dark eyes even beef grew insignificant and malt became as nothing


fathers should never kiss their daughters when young men are by its too much


so thought sim lappertit when gabriel drew those rosy lips to his those lips within sims reach from day to day and et so far off


he had a respect for his master but e wished the yorkshire cake might choke him


father said the locksmiths daughter when this salute was over and they took their seats at table what is this i hear about last night all true my dear true as the gospel doll


young mr chester robbed and lying wounded in thle road when you came up


ay mr edward and beside him barnaby calling for help with all his might


it was well it happened as it did for the roads a lonely one the hour was late and the night being cold and poor barnaby eoen less sensible thtan usual from surprise and fright the young gentleman might have met his death in a very short time


i dread to think of it i cried his daughter with a shudder


flow did you know hlim know him returned the locksmith i didnt know him how could i


i had never seen him often as i had heard and spoken of him


i took him to mrs rudges and she no sooner saw him than the truth came out


miss emma fatherit this news should reach her enlarged upon as it is sure to be she will go distracted


why lookye there again how a man suffers for being goodnatured said the locksmith


miss emma was with her uncle at the masquerade at carlisle ihouse where she had gone as the people at the warren told me sorely against her will


what does your blockhead father when he and mrs rudge itave laid their hieads together but goes there when he ought to be abed makes interest with hiis friend the doorkeeper slips him on a mask and domino and mixes with the masquers


and like himself to do so cried the girl put ting her fair armp


round his neck and giving him a most enthusiastie kiss


like himself repeated gabriel affecting to grumble but evidently delighted with thle part lie iad taken and with ier praise


very like him


selfso your mother said


however ite mingled with the crowd and prettily worried and badgered he was i warrant you with people squeaking dont yon know me


and ive found you out and all that kind of nonsense in his ears


he mighi have wandered ontill now


but in a little room themre was a young lady who shad iaken off her mask on account of the place being very warm and was sitting there alone


and that was she said his daughter hastily


and that was shite replied the locksmitih and i no sooner whispered to her what the matter wasas softly doll and with nearly as much art as you could hiave used yourselftltan she gives a kind of scream and faints away


what did you dovjisat happened next


asked hiis dasaghter


c whyy the masks came flocking round with a general noise and hubbihb and i thoukht myself in iickto get clear off thats all rejotunedthe lock


arnmith


whis happened when i reached hiome you may guess if you didnt hear it


aih


l well its a poor heart that never rejoices


put toby this way my dear


this toby was the brown jug of whichl previous mention has been made


applying iis lips to the wqrthy old gentlemans benevolent forehead the locksmith who had all this time been ravaging aiong


theestables keptthem there so long at the same time raising the vessel slowly in the air that at length toby stood on his head upon his nose wheo lie smacked hiis lips and set hlim on the table again with food reluctance


although sim tappertit had taken nd ashae in this conversation no part of itbeing addressed to him lie had not been wanting in such silent mani festations of astonishment as


he deemed most ecbm


atible with the favourable display of hiis eyes


legarding the patuse which abwensied as a parti cularly advanteaeous opportunlty for doing great exeoption with


epn upon the locksmiths daugh ter tllo he hiad no doubt was looking at himn in mute admiration he began to screw and twistl his face and especially those features into such oxtraor


dinary hideous and unparalleled contortions that gabriel who happened to look towards him was stricken with amazement


why what the devils the matter with the lad cried the locksmith


is he choking who demanded sim with some disdain


who why you returned his master


what do you mean by making those horrible faces over your breakfast l faces are a matter of taste sir said mr tap


pertit rather discomfited not the less so because he saw the locksmiths daughter smiling


sim rejoined gabriel laughing heartily dont be a fool for id rather see you in your senses


these young fellows lie added turning to his daughter are always committing some folly or another


there was a quarrel between joe wilet and old john last nighttliough i cant say joe was much in fault either


hlell be missing one of these mornings and will have gone away on some wild goose errand seeking his fortunewhy whats the matter dolly you are making faces now


the girls are as had as the boys every bit i


its the tea said dolly turning alternately very red and very white which is no doubt the effects of a slight scald so very hot


mir


tapperlit looked immensely big at a quartern loaf on the table and breathed hard


is that all returned the locksmith


put some more milk in jt


yes i am sorry for joe because he is a likely young fellow and gains upon one every time one sees him


