As to ****, it was quite right to let him pull, for he was as strong as a horse, and had the greatest delight in bodily exercise, whatever it was. We really had some difficulty in getting him to stop when it was getting rather more than dusk, and the moon was brightening just as we were off Runnymede. We landed there, and were looking about for a place whereon to pitch our tents (for we had brought two with us), when an old man came up to us, bade us good evening, and asked if we were housed for the night; and finding that we were not bade us home to his house. Nothing loth, we went with him, and Clara took his hand in a coaxing way which I noticed she used with old menpp and as we went on our way, made some commonplace remark about the beauty of the day. The old man stopped short and looked at her and said: "You really like it then?""Yes," she said, looking very much astonished, "don't you?""Well," said he, "perhaps I do. I did, at any rate, when I was younger; but now I think I should like it cooler."She said nothing, and went on, the night growing about as dark as it would be; till just at the rise of the hill we came to a hedge with a gate in it, which the old man unlatched and led us into a garden at the end of which we could see a little house, one of whose little windows was already yellow with candle-light. We could see even under the doubtful light of the moon and the last of the western glow that the garden was stuffed full of flowers; and the fragrance it agave out in the gathering coolness was so wonderfully sweet, that it seemed the very heart of the delight of the June dusk; so that we three stopped instinctively and Clara gave forth a little sweet "O," like a bird beginning to sing.
"What's the matter?" said the old man, a little testily, and pulling at her hand. "There's no dog; or have you trodden on a thorn and hurt your foot?""No, no, neighbour,"she said; "but how sweet, how sweete it is!""Of course it is," said he, "but do you care so much for that?"She laughed out musically, and we followed suit in our gruffer voices;and then she said: "of course I do, neighbour, don't you?""Well, I don;t know," quoth the old fellow; then he added, as if somewhat ashamed of himself: "Besides, you know, when the waters are out and all Runnymede is flooded, it's none so pleasant.""_I_ should like it,"quoth ****. "What a jolly sail one would get about here on the floods on a bright frosty January morning!""_Would_ you like it?" said our host. " Well, I won't argue with you, neighbour; it isn't worth while. Come in and have some supper."We went up a paved path between the roses, and straight into a very pretty room, panelled and carved, and as clean as a new pin; but the chief ornament of which was a young woman, light-haired and grey-eyed, but with her face and hands and bare feet tanned quite brown with the sun. Though she was very lightly clad, that was clearly from choice, not from poverty, though these were the first cottage-dwellers I had come across; for her gown was of silk, and on her wrists were bracelets that seemed to me of great value. She was lying on a sheep-skin near the window, but jumped up as soon as we entered, and when she saw the guests behind the old man, she clapped her hands and cried out with pleasure, and when she got us into the middle of the room, fairly danced round us in delight of our company.
"What!" said the old man, "you are pleased, are you Ellen?"The girl danced up to him and threw her arms round him, and said: "Yes I am, and so ought you to be, grandfather.""Well, well, I am," said he, "as much as I can be pleased. Guests, please be seated."This seemed rather strange to us; stranger, I suspect, to my friends than to me; but **** took the opportunity of both the host and his grand-daughter being out of the room to say to me softly: "A grynbler:
there are a few of them still. Once upon a time, I am told, they were quite a nuisance."The old man came in as he spoke and sat down beside us with a sigh, which, indeed, seemed fetched up as if he wanted us to take notice of it; but just then the girl came in with the victuals, and the carle missed his mark what between our hunger generally and that I was pretty busy watching the grand-daughter moviing about as beautiful as a picture.
Everything to eat and drink, though it was somewhat different to what we had had in London, was better than good, but the old man eyed rather sulkily the chief dish on the table, on which lay a leash of fine perch, and said:
"H'm, perch! I am sorry we can't do better for you, guests. The time was when we might have had a good piece of salmon up from London for you; but the times have grown mean and petty.""Yes, but y ou might have had it now," said the girl, giggling, "if you had known that they were coming.""It's our fault for not bringing it with us, neighbours,"said ****, good-humouredlyl "But if the times have grown petty, at any rate the perch haven't; that fellow in the middle there must have weighed a good two pounds when he was showing his dark stripes and red fins to the minnows yonder. And as to the salmon, why, neighbour, my friend here, who comes from the outlands, ws quite surprised yesterday morning when I told him we had plenty of salmon at Hammersmith. I am sure I have heard nothing of the times worsening."He looked a little uncomfortable. And the old man, turning to me, said very courteously: