you or I can guess, because I know she loves every stick, and stave
of that old furniture,--but--"

"But!" nodded Bellew, "yes, I understand."

"Mr. Bellew, if Anthea,--God bless her dear heart!--but if she has a
fault--it is pride, Mr. Bellew, Pride! Pride! Pride!--with a capital P!"

"Yes, she is very proud."

"She'll be that 'appy-'earted," said Adam, pausing near-by with a great
armful of miscellaneous articles, "an' that full o' joy as never was!
Mr. Belloo sir!" Having delivered himself of which, he departed with
his load.

"I rose this morning--very early, Mr. Bellew,--Oh! very early!" said
Miss Priscilla, following Adam's laden figure with watchful eyes,
"couldn't possibly sleep, you see. So I got up,--ridiculously
early,--but, bless you, she was before me!"

"Ah!"

"Oh dear yes!--had been up--hours! And what--what do you suppose she was
doing?" Bellew shook his head.

"She was rubbing and polishing that old side-board that you paid such a
dreadful price for,--down on her knees before it,--yes she was! and
polishing, and rubbing, and--crying all the while. Oh dear heart! such
great, big tears,--and so very quiet! When she heard my little stick
come tapping along she tried to hide them,--I mean her tears, of course,
Mr. Bellew, and when I drew her dear, beautiful head down into my arms,
she--tried to smile. 'I'm so very silly, Aunt Priscilla,' she said,
crying more than ever, 'but it _is_ so hard to let the old things be
taken away,--you see,--I do _love_ them so! I tell you all this, Mr.
Bellew, because I like you,--ever since you took the trouble to pick up
a ball of worsted for a poor, old lame woman--in an orchard,--first
impressions, you know. And secondly, I tell you all this to explain to
you why I--hum!--"

"Threw a kiss--from a minstrel's gallery, to a most unworthy individual,
Aunt Priscilla?"

"Threw you a kiss, Mr. Bellew,--I had to,--the side-board you know,--on
her knees--you understand?"

"I understand!"

"You see, Mr. Belloo sir," said Adam, at this juncture, speaking from
beneath an inlaid table which he held balanced upon his head,--"it
ain't as if this was jest ordinary furnitur' sir,--ye see she kind-er
feels as it be all part o' Dapplemere Manor, as it used to be called,
it's all been here so long, that them cheers an' tables has come to be
part o' the 'ouse, sir. So when she comes, an' finds as it ain't all
been took,--or, as you might say,--vanished away,--why the question a