had looked for about half a minute at the vicar.

"You'll excuse my naming of it, sir," he said, regarding with much
commiseration the mere surface of the vicar's face; "but perhaps you
don't know that your chin have bust out a-bleeding where you cut yourself
a-shaving this morning, sir."

"Now, that was the stooping, depend upon't," the tranter suggested, also
looking with much interest at the vicar's chin. "Blood always will bust
out again if you hang down the member that's been bleeding."

Old William raised his eyes and watched the vicar's bleeding chin
likewise; and Leaf advanced two or three paces from the bookcase,
absorbed in the contemplation of the same phenomenon, with parted lips
and delighted eyes.

"Dear me, dear me!" said Mr. Maybold hastily, looking very red, and
brushing his chin with his hand, then taking out his handkerchief and
wiping the place.

"That's it, sir; all right again now, 'a b'lieve--a mere nothing," said
Mr. Penny. "A little bit of fur off your hat will stop it in a minute if
it should bust out again."

"I'll let 'ee have a bit off mine," said Reuben, to show his good
feeling; "my hat isn't so new as yours, sir, and 'twon't hurt mine a
bit."

"No, no; thank you, thank you," Mr. Maybold again nervously replied.