but hell start off youll find


indeed be told me as much himselfl indeed i cried dolly in a faint voice


in deed i is the tea tickling your throat still my dear said the locksmith


but before his daughter could make him any answer she was taken with a troublesome cough and it was such a very unpleasant cough that when she left off the tears were starting in her bright eyes


the good natured locksmith was still patting her on the back and applying such gentle restoratives whien a message arrived from mrs varden making known to all whom it might concern that she felt too much indisposed to riseafter her great agitation and anxiety of the previous night and therefore desired to be immediately accommodated with the little black teapot of strong mixed tea a couple of rounds of buttered toast a middlingsized dish of beef and ham cut thin and the protestant manual in two volumes post octavo


like some other ladies who in remote ages flourished upon this globe mrs varden was most devout when most illtempered


whenever she and her husband were at unusual variance then the protestant manual was in high feather


knowing from experience what these requests portended the triumvirate broke up dolly to see the orders executed with all despatch gabriel to some outofdoor work in his little chaise and sim to his daily duty in the workshop to which retreat he carried the big look although the loaf remained behind


indeed the big look increased immensely and when he had tied his apron on was quite gigantic


it was not until he had several times walked up and down with folded arms and the longest strides he could take and had kicked a great many small articles out of his way that his lip began to curl


at length a gloomy derision came upon his fea tures and he smiled uttering meanwhile with supreme contempt the monosyllable joe i i eyed her over while ihe talked about the fellow he said and that was of course the reason of her being confused


joe i


he walked up and down again much quicker than before and if possible with longer strides some


times stopping to take a glance at his legs and sometimes to jerk out as it were and cast from him another joel in the course of quarter an hour or so he again assumed the paper cap and tried to work


no


it could not be done


ill do nothing today said mr tappertit dashing it down again but grind


ill grind up all the tools


grinding will suit my present humour well


joe i whirrrrr the grindstone was soon in motion the sparks were flying of in showers


this was the occupation for his heated spirit


whirrrrr r rrr something will come of this said mr tap pertit pausing as if in triumph and wiping his heated face upon his sleeve


something will come of this


i hope it maynt be human gore


w birrr rr rtr


chapter xig


dolly vardens pretty little head was yet bewil dered by various recollections of the party and her bright eyes were yet dazzled by a crowd of images dancing before them like motes in the sunbeams among which the effigy of one partner in particular did especially figure the same being a young coach


maker a master in his own tight who had given her to understand when he handed her a chair at parting that it was his fixed resolve to neglect his business from that time and die slowly for the love of her


dollys head and eyes and thoughts and seven senses were all in a state of flutter and con fusion for which the party was accountable al though it was now three days old when as she was sitting listlessly at breakfast reading all manner of fortunes that is to say of married and flourishing fortunes in the grounds of her teacup a step was heard in the workshop and mr edward chester was descried through the glass dror standing among the rusty locks and keys like love among the roses for which apt comparison the historian may by no means take any credit to himself the same beiog the invention in a sentimental mood of the chaste and modest migus who beholding him from the door steps she was then cleaning did in her maiden meditation give utterance to the simile


the locksmith who happened at the moment to have his eyes thrown upward and his head backward in an intense communing with toby did not see his visitor until mrs varden more watchful than the rest had desired sire tappertit to oven the glass door and give him admission from which untoward circumstance the good lady argued for she could deduce a precious moral from the most trifling event that to take a draught of small ale in the morning was to observe a pernicious irreligious and pagan custom the relish whereof should be left to swine and satan or at least to popish persons and should be shunned by the righteous as a work of sin and evil


site would no doubt have pursued her admo nition much further and would have founded on it a long list of precious precepts of inestimable value but that the young gentleman standing by in a somewhat uncomfortable and discomfited manner while she read her spouse this lecture occasioned her to bring it to a premature conclusion


im sure youll excuse me sir said mrs varden rising and cuttseying


varden is so very thoughtless and needs so much remindingsinm bring a chair here


sir


tappertit obeyed with a flourish implying that he did so under protest


and you can go sim said the locksmith


mlr


tappertit obeyed again still under protest and betaking nimsell to the workshop began seriously to fear that hle might find it necessary to poison his mraster before his time was out


in the meantime edward returned suitable replies to mrs vardens courtesies and that lady brtht ened uip very ntuch so that when he accepted a dish of tea


irom the fair hands of dolly she was perfectly agreeable


i am sure if theres anything we can do varden or i or dolly either to serve you sir at any ttme


