John.'

'Maybe you wouldn't object to a cup o' tea, sir,' said the father,
turning to me; 'it'll hearten you up a bit after your journey, and
there's sure to be herrings. We almost lives on herrings here, sir, and
then, if you're so minded, you can look at the room after. Ye'll excuse
me if I make too bold, sir,' he added, as he gently patted little John's
tiny hand, which rested on his arm.

'I shall be only too glad to come,' I said; 'for I am very hungry, and
if Polly's room is as nice as I think it will be, it will be just the
place for me.'

He walked in front of me, up and down several flights of steps, until,
at some little distance lower down the hill, he stopped before a small
cottage. Sure enough there were herrings, frying and spluttering on the
fire, and there too was Polly herself, arrayed in a clean white apron,
and turning the herrings with a fork. The kitchen was very low, and the
rafters seemed resting on my head as I entered; but the window and door
were both wide open, and the whole place struck me as being wonderfully
sweet and clean. A low wooden settle stood by the fire, one or two plain
deal chairs by the wall, and little John's three-legged stool was placed
close to his father's arm-chair. A small shelf above the fireplace held
the family library. I noticed a Bible, a hymn-book, a _Pilgrim's
Progress_, and several other books, all of which had seen their best
days and were doubtless in constant use. On the walls were prints in
wooden frames and much discoloured by the turf smoke of the fire. Upon a
carved old oak cupboard, which held the clothes of the family, were
arranged various rare shells and stones, curious sea-urchins and other
treasures of the sea, and in the centre, the chief ornament of the house
and the pride of Polly's heart, a ship, carved and rigged by Duncan
himself, and preserved carefully under a glass shade.

Polly gave me a hearty Yorkshire welcome, and we soon gathered about the
small round table. Duncan, with little John on his knee, asked a
blessing, and Polly poured out the tea, and we all did justice to the
meal.

The more I saw of these honest people, the more I liked them and felt
inclined to trust them. When tea was over, Polly took me to see the
guest-chamber in which her husband had offered me a bed. It was a low
room in the roof, containing a plain wooden bedstead, one chair, a small
wash-hand stand, and a square of looking-glass hanging on the wall.
There was