among the guests or the bearers, but, hearing raised voices at the
cottage and guessing the cause, he boldly went to the spot, and in a
few moments had, with the approval of the sole legatee, arranged an
equal division of the money and goods; whereupon the whole party
proceeded in procession to the church. I think no one else in the
village could so easily have persuaded the favoured individual to
forgo the legal claim; but Bell was no ordinary man, and his simple
sincerity of purpose was so apparent, that his influence was not to be
resisted. Later in the evening a plain, but very useful, old oak chest
was sent to me, when the division of the furniture was arranged, as an
acknowledgment of my services and in recognition of the saving of a
lawyer's attendance and fee, with the thanks of the persons concerned.
I was loath to accept it, but it was of course impossible to refuse
such a delicate attention.

Bell's cheerfulness and his habit of making light of difficulties were
very contagious. I had early recognized the seriousness of the problem
presented by the foul condition of the land, but, as we gradually
began to reduce it to better order, I remarked that the prospect was
not so alarming after all. His reply was that when once the land was
clean, and in regular cropping, "a man might farm it with all the
playsure in life."

Though no "scholard," his wonderful memory stood him in good stead,
and was most valuable to me. He came in for a talk every evening, to
report the events of the day and arrange the work for the morrow.
After a long day spent with one of the carters delivering such things
as faggots--locally "kids"--of wood, he would recall the names of the
recipients, and the exact quantities delivered at each house without
the slightest effort. His only memoranda for approximate land
measurements would be produced on a stick with a notch denoting each
score yards or paces. This primitive method is particularly
interesting, the numeral a _score_ being derived from the Anglo-Saxon
_sciran_, to divide. Similar words are plough _share, shire, shears_,
and _shard_. He could keep the daily labour record when I was away
from home; but though I could always decipher his writing, he found it
difficult to read himself. A letter was a sore trial, and he often
told me that he would sooner walk to "Broddy" (Broadway) and back, ten
or eleven miles, than write to the veterinary surgeon there, whose
services we sometimes re