over his
mouth, and said, "No, no, Dick; not too much information for him, or I
shall think that you are your old kinsman again. Let him find out for
himself: he will not have long to wait."

"Yes," quoth Annie, "don't make your description of the picture too fine,
or else he will be disappointed when the curtain is drawn. I don't want
him to be disappointed. But now it's time for you to be gone, if you are
to have the best of the tide, and also of the sunny morning. Good-bye,
guest."

She kissed me in her frank friendly way, and almost took away from me my
desire for the expedition thereby; but I had to get over that, as it was
clear that so delightful a woman would hardly be without a due lover of
her own age. We went down the steps of the landing stage, and got into a
pretty boat, not too light to hold us and our belongings comfortably, and
handsomely ornamented; and just as we got in, down came Boffin and the
weaver to see us off. The former had now veiled his splendour in a due
suit of working clothes, crowned with a fantail hat, which he took off,
however, to wave us farewell with his grave old-Spanish-like courtesy.
Then Dick pushed off into the stream, and bent vigorously to his sculls,
and Hammersmith, with its noble trees and beautiful water-side houses,
began to slip away from us.

As we went, I could not help putting beside his promised picture of the
hay-field as it was then the picture of it as I remembered it, and
especially the images of the women engaged in the work rose up before me:
the row of gaunt figures, lean, flat-breasted, ugly, without a grace of
form or face about them; dressed in wretched skimpy print gowns, and
hideous flapping sun-bonnets, moving their rakes in a listless mechanical
way. How often had that marred the loveliness of the June day to me; how
often had I longed to see the hay-fields peopled with men and women
worthy of the sweet abundance of midsummer, of its endless wealth of
beautiful sights, and delicious sounds and scents. And now, the world
had grown old and wiser, and I was to see my hope realised at last!

CHAPTER XXII: HAMPTON COURT AND A PRAISER OF PAST TIMES

So on we went, Dick rowing in an easy tireless way, and Clara sitting by
my side admiring his manly beauty and heartily good-natured face, and
thinking, I fancy, of nothing else. As we went higher up the river,
there was less difference between the Thames of that day and Thames as I
remembere