, 'we did not treat
that man very hospitably; he left us without having eaten or drunk at our
expense.'

'You offered him some tea,' said Belle, 'which, as it is mine, I should
have grudged him, for I like him not.'

'Our liking or disliking him had nothing to do with the matter, he was
our visitor, and ought not to have been permitted to depart dry; living
as we do in this desert, we ought always to be prepared to administer to
the wants of our visitors. Belle, do you know where to procure any good
Hollands?'

'I think I do,' said Belle, 'but--'

'I will have no buts. Belle, I expect that with as little delay as
possible you procure, at my expense, the best Hollands you can find.'

CHAPTER NINETY-ONE

EXCURSIONS--ADVENTUROUS ENGLISH--OPAQUE FORESTS

Time passed on, and Belle and I lived in the dingle; when I say lived,
the reader must not imagine that we were always there. She went out upon
her pursuits, and I went out where inclination led me; but my excursions
were very short ones, and hers occasionally occupied whole days and
nights. If I am asked how we passed the time when we were together in
the dingle, I would answer that we passed the time very tolerably, all
things considered; we conversed together, and when tired of conversing I
would sometimes give Belle a lesson in Armenian; her progress was not
particularly brilliant, but upon the whole satisfactory; in about a
fortnight she had hung up one hundred Haikan numerals upon the hake of
her memory. I found her conversation highly entertaining; she had seen
much of England and Wales, and had been acquainted with some of the most
remarkable characters who travelled the roads at that period; and let me
be permitted to say that many remarkable characters have travelled the
roads of England, of whom fame has never said a word. I loved to hear
her anecdotes of these people; some of whom I found had occasionally
attempted to lay violent hands either upon her person or effects, and had
invariably been humbled by her without the assistance of either justice
or constable. I could clearly see, however, that she was rather tired of
England, and wished for a change of scene; she was particularly fond of
talking of America, to which country her aspirations chiefly tended. She
had heard much of America, which had excited her imagination; for at that
time America was much talked of, on roads and in homesteads--at least, so
said Belle, who had good opport