"Then look at the butler, how he tordles like a Terrapin;
he has got the gout, that feller, and no wonder, nother.
Every decanter that comes in has jist half a bottle in
it, the rest goes in tastin', to see it aint corked. His
character would suffer if a bit o' cork floated in it.
Every other bottle is corked, so he drinks that bottle,
and opens another, and gives master half of it. The
housekeeper pets him, calls him Mr., asks him if he has
heard from Sir Philip lately, hintin' that he is of gentle
blood, only the wrong side of the blanket, and that
pleases him. They are both well to do in the world. Vails
count up in time, and they talk big sometimes, when alone
together, and hint at warnin' off the old knight, marryin',
and settin' up a tripe shop, some o' these days; don't
that hint about wedlock bring him a nice little hot supper
that night, and don't that little supper bring her a
tumbler of nice mulled wine, and don't both on 'em look
as knowin' as a boiled codfish, and a shelled oyster,
that's all.

"He once got warned himself, did old Thomas, so said he,
'Where do you intend to go master?' 'Me,' said the old
man, scratchin' his head, and lookin' puzzled 'nowhere.'
'Oh, I thought _you_ intend to leave, said Thomas for
_I_ don't.' 'Very good that, Thomas, come I like that.'
The old knight's got an anecdote by that, and nanny-goats
aint picked up every day in the country. He tells that
to every stranger, every stranger larfs, and the two
parsons larf, and the old 'Sir' larfs so, he wakes up an
old sleepin' cough that most breaks his ribs, and Thomas