fain ha' laughed at thee,
father; for thou'st take it so unconcerned at first, and then looked so
frightened when the chair-bottom sunk in."

"You see," said old William, hastening to explain, "I was scared to find
the bottom gie way--what should I know o' spring bottoms?--and thought I
had broke it down: and of course as to breaking down a man's chair, I
didn't wish any such thing."

"And, neighbours, when a feller, ever so much up for a miff, d'see his
own father sitting in his enemy's easy-chair, and a poor chap like Leaf
made the best of, as if he almost had brains--why, it knocks all the wind
out of his sail at once: it did out of mine."

"If that young figure of fun--Fance Day, I mean," said Bowman, "hadn't
been so mighty forward wi' showing herself off to Shiner and Dick and the
rest, 'tis my belief we should never ha' left the gallery."

"'Tis my belief that though Shiner fired the bullets, the parson made
'em," said Mr. Penny. "My wife sticks to it that he's in love wi' her."

"That's a thing we shall never know. I can't onriddle her, nohow."

"Thou'st ought to be able to onriddle such a little chiel as she," the
tranter observed.

"The littler the maid, the bigger the riddle, to my mind. And coming of
such a stock, too, she may well be a twister."

"Yes; Geoffrey Day is a clever man if ever there was one. Never says
anything: not he."

"Never."

"You might live wi' that man, my sonnies, a hundred years, and never know
there was anything in him."

"Ay; one o' these up-country London ink-bottle chaps would call Geoffrey
a fool."

"Ye never find out what's in that man: never," said Spinks. "Close? ah,
he is close! He can hold his tongue well. That man's dumbness is
wonderful to listen to."

"There's so much sense in it. Every moment of it is brimmen over wi'
sound understanding."

"'A can hold his tongue very clever--very clever truly," echoed Leaf. "'A
do look at me as if 'a could see my thoughts running round like the works
of a clock."

"Well, all will agree that the man can halt well in his talk, be it a
long time or be it a short time. And though we can't expect his daughter
to inherit his closeness, she may have a few dribblets from his sense."

"And his pocket, perhaps."

"Yes; the nine hundred pound that everybody says he's worth; but I call
it four hundred and fifty; for I never believe more than half I hear."

"Well, he've made a pound or two, and I suppose the maid wil