his hat had fallen off a few
moments before--from both of which tokens we should be disposed to infer
that one kiss, or more, had passed between the parties.

'Why, how did you come here?' said Mary, when the conversation to which
this interruption had been offered, was resumed.

'O' course I came to look arter you, my darlin',' replied Mr. Weller;
for once permitting his passion to get the better of his veracity.

'And how did you know I was here?' inquired Mary. 'Who could have told
you that I took another service at Ipswich, and that they afterwards
moved all the way here? Who COULD have told you that, Mr. Weller?'

'Ah, to be sure,' said Sam, with a cunning look, 'that's the pint. Who
could ha' told me?'

'It wasn't Mr. Muzzle, was it?' inquired Mary.

'Oh, no.' replied Sam, with a solemn shake of the head, 'it warn't him.'

'It must have been the cook,' said Mary.

'O' course it must,' said Sam.

'Well, I never heard the like of that!' exclaimed Mary.

'No more did I,' said Sam. 'But Mary, my dear'--here Sam's manner grew
extremely affectionate--'Mary, my dear, I've got another affair in hand
as is wery pressin'. There's one o' my governor's friends--Mr. Winkle,
you remember him?'

'Him in the green coat?' said Mary. 'Oh, yes, I remember him.'

'Well,' said Sam, 'he's in a horrid state o' love; reg'larly comfoozled,
and done over vith it.'

'Lor!' interposed Mary.

'Yes,' said Sam; 'but that's nothin' if we could find out the young
'ooman;' and here Sam, with many digressions upon the personal beauty of
Mary, and the unspeakable tortures he had experienced since he last saw
her, gave a faithful account of Mr. Winkle's present predicament.

'Well,' said Mary, 'I never did!'

'O' course not,' said Sam, 'and nobody never did, nor never vill
neither; and here am I a-walkin' about like the wandering Jew--a
sportin' character you have perhaps heerd on Mary, my dear, as vos
alvays doin' a match agin' time, and never vent to sleep--looking arter
this here Miss Arabella Allen.'

'Miss who?' said Mary, in great astonishment.

'Miss Arabella Allen,' said Sam.

'Goodness gracious!' said Mary, pointing to the garden door which the
sulky groom had locked after him. 'Why, it's that very house; she's
been living there these six weeks. Their upper house-maid, which is
lady's-maid too, told me all about it over the wash-house palin's before
the family was out of bed, one mornin'.'

'Wot, the wery next door