is a bachelor, or gives himself out for such,' said his
uncle, charitably.

'Then those young ladies--are they residents here?'

'Which young ladies?'

'In his pew,' said Mark, a little impatiently, 'the little girl with
the long hair, and--and the other one?'

'You don't go to church to stare about you, do you? _I_ didn't take
any notice of them; they're strangers here--friends of 'Umpage, I
daresay. That was his sister in grey; she keeps house for him, and
they say he leads her a pretty life with his tempers. Did you see that
old woman behind in a black coalscuttle? That was old widow Barnjum;
keeps a sweetstuff shop down in the village. I've seen her that far in
liquor sometimes she can't find her way about and 'as to be taken 'ome
in a barrow. You wouldn't think it to look at her, would you? I shall
give the vicar the 'int to tell old John Barker he ought to stay away
till he's got over that cough of his; it's enough to make anybody ill
to listen to him. I've a good mind to tell him of it myself; and I
will, too, if I come across him. The Colonel wasn't in church again.
They tell me he's turned Atheist, and loafs about all Sunday with a
gun. I've seen him myself driving a dog-cart Sunday afternoons in a
pot 'at, and I knew then what would come of that. Here we are again!'
he said, as they reached the palings of 'The Woodbines.' 'We'll just
stroll round to get an appetite for dinner before we go in.'

Uncle Solomon led the way into the stables, where he lingered to slap
his mare on the back and brag about her, and then Mark had to be
introduced to the pig. 'What I call a 'andsome pig, yer know,' he
remarked; 'a perfect picture, he is' (a picture that needed cleaning,
Mark thought)--'you come down to me in another three weeks or so, and
we'll try a bit off of that chap'--an observation which seemed to
strike the pig as in very indifferent taste, for he shook his ears,
grunted, and retired to his sty in a pointed manner.

After that there was plenty to do and see before Mark was allowed to
dine: Lassie, the colley, had to be unfastened for a run about the
'grounds,' of which a mechanical mouse might have made the tour in
five minutes; there was a stone obelisk to be inspected that Uncle
Solomon had bought a bargain at a sale and set up at a corner of the
lawn inscribed with the names of his favourites living and dead--a
remarkably scratch team, by the way; then he read out sonorous
versions of the Latin names o