in
his hat as it disfigured its own face by frantic screams; and he
also took a quiet revenge on the pugnacious servant by making a
picture of her in a fighting attitude, with one eye bunged and
her jaw knocked round to her left ear.

When the ponderous Witch had got all ready for business, and had
taken a very long greasy stare at her customer, as if she was
making up her mind what sort of a customer on the whole he might
be, she determined to begin her mighty magic. So she took up the
cards, which were almost as greasy as she herself, and prepared
for business, previously giving one most tremendous yawn, which
opened her sacred jaws so wide that only a very narrow isthmus of
hair behind her ears connected the top of her respected head with
the back of her venerated neck.

She then presented the cards for her customer to cut, and when he
had accomplished that feat, which he did in some perturbation,
she ran them carelessly over between her fingers, and began to
speak very slowly, and without much thought of what she was
about, as if it was a lesson she had learned by heart.

Each word slipped smoothly out from her fat lips as if it had
been anointed with some patent lubricator, and her speech was as
follows:--

"You have seen much trouble, some of it in business, and some of
it in love, but there are brighter days in store for you before
long--you face up a letter--you face up love--you face up
marriage--you face up a light-haired woman, with dark eyes, you
think a great deal of her, and she thinks a great deal of you;
but then she faces up a dark complexioned man, which is bad for
you--you must take care and look out for him, for he is trying to
injure you--she likes you the best, but you must look out for the
man--you face up better luck in business, you face a change in
your business, but be careful, or it will not bring you much
money--you do not face up a great deal of money."

(Here followed a huge yawn which again nearly left the top of her
head an island.) Then she resumed, "If you will tell me the
number of letters in the lady's name, I will tell you what her
name is."

This demand was unexpected, but her cool and collected customer
replied at random, "Four." The she-Falstaff then referred to a
book wherein was written a long list of names, of varying lengths
from one syllable to six, and selecting the names with four
letters, began to ask.

"Is it Emma?" "No." "Anna?" "No." "Ella?" "No?" "Jane?"