hards, mark my words, Maryhann will never marry.'"

"`It may be so, Jemimar,' says I,--Did you speak, sir?" said the
coachman, turning sharp round on hearing Will utter an exclamation of
surprise.

"Is your wife's name Jemima?"

"Yes, it is; d'you 'appen to know her, too?"

"Well, I think I do, if she is the same person who used to attend upon
Mrs Osten--a tall and--thin--and and--somewhat--"

"Stiff sort of woman--hout with it, sir, you'll not 'urt my feelins. I
didn't marry Jemimar for her beauty, no, nor yet for her money nor her
youth, for she aint young, sir--older than myself a long way. I took
her for her _worth_, sir, her sterlin' qualities. _You_ know, sir, as
well as I do, that it aint the fattest an' youngest 'osses as is the
best. Jemimar is a trump, sir, without any nonsense about her. Her
capacity for fryin' 'am, sir, an' bilin' potatoes is marvellous, an' the
way she do dress up the baby (we've only got one, sir) is the
hadmiration of the neighbour'ood."

"You said something just now about the deceased Mr Osten's estate. Can
you tell me how he came by it?"

"No, sir, I can't. That's the only thing that my wife 'as failed to
fathom. There's somethink mysterious about it, I think, for Missis
Hosten she won't speak to Marryhann on the subjec', an' all she knows
about it is that the lawyer says there's an estate somewheres in furrin
parts as needs lookin' arter. The lawyer didn't say that to Maryhann,
sir, of course, but she's got a 'abit of hairin' 'er ears at key'oles
an' over'ears things now an' then."

Further conversation on this point was here stopped by the arrival of
the coach at the end of a stage, and when the journey was resumed with
fresh horses, Will felt inclined to sleep. He therefore buttoned up his
coat tight to the chin, fixed his hat well down on his brows, and put
himself into one of those numerous attitudes of torture with which
"outsides" were wont to beguile the weary hours of night in coaching
days. When the sun rose next morning, Will was still in that state of
semi-somnolence which causes the expression of the countenance to become
idiotic and the eyes owlish. At last the chimneys of his native town
became visible, and in a short time he found himself standing before the
well-remembered house tapping at the old door, whose panels--especially
near the foot--still bore the deep marks of his own juvenile toes.

It is not necessary to drag the reader through the aff