lf, but must have her opinion upon his work.

Lizzie sat on a log of wood, and listened with all her ears up, having
made proviso that no one else should be there to interrupt her. And she
put in a syllable here and there, and many a time she took out one (for
the Sergeant overloaded his gun, more often than undercharged it; like
a liberal man of letters), and then she declared the result so good,
so chaste, and the style to be so elegant, and yet so fervent, that the
Sergeant broke his pipe in three, and fell in love with her on the spot.
Now this has led me out of my way; as things are always doing, partly
through their own perverseness, partly through my kind desire to give
fair turn to all of them, and to all the people who do them. If any one
expects of me a strict and well-drilled story, standing "at attention"
all the time, with hands at the side like two wens on my trunk, and eyes
going neither right nor left; I trow that man has been disappointed
many a page ago, and has left me to my evil ways; and if not, I love his
charity. Therefore let me seek his grace, and get back, and just begin
again.

That great despatch was sent to London by the Chancery officers, whom
we fitted up with clothes, and for three days fattened them; which in
strict justice they needed much, as well as in point of equity. They
were kind enough to be pleased with us, and accepted my new shirts
generously; and urgent as their business was, another week (as they both
declared) could do no harm to nobody, and might set them upon their legs
again. And knowing, although they were London men, that fish do live
in water, these two fellows went fishing all day, but never landed
anything. However, their holiday was cut short; for the Sergeant, having
finished now his narrative of proceedings, was not the man to let it
hang fire, and be quenched perhaps by Stickles.

Therefore, having done their business, and served both citations,
these two good men had a pannier of victuals put up by dear Annie, and
borrowing two of our horses, rode to Dunster, where they left them, and
hired on towards London. We had not time to like them much, and so we
did not miss them, especially in our great anxiety about poor Master
Stickles.

Jeremy lay between life and death, for at least a fortnight. If the link
of chain had flown upwards (for half a link of chain it was which took
him in the mouth so), even one inch upwards, the poor man could have
needed no one ex