She
spoke very clearly and distinctly, and she said, "It would have been a
great deal more gracious if you had asked him to come at once, without
all that----" The rest of her remarks were lost to me.
The little man and his wife presently came out on the porch. Her
countenance expressed a sort of resignation to thwarted hospitality.
"It's the way of the world, sir!" she said. "The ups are always up and
the downs are always down! I expect they will be glad to have company
at the house, for it must be dreadfully lonely up there--which might
be said of this house as well."
It soon became dark enough for me to walk through the grounds without
hurting the sensibilities of their proprietor, and as I arose to go
the good wife of the gardener brought me my cap.
"I dried that out for you, sir, for I knew you would want it, and
to-morrow morning my man will take your clothes up to the house."
I thanked her for her thoughtful kindness, and was about to depart,
but the little man was not quite ready for me to go.
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