t understand a word."

"I understand every syllable of it, Mr Apjohn," she answered.

They soon arrived at the house, and there they found not only Mrs
Griffith and the old cook, who had never left the premises, but the
old butler also, who had taken himself off in disgust at Cousin
Henry's character, but had now returned as though there had been no
break in his continuous service. They received her with triumphant
clamours of welcome. To them the coming of Cousin Henry, and the
death of the old Squire, and then the departure of their young
mistress, had been as though the whole world had come to an end for
them. To serve was their only ambition,--to serve and to be made
comfortable while they were serving; but to serve Cousin Henry was
to them altogether ignominious. The old Squire had done something
which, though they acknowledged it to be no worse on his part than
a mistake, had to them been cruelly severe. Suddenly to be told
that they were servants to such a one as Cousin Henry,--servants to
such a man without any contract or agreement on their part;--to be
handed over like the chairs and tables to a disreputable clerk from
London, whom in their hearts they regarded as very much inferior to
themselves! And they, too, like Mr Griffith and the tenants, had
been taught to look for the future reign of Queen Isabel as a thing
of course. In that there would have been an implied contract,--an
understanding on their part that they had been consulted and had
agreed to this destination of themselves. But Cousin Henry! Now this
gross evil to themselves and to all around them had been remedied,
and justice was done. They had all been strongly convinced that the
Squire had made and had left behind him another will. The butler had
been quite certain that this had been destroyed by Cousin Henry, and
had sworn that he would not stand behind the chair of a felon. The
gardener had been equally violent, and had declined even to cut a
cabbage for Cousin Henry's use. The women in the house had only
suspected. They had felt sure that something was wrong, but had
doubted between various theories. But now everything was right;
now the proper owner had come; now the great troubles had been
vanquished, and Llanfeare would once again be a fitting home for
them.

"Oh, Miss Isabel! oh, Miss Isabel!" said Mrs Griffith, absolutely
sobbing at her young mistress's feet up in her bed-room; "I did say
that it could never go on like that. I did u