Queen dunnot put a stop to it hersen if th'
parlyment ha' not getten the sense to do it. It's noan respectable, let
alone Christian."

"Eh!" said Sammy; "but tha'rt i' a muddle. Th'dst allus be i' a muddle
if I'd let thee mak' things out thysen an' noan explain 'em to thee.
Does tha think aw this here happent i' England? It wur i' furrin lands,
owd wench, i' a desert island i' th' midst o' th' sea."

"Well, I wur hopin' it wur na i' Lancashire, I mun say!"

"Lancashire! Why, it happent further off nor Lunnon, i' a place as it's
loike th' Queen has niv-ver seed nor heerd tell on."

The old woman looked dubious, if not disapproving. A place that was not
in Lancashire, and that the Queen had nothing to do with, was, to her, a
place quite "off color."

"Well! well!" she resumed, with the manner of an unbeliever, "thee go on
thy way readin' if tha con tak' comfort i' it. But I mun say again as it
does na sound Christian to me. That's the least I con say on't."

"Tha'rt slow i' understanding owd lass," was her husband's tolerant
comment. "Tha' does na know enow o' litterytoor to appreciate. Th'
female intylect is na strong at th' best, an' tha nivver wur more than
ordinary. Get into it, Manny-ensis. It's getten late, and I'm fain to
hear more about th' mon Friday, an' how th' poor' chap managed."

Both reader and audience were so full of interest that Jud's story was
prolonged beyond the usual hour. But to the boy, this was a matter of
small consequence. He had tramped the woods too often with Nib for a
companion to feel fear at any time. He had slept under a hedge many a
night from choice, and had enjoyed his slumber like a young vagabond, as
he was.

He set out on this occasion in high good humor. There were no clouds to
hide the stars; he had had an excellent supper, and he had enjoyed his
evening. He trudged along cheerily, his enjoyment as yet unabated. The
trees and hedges, half stripped of their leaves, were so suggestive of
birds' nests, that now and then he stepped aside to examine them more
closely. The nests might be there yet, though the birds had flown. Where
throstles had built this year, it was just possible others might build
again, and, at any rate, it was as well to know where their haunts had
been. So, having objects enough to attract his attention, the boy did
not find the way long. He was close upon the mine before he had time to
feel fatigue possible, and, nearing the mine, he was drawn from his