ular woman, who,
with an old black bonnet on the top of her head, the strings dangling
about her shoulders, and her gown tucked through her pocket holes,
went clattering about the dairy, cheese-room, and yard, in high
pattens.[12] Charity was some sort of niece of the old lady's, and was
consequently free of the farm-house and garden, into which she could
not resist going for the purposes of gossip and flirtation with the
heir-apparent,[13] who was a dawdling fellow, never out at work as he
ought to have been. The moment Charity had found her cousin, or any
other occupation, Tom would slip away; and in a minute shrill cries
would be heard from the dairy: "Charity, Charity, thee lazy huzzy,
where bist?" and Tom would break cover,[14] hands and mouth full of
curds, and take refuge on the shaky surface of the great muck
reservoir in the middle of the yard, disturbing the repose of the
great pigs. Here he was in safety, as no grown person could follow
without getting over his knees; and the luckless Charity, while her
aunt scolded her from the dairy-door, for being "allus hankering about
arter our Willum, instead of minding Master Tom," would descend from
threats to coaxing, to lure Tom out of the muck, which was rising over
his shoes and would soon tell a tale on his stockings for which she
would be sure to catch it from missus's maid.

[11] #Whey#: in making cheese the milk separates, the thick
part forming curd, and the watery portion whey.

[12] #Pattens#: wooden-soled shoes.

[13] #Heir-apparent#: the legal heir.

[14] #Break cover#: come out from his hiding-place.

TOM BROWN'S ABETTORS--NOAH.

Tom had two abettors in the shape of a couple of old boys, Noah and
Benjamin by name, who defended him from Charity, and expended much
time upon his education. They were both of them retired servants of
former generations of the Browns. Noah Crooke was a keen, dry
old man of almost ninety, but still able to totter about. He talked to
Tom quite as if he were one of his own family, and indeed had long
completely identified the Browns with himself. In some remote age he
had been the attendant of a Miss Brown, and had conveyed her about the
country on a pillion.[15] He had a little round picture of the
identical gray horse caparisoned with the identical pillion, before
which he used to do a sort of fetish[16] worship and abuse turnpike
roads and carriages. He wore an old full-bottomed wig,[17] the gift o