, to a little sly manoeuvring and a few whispered words from Saxon,
who amongst other accomplishments which he had picked up during his
chequered career had a pleasing knack of establishing friendly relations
with the fair sex, irrespective of age, size, or character. Gentle
and simple, Church and Dissent, Whig and Tory, if they did but wear a
petticoat our comrade never failed, in spite of his fifty years, to make
his way into their good graces by the help of his voluble tongue mid
assured manner.

'We are your grateful servants, mistress,' said he, when the smoking
joint and the batter pudding had been placed upon the table. 'We have
robbed you of your room. Will you not honour us so far as to sit down
with us and share our repast?'

'Nay, kind sir,' said the portly dame, much flattered by the proposal;
'it is not for me to sit with gentles like yourselves.'

'Beauty has a claim which persons of quality, and above all cavalieros
of the sword, are the first to acknowledge,' cried Saxon, with his
little twinkling eyes fixed in admiration upon her buxom countenance.
'Nay, by my troth, you shall not leave us. I shall lock the door first.
If you will not eat, you shall at least drink a cup of Alicant with me.'

'Nay, sir, it is too much honour,' cried Dame Hobson, with a simper. 'I
shall go down into the cellars and bring a flask of the best.'

'Nay, by my manhood, you shall not,' said Saxon, springing up from his
seat. 'What are all these infernal lazy drawers here for if you are to
descend to menial offices?' Handing the widow to a chair he clanked away
into the tap-room, where we heard him swearing at the men-servants, and
cursing them for a droning set of rascals who had taken advantage of
the angelic goodness of their mistress and her incomparable sweetness of
temper.

'Here is the wine, fair mistress,' said he, returning presently with a
bottle in either hand. 'Let me fill your glass. Ha! it flows clear and
yellow like a prime vintage. These rogues can stir their limbs when they
find that there is a man to command them.'

'Would that there were ever such,' said the widow meaningly, with a
languishing look at our companion. 'Here is to you, sir--and to ye, too,
young sirs,' she added, sipping at her wine. 'May there be a speedy end
to the insurrection, for I judge, from your gallant equipment, that ye
be serving the King.'

'His business takes us to the West,' said Reuben, 'and we have every
reason to hope th