you have only to say it and it shall be done said b rs v i am much obliged to you i am sure returned edward


you encourage tme to say that i have come here now to beg your good olfices dilrs


varden was delighted beyond measure


it occurred to me that probably your lair daugh


ter might he going to the warren either today or tomorrow said edward glacing at dolly and if so and you will allow her to take charge of this letter maam you will oblige me more than i can tell you


he truth is that while i am very anxious it should reach its destination i have particular reasons for not trusting it to any other conveyance so that without your help i am wholly at a loss


she was not going that way sir either today or tomorrow nor indeed all next week the lady gra ciously rejoined


but we shall be very glad to put ourselves out of the way on your account and if you wish it you may depend upon its going today


you might suppose said mrs varden frowning at her husband from vardens sitting there so glum and silent that he objected to this arrangement but you must not mind that sir if you please


its his way at home out of doors he can be cheerful and talka


tive enough


now the fact was that the unfortunate locksmith blessing his stars to find his helpmate in such good humour had been sitting with a beaming face hear ing this discourse with a joy beyond all expression wherefore this attack quite took him by surprise


my dear martha he said


ob yes i dare say interrupted mrs varden with a smile of mingled scorn and pleasantry


very dear i we all know that


no


but my good soul said gabriel you are quite mistaken you are indeed


i was delighted to had you so kind and ready


i wailed my dear anxiously i assure youto hear what you would say


you waited anxiously repeated mrs varden


yes thank you varden you waited as you always do that i might bear the blame if any came of it but i am used to it said the lady with a solemn titter and thats my comfort


i give you my word matha said gabriel


let me give you my word my dear interposed his wife with a christian smile thatsuch discussions as these between married people are much better left alone therefore if you please varden well dropthe subject


i have no wish to pursue it


i could


i might say a great deal


but i would rather not


pray dont say any more


i dosc want to say any more rejoined the goaded locksmith


ell then dont said mrs varden


nor did i begin it


martha added the lock smith good humouredly i must say that


you did not begin it varden i exclaimed his wife opening her eyes very wide anod looking round upon the company as though she would say you hear this man you did not begin it varden


but you shall not say i was out of temper


no you did not begin it


oh dear no not you my dear


vell well said the locksmith


thats set


tied then


oh yes rejoined his wife quite


if you like to say dolly began it my dear i shall not contra dict you


i know my duty


i need know it i am sure


i am often obhlged to bear it in mind when my inaclination pethaps would be for ute moment to forget it


thank you varden


and so with a mighty show of humihlity and forgiveness ait folded her hands and looked round again with a smile which plainly said if you desire to see the first and foremost amoeg female martyrs here she is on view i hisi little incident illustrative though it was of mrs vardens extraordinary sweetness and amnia


bilily had so strong a tendency to check the con


versation and to disconcert all parties but that excellent lady that only a few monosyllables were uttered until edward withdrew which he presently did thanking the lady of the house a great many times for her condescension and wlhispeling in dollys ear that ihe would call on tite morrow in case there should happen to be an answer to the nioutowbich indeed site knew without hiis telling as ilarnaby and his friend grip had dropped in os she previous night to prepare her for the visit which was then terminating


gabriel who had attended edward to the door came back with his hands in his pockets and after fidgeting about the room in a very uneasy manner and casting a great many sidelohg looks at mrs varden who with the calmest countenance in the world was five fathoms deep in the protestant ma iual inquired of dolly how she meant to go


dolly supposed by the stagecoach and looked at her lady mother who finding herself silently ap pealed to dived down at least another fathom into the manual and became unconscious of all earthly things


martha said the locksmith


i hear you varden said his wife without rising to the surface


i ant sorry my dear you have such an objection to the maypole and old john for otherways as its a very fine morning and saturdays not a busy day with us we might have all three gone to chigwell in the chaise and had quite a happy dlay of it


mrs varden immediately closed the manual and bursting into tears requested to be led upstairs


what is the matter now martha inquired the locksmith


to which martha rejoined oh i dont speak to me and protested in agony that if anybody had told her so she wouldnt have believed it


bur martha said gabriel putting himself in the way as site was moving off with the aid of dollys shoulder wouldnt have believed what t ell me whats wrong now


do tell me


upon my soul i dont know


dou yu know child p damme cried the locksmith plucking at his wig in a kind of frenzy nobody does know verily believe but miggs