ough he had not reached his
thirtieth year, had already crow's-feet about his eyes, she was quite
tremulous at the greatness of her lot in being married to a man who had
travelled so much--and before her sister Letty! The handsome Letitia
looked rather proud and contemptuous, thought her nature brother-in-law
an odious person, and was vexed with her father and mother for letting
Penny marry him. Dear little Penny! She certainly did look like a fresh
white-heart cherry going to be bitten off the stem by that lipless mouth.
Would no deliverer come to make a slip between that cherry and that mouth
without a lip?

"Quite a family likeness between the admiral and you, Mr. Freely,"
observed Mrs. Palfrey, who was looking at the family portrait for the
first time. "It's wonderful! and only a grand-uncle. Do you feature the
rest of your family, as you know of?"

"I can't say," said Mr. Freely, with a sigh. "My family have mostly
thought themselves too high to take any notice of me."

At this moment an extraordinary disturbance was heard in the shop, as of
a heavy animal stamping about and making angry noises, and then of a
glass vessel falling in shivers, while the voice of the apprentice was
heard calling "Master" in great alarm.

Mr. Freely rose in anxious astonishment, and hastened into the shop,
followed by the four Palfreys, who made a group at the parlour-door,
transfixed with wonder at seeing a large man in a smock-frock, with a
pitchfork in his hand, rush up to Mr. Freely and hug him, crying
out,--"Zavy, Zavy, b'other Zavy!"

It was Jacob, and for some moments David lost all presence of mind. He
felt arrested for having stolen his mother's guineas. He turned cold,
and trembled in his brother's grasp.

"Why, how's this?" said Mr. Palfrey, advancing from the door. "Who is
he?"

Jacob supplied the answer by saying over and over again--

"I'se Zacob, b'other Zacob. Come 'o zee Zavy"--till hunger prompted him
to relax his grasp, and to seize a large raised pie, which he lifted to
his mouth.

By this time David's power of device had begun to return, but it was a
very hard task for his prudence to master his rage and hatred towards
poor Jacob.

"I don't know who he is; he must be drunk," he said, in a low tone to Mr.
Palfrey. "But he's dangerous with that pitchfork. He'll never let it
go." Then checking himself on the point of betraying too great an
intimacy with Jacob's habits, he added "You watch him