length of the daily drives. "Zure as vate, when
I zits down tu my tea, cumes a message from one are t'other on 'em,
an' oop I goes. 'Yu bain't been lukin' round zo careful as 'ee shude;
there be a bit o' magnolia as want nailding oop, my gude man.' 'Oh,
be there, mum?' zays I. 'Yiss, there be; an' thart I'd carl yure
attention tu it,' zess she, are zum zuch. 'Thanky, mum, I'm zure,'
zezz I."

"I knows how her goes on," groaned James Coachman.

"Mother toime 'tis zummat else," said the aggrieved gardener. "'Thic
'ere geranum's broke, Willum; but ef yu tuke it vor cuttings, zo
vast's iver yu cude, 'twon't take no yarm, Willum. Yu zee as how us du
take a turble interest.' Ah! 'tis arl I can du tu putt oop wi' 'un;
carling a man from's tea, tu tark zuch vamous vule's tark."

Lady Mary was not much less weary than the gardener and coachman of
the old sisters' habits of criticism. But only the shadow of their
former power of vexing her remained, now that they could no longer
appeal to Sir Timothy to join them in reproving his wife. She was
no more to be teased or exasperated into alternate submission and
rebellion.

Their cousin John, the administrator of Barracombe, had chosen from
the first to place her opinions and wishes above all their protests or
advice. They said to each other that John, before he grew tired of her
and went away, had spoilt poor dear Mary completely; but their hopes
were centred on Peter, who was a true Crewys, and who would soon
be his own master, and the master of Barracombe; when he would,
doubtless, revert to his father's old ways.

They chose to blame his mother for his sudden departure to London, and
remarked that the changes in his home had so wrought upon the poor
fellow, that he could not bear to look at them until he had the power
of putting them right again.

A deeply resented innovation was the appearance of the tea-table on
the lawn before the windows, in the shade of the ilex-grove, which
sheltered the western end of the terrace from the low rays of the sun.

During the previous summer, on their return from a drive, they had
found their cousin John in his white flannels, and Lady Mary in her
black gown, serenely enjoying this refreshment out-of-doors; and the
poor old ladies had hardly known how to express their surprise and
annoyance.

In vain did their sister-in-law explain that she had desired a second
tea to be served in the hall, in their usual corner by the log
fireplace