in her life, though she had lived upwards of
forty years in the house, and within that time the greatest gentry in
Hampshire had been at it; and that lawyer Willis never went to any
other when he came to those parts. That for her part she did not get her
livelihood by travelers, who were gone and away, and she never expected
to see them more, but that her neighbors might come again; wherefore, to
be sure, they had the only right to complain."

She was proceeding thus, and from her volubility of tongue seemed likely
to stretch the discourse to an immoderate length, when I suddenly cut
all short by paying the bill.

This morning our ladies went to church, more, I fear, from curiosity
than religion; they were attended by the captain in a most military
attire, with his cockade in his hat and his sword by his side. So
unusual an appearance in this little chapel drew the attention of all
present, and probably disconcerted the women, who were in dishabille,
and wished themselves dressed, for the sake of the curate, who was the
greatest of their beholders. While I was left alone I received a visit
from Mr. Francis himself, who was much more considerable as a farmer
than as an inn-holder. Indeed, he left the latter entirely to the care
of his wife, and he acted wisely, I believe, in so doing. As nothing
more remarkable passed on this day I will close it with the account of
these two characters, as far as a few days' residence could inform me of
them. If they should appear as new to the reader as they did to me, he
will not be displeased at finding them here. This amiable couple seemed
to border hard on their grand climacteric; nor indeed were they shy of
owning enough to fix their ages within a year or two of that time. They
appeared to be rather proud of having employed their time well than
ashamed of having lived so long; the only reason which I could ever
assign why some fine ladies, and fine gentlemen too, should desire to
be thought younger than they really are by the contemporaries of their
grandchildren. Some, indeed, who too hastily credit appearances, might
doubt whether they had made so good a use of their time as I would
insinuate, since there was no appearance of anything but poverty, want,
and wretchedness, about their house; nor could they produce anything
to a customer in exchange for his money but a few bottles of wind, and
spirituous liquors, and some very bad ale, to drink; with rusty bacon
and worse cheese t