Joe Saunders's fault, ma'am, a terrifying the poor
children. His father will give him the stick, that he will, if he hears
of it again."

Meantime Mrs Carbonel had turned to Widow Mole, who, after her first
curtsey, had been weeding away diligently and coughing.

"Where do you live?" she asked. "I don't think I have seen you before."

"No, ma'am," she said quietly. "I live down the Black Hollow."

"You don't look well. Have you been ill? You have a bad cough."

"It ain't nothing, ma'am, thank you. I can keep about well enough."

"Do you take anything for it?"

"A little yarb tea at night sometimes, ma'am."

"We will try and bring you some mixture for it," said Mrs Carbonel.
And then she spoke to Betsy Seddon, who for a wonder had no request on
her tongue, and asked her who the other woman was, in the hedge with the
baby.

"That's Tirzah Todd, ma'am," began Mrs Seddon, but Molly Hewlett thrust
her aside, and went on, being always the most ready with words; "she is
Reuben Todd's wife, and I wouldn't wish to say no harm of her, but she
comes of a gipsy lot, and hasn't never got into ways that us calls
reverend, though I wouldn't be saying no harm of a neighbour, ma'am."

"No, you'd better not," exclaimed a voice, for Tirzah was nearer or had
better ears than Mrs Daniel Hewlett had suspected, "though I mayn't go
hypercriting about and making tales of my neighbours, as if you hadn't
got a man what ain't to be called sober twice a week."

"Hush! hush!" broke in Mrs Carbonel; "we don't want to hear all this.
I hope no one will tell us unkind things of our new neighbours, for we
want to be friends with all of you, especially with that bright-eyed
baby. How old is it?"

She made it smile by nodding to it, and Tirzah was mollified enough to
say, "Four months, ma'am; but she have a tooth coming."

"What's her name?"

Tirzah showed her pretty white teeth in a smile. "Well, ma'am, my
husband he doth want to call her Jane, arter his mother, 'cause 'tis a
good short name, but I calls her Hoglah, arter my sister as died."

"Then she hasn't been christened?"

"No. You see we couldn't agree, nor get gossips; and that there parson,
he be always in such a mighty hurry, or I'd a had her half-baptized
Hoglah, and then Reuben he couldn't hinder it."

Tirzah was getting quite confidential to Mrs Carbonel, and Dora
meantime was talking to Molly Hewlett, but here it occurred to the
former that they must not waste th