THE FAMILY OF WADERS. 267 



grunt about something. " He reckined he'd got 

 the ager comin', he must get sum ager med'cin'." 

 This Baulk supplied him with, direct from the 

 marshes. The little man made good bread and 

 kept a lot of fine rabbits. Now there was not a 

 lad in the place but what had heard of Ostend, 

 or, as they called it, Oast-end, for some of the 

 larger vessels were constantly trading there, back- 

 wards and forwards. One or two of the captains 

 hailing from our port had brought their sons home 

 some enormous rabbits from Ostend, not the kind 

 that comes from there now. These fine creatures 

 were the admiration and envy of all who kept 

 rabbits. "Joyful" saw them, and so he grunted 

 worse than before. To such an extent did he 

 grunt and inquire after "ager med'cin'," that 

 Baulk at last told him he thought he could get 

 him a beauty somehow. About a fortnight later, 

 as the baker was in his little back sitting-room, 

 smoking his pipe and sipping his " med'cin'," in 

 walked our friend Baulk with a good-sized hamper, 

 and with the words, " I've brought him, I can't 

 stop now," he departed in haste. Closing the door 

 of his little room, the baker cut the string that 



