has! All hideous with wrinkles and loss of
teeth. I believe she was once handsome, and
she has still a fine upright figure, and lively
blue eyes.

"Well, Mrs. Hill," said I this morning,
"and how is Tibby to-day? "

"Thank you, miss, she's much better.
She'd a very good night."

"Has she recovered her appetite?"

"Yes, miss, she eat a good breakfast. I
give her the gruel as you sent me, and I hope
as she'll soon be out again. Do you know,
miss, she's the forty-second black cat as has
been born in our house ?"

Really?"

"Yes, miss, and she's quite a companion to
me when my husband's away. She goes out
with me every morning when I takes my
husband to his work, and comes back with
me, she do!"

"Does your husband still work for Mr.
Carter ? "

"Yes, miss, he do; it's rather hard for him
now; it's a long way, you see, and he don't
like leaving his old home."

I looked at the wretched little tumble-
down cottage, and said, " You are a very
happy couple!"

"Thank the Lord, that we are! I am up
every morning between four and five, and
get my husband's breakfast ready, and that's
a recommendation for the young ladies, miss,
if you'll excuse me. He don't come home
from work till late, and then there's supper
to be got, and we're not in bed till ten, for
there's all the little arrangements to make
for next morning. I put the things ready
for breakfast and for lighting the fire; that's
my post; I always light the fire."

"And you are always in good health ? "

"The best of health, miss, praise the Lord;
and a week after Lord Mayor's Day was two
years, I shall be eighty years old. As I said
to a lady the other day, miss—

Thirty years I was a maid, fifty years I've been a wife,
If I live twenty more, it will be time to end my life.

She gave me half a pound of tea directly,
miss, from King's shop, close here."

You cunning old thing, thought I. " Well,"
I said, " you are contented, and contentment
is wisdom."

"Thank you, miss — oh, yes—if we're only
happy in Heaven, it don't matter here." And
in this consoling belief I left her.

Our other philosopher is old Dale, the
shepherd — a man without a nose, who spends
half his days and nights out of doors, gazing
at a flock of sheep. He hails passers-by over
a hedge sometimes, and holds conversations
with them about his two favourite subjects—
Solomon and the weather. With a sheepskin
on his back, his crook in his hand, and his
dog at his heels, he looks very picturesque
leaning over a fence to talk to his friends.
The first time he addressed me I was rather
startled.

"Beg your pardon, mum," he cried; " very
cloudy weather."

"Very cloudy indeed."

"A good deal of wind, too, mum."

" You must find it very cold standing about
in the fields all day," said I.

"Bless you, mum, I be used to it, I be.
Lord, I stands here reading all day. You
see, mum, I learnt myself. Yes, mum; I
never had a day's schooling, but a lady she
gave me a Bible thirty year ago, and I couldn't
read a word of it, but I learnt myself. I've
got it now, mum, and a fine Bible it is, but,
you see, I can't put it in my pocket, and I
ain't got time to read at home; but in the
fields—Lord, mum! I knows it all as well—
look here, mum," he said, pulling out his blue-
check pocket handkerchief, in which an old
Bible was carefully wrapped up, and leaning
on the fence, marking his words with a
certain emphatic motion of his right hand;
"here is Solomon, mum. Well, he warn't no
great shakes, not he. How many wives had
he? Three hundred. Yes, mum, three
hundred, and seven hundred other sort. He
warn't a man after God's own heart, like
David. No, mum, no; there was a deal o'
difference between 'em. And what was it as
led Solomon's heart astray? Aye, mum—
what was it ? Why it was the woman-folk!
Ah, yes! the woman-folk, it was. Yes, mum,
yes—the woman-folk. He warn't a man as
temptation couldn't reach. He were easy
hagged on. No great shakes, mum—no, no."

I had heard that old Dale was not at all under
female rule — being, indeed, rather addicted to
beating his wife on Sundays and other holidays,
by way of agreeable recreation to all
parties — so I was not surprised by his scorn
of Solomon, though I confess he took a view
of the subject which had never occurred to
me before. I have disputed the matter two
or three times with him, endeavouring to
convince him of the advantages consequent
upon following the example of Solomon's
complaisance to ladies (so far as not beating them
goes), but I fear without much effect.
Nevertheless he looks quite romantic, leaning
on a sheep-fold in the midst of his flock,
conning his Bible : with the near horizon
behind him and the darkening sky above,
across which black and stormy clouds are
sailing.

The gaieties of our very little town are usually
of a very simple kind — being merely small
tea parties, the principal amusement of which
consists in eating and drinking. The fashionable
dinner hour is five — so that we take
tea at seven, and, if we are careful to be a
long while over it, as soon as we have finished,
it is time for refreshments; and then, before
we walk home, of course we must take
something strengthening and comfortable in the
way of supper. This being the usual state of
affairs, it may easily be imagined what great
and delightful excitement was produced the
other morning by the appearance of a long