no time,) 'and they hear all the talk. But at breakfast
every one is only half awake, (especially when you rise
so airly as you do in this country,' sais I, but the old
critter couldn't see a joke, even if he felt it, and he
didn't know I was a funnin'.) 'Folks are considerably
sharp set at breakfast,' sais I, 'and not very talkat_ive_.
That's the right time to have sarvants to tend on you.'

"'What an idea!' said he, and he puckered up his pictur,
and the way he stared was a caution to an owl.

"Well, we sot and sot till I was tired, so thinks I,
'what's next?' for it's rainin' agin as hard as ever.'
So I took a turn in the study to sarch for a book, but
there was nothin' there, but a Guide to the Sessions,
Burn's Justice, and a book of London club rules, and two
or three novels. He said he got books from the sarkilatin'
library.

"'Lunch is ready.'

"'What, eatin' agin? My goody!' thinks I, 'if you are so
fond of it, why the plague don't you begin airly? If
you'd a had it at five o'clock this morning, I'd a done
justice to it; now I couldn't touch it if I was to die.'

"There it was, though. Help yourself, and no thanks, for
there is no sarvants agin. The rule here is, no talk no
sarvants--and when it's all talk, it's all sarvants.