found myself duly installed in the window of the village
jeweller's--held out as a bait to the purses of Muggerbridge. The
countryman who had purchased me was a big enough man in his own place,
though very little had been made of him in the "Central Mart." He was
jeweller, silversmith, church warden, postmaster, and special
Muggerbridge correspondent to the London _Thunderbolt_ all in one here,
and appeared to be aware of his accumulated dignities!

It was his custom twice a year to visit London for the purpose of
replenishing his stock. It was the common talk of the place that he
always returned from such expeditions with prodigies of bargains, which
went far to encourage the popular tradition as to the prodigal wealth of
the metropolis. People who knew him in town, on the other hand, always
laughed at him, and were unkind enough to hint that he never by any
chance bought an article at less than its full price, and often paid an
extremely fanciful ransom for his purchases.

The churchwarden and postmaster of Muggerbridge would have been very
indignant had such an insinuation ever reached his ears. It never did,
happily, and the worthy man was consequently always well satisfied with
his purchases; which--whatever he gave for them--he always contrived to
sell at a very respectable profit.

It was with a view to this profit that I found myself looking out of Mr
Argent's window, in the High Street of Muggerbridge, with a ticket round
my neck, conveying the (to me) very gratifying information that "this
superb watch was to be disposed of for the moderate amount of L4 10
shillings only," and a parenthesis below further indulged my vanity by
volunteering the information that I was worth L6. It _did_ occur to me
to wonder why, if I was worth L6, Mr Argent should be such a donkey as
to sell me for only three-quarters of that sum. Either he was a very
benevolent man, or he was in immediate want of L4 10 shillings, or he
had his doubts as to my alleged value. I somehow fancied the last was
the true reason, and was half afraid he was right too.

Well, I looked out of Mr Argent's windows for two months, and by that
time became acquainted with nearly all the inhabitants of Muggerbridge.

On my first arrival I was an object of a good deal of curiosity and
admiration, for any change in a country shop window is an excitement,
and when that change takes the form of a L6 "superb" watch offered for
L4 10 shillings, it was no w