standing by the side of a temporary dresser
(in this case made of planks laid across barrels,
beneath what sharp scant shadow could be
obtained from the eaves of the house), they
fold it up. This again is an art, simple as it
may seem; and the farmer's wives and daughters
about Langdale Head are famous for it.
They begin with folding up the legs, and then
roll the whole fleece up, tying it with the
neck; and the skill consists, not merely in
doing this quickly and firmly, but in certain
artistic pulls of the wool so as to display the
finer parts, and not, by crushing up the fibre, to
make it appear coarse to the buyer. Six comely
women were thus employed; they laughed,
and talked, and sent shafts of rnerry satire at
the grave and busy shearers, who were too
earnest in their work to reply, although an
occasional deepening of colour, or twinkle of
the eye, would tell that the remark had hit.
But they reserved their retorts, if they had
any, until the evening, when the day's labour
would be over, and when, in the licence of
country humour, I imagine, some of the saucy
speakers would meet with their match. As
yet, the applause came from their own party
of women; though now and then one of the
old men, sitting under the shade of a sycamore,
would take his pipe out of his mouth to spit,
and, before beginning again to send up the
softly curling white wreaths of smoke, he
would condescend on a short deep laugh, and
a " Well done, Maggie! "    " Give it him,
lass! "  for with the not unkindly jealousy of
age towards youth, the old grandfathers
invariably took part with the women against
the young men. These sheared on, throwing
the fleeces to the folders, and casting the
sheep down on the ground with gentle
strength, ready for another troop of boys to
haul it to the right hand side of the
farmyard, where the great out-buildings were
placed; where all sorts of country vehicles
were crammed and piled, and seemed to
throw up their scarlet shafts into the air, as
if imploring relief from the crowd of
shandries and market carts that pressed upon
them. Out of the sun, in the dark shadow
of the cart-house, a pan of red-hot coals
glowed in a trivet; and upon them was placed
an iron basin holding tar and raddle, or ruddle.
Hither the right hand troop of boys
dragged the poor naked sheep to be " smitten"
—that is to say, marked with the initials or
cypher of the owner. In this case, the sign
of the possessor was a circle or spot on one
side, and a straight line on the other; and
after the sheep were thus marked, they were
turned out to the moor, and the crowd of
bleating lambs that sent up an incessant moan
for their lost mothers; each found out the
ewe to which it belonged the moment she was
turned out of the yard, and the placid
contentment of the sheep that wandered away
up the hill side, with their little lambs trotting
by them, gave just the necessary touch of
peace and repose to the scene. There were
all the classical elements for the representation
of life; there were the " Old men and
maidens, young men and children " of the
Psalmist; there were all the stages and
conditions of being that sing forth their
farewell to the departing crusaders in the
"Saint's Tragedy."

We were very glad indeed that we had
seen the sheep-shearing, though the road had
been hot, and long, and dusty, and we were
as yet unrefreshed and hungry. When we
had understood the separate actions of the
busy scene, we could begin to notice
individuals. I soon picked out a very beautiful
young woman as an object of admiration and
interest. She stood by a buxom woman of
middle age, who had just sufficient likeness
to point her out as the mother. Both were
folding fleeces, and folding them well  but
the mother talked all the time with a rich-
toned voice, and a merry laugh and eye, while
the daughter hung her head silently over her
work; and I could only guess at the beauty
of her eyes by the dark sweeping shadow of
her eyelashes. She was well dressed, and
had evidently got on her Sunday gown,
although a good deal for the honour of the
thing, as the flowing skirt was tucked up
in a bunch behind, in order to be out of
her way: beneath the gown, and far more
conspicuous—and, possibly, far prettier—was
a striped petticoat of full deep blue and
scarlet, revealing the blue cotton stockings
common in that part of the country, and the
pretty, neat leather shoes. The girl had
tucked her brown hair back behind her ears;
but if she had known how often she would
have had occasion to blush, I think she would
have kept that natural veil more over her
delicate cheek. She blushed deeper and ever
deeper, because one of the shearers, in every
interval of his work, looked at her and
sighed. Neither of them spoke a word,
though both were as conscious of the other
as could be; and the buxom mother, with
a side-long glance, took cognizance of the
affair from time to time, with no unpleased
expression.

I had got thus far in my career of observation
when our hostess for the day came to tell
us that tea was ready, and we arose stiffly
from the sward on which we had been sitting,
and went in-doors to the house-place. There,
all round, were ranged rows of sedate
matrons; some with babies, some without;
they had been summoned from over
mountains, and beyond wild fells, and across deep
dales, to the shearing of that day, just as their
ancestors were called out by the Fiery Cross.
We were conducted to a tea-table, at which,
in spite of our entreaties, no one would sit
down except our hostess, who poured out tea,
of which more by-and-bye. Behind us, on
the dresser, were plates piled up with " berry-
cake " (puff-paste with gooseberries inside),
currant and plain bread and butter, hot cakes
buttered with honey (if that is not Irish),