suppose." But the tranter appeared to have heard some such words from
his wife before, and hence his answer had not the energy it might have
shown if the inquiry had possessed the charm of novelty.

"You never did look so well in a pair o' trousers as in them," she
continued in the same unimpassioned voice, so that the unfriendly
criticism of the Dewy family seemed to have been more normal than
spontaneous. "Such a cheap pair as 'twas too. As big as any man could
wish to have, and lined inside, and double-lined in the lower parts, and
an extra piece of stiffening at the bottom. And 'tis a nice high cut
that comes up right under your armpits, and there's enough turned down
inside the seams to make half a pair more, besides a piece of cloth left
that will make an honest waistcoat--all by my contriving in buying the
stuff at a bargain, and having it made up under my eye. It only shows
what may be done by taking a little trouble, and not going straight to
the rascally tailors."

The discourse was cut short by the sudden appearance of Charley on the
scene, with a face and hands of hideous blackness, and a nose like a
guttering candle. Why, on that particularly cleanly afternoon, he should
have discovered that the chimney-crook and chain from which the hams were
suspended should have possessed more merits and general interest as
playthings than any other articles in the house, is a question for
nursing mothers to decide. However, the humour seemed to lie in the
result being, as has been seen, that any given player with these articles
was in the long-run daubed with soot. The last that was seen of Charley
by daylight after this piece of ingenuity was when in the act of
vanishing from his father's presence round the corner of the
house--looking back over his shoulder with an expression of great sin on
his face, like Cain as the Outcast in Bible pictures.