neighbour, to be short, and without using metaphors, in the land
whence I come, where the competition which produced those literary
works which you admire so much is still the rule, most people are
thoroughly unhappy; here, to me at least most people seem thoroughly
happy."

"No offence, guest--no offence," said he; "but let me ask you; you
like that, do you?"

His formula, put with such obstinate persistence, made us all laugh
heartily; and even the old man joined in the laughter on the sly.
However, he was by no means beaten, and said presently:

"From all I can hear, I should judge that a young woman so beautiful
as my dear Ellen yonder would have been a lady, as they called it in
the old time, and wouldn't have had to wear a few rags of silk as she
does now, or to have browned herself in the sun as she has to do now.
What do you say to that, eh?"

Here Clara, who had been pretty much silent hitherto, struck in, and
said: "Well, really, I don't think that you would have mended
matters, or that they want mending. Don't you see that she is
dressed deliciously for this beautiful weather? And as for the sun-
burning of your hay-fields, why, I hope to pick up some of that for
myself when we get a little higher up the river. Look if I don't
need a little sun on my pasty white skin!"

And she stripped up the sleeve from her arm and laid it beside
Ellen's who was now sitting next her. To say the truth, it was
rather amusing to me to see Clara putting herself forward as a town-