HEAVY RAIN AND SOBERED BRAIN. 55 



business are my clothes to him ? his money 

 didn't pay for 'em ; and if they are patched, 

 that's no business of his. You tell him, I 

 won't stop ; no, that I won't. I don't care ; 

 no, that I don't ;" and so he went on. 



I saw in a minute what the squire had 

 scolded him about; but I let him go on with- 

 out saying any thing, for talking to a tipsy 

 man is like putting dry leaves on a bonfire, 

 it only makes it blaze the more. " Come," 

 says I, "just go with me, will you, and let's 

 see if any of those boys are in the upper 

 garden, stealing the potatoes out of the pits ; 

 you take that lantern, and I'll take my 

 own ;" and he grew so maudlin to me ; and 

 then he'd abuse the squire, and tell me to be 

 sure and mind that he wouldn't stop, no, 

 that he wouldn't, if he'd go down on his 

 bended knees to him. When we'd got out 

 of doors it was raining finely, which I knew 

 well enough ; and he asked me to lend him 

 something to put over his shoulders. " Ne- 

 ver mind a drop of rain," says I ; " come 

 on ; you don't care for a little wet, do you?" 

 I took him the worse road and the longest 

 way, and it pouring hard all the time. He 

 soon left off talking about not standing it ; 



