102 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



fish acquire it through hanging up in the wind ; and 

 such persons go even further, and say that a free but 

 liberal translation would be " rotten." I will not pre- 

 tend to affirm that such inelegant English conveys the 

 proper meaning of the word "blawn," but I would 

 modestly venture to remark that burstin briinies, run- 

 milk, and blawn-cod may assert themselves wherever 

 high game and moving cheese are permitted to appear. 



The greatest trial of Tribby's life, as a housekeeper, 

 was the unfortunate habit which her father had 

 inherited from a long line of Norse " forebears," of 

 opening his doors to all comers, with true Northern 

 hospitality, never considering for a moment whether 

 the housekeeper was prepared or not to feed a mixed 

 multitude. 



It never occurred to him to inquire whether the 

 wanderer had dropped from cloudland or London. 

 " Stranger is a holy name," was his motto, and he 

 acted upon it, to the perpetual grief and consternation 

 of Tribby, who was diffiident of her own power to 

 entertain people accustomed to feed daily on beef and 

 malt liquor. Yet Tribby, aided by the energetic 

 Glawthin, never failed to have a good dinner and a 

 "prophet's chamber" for the wayfarer. 



Times have changed since the days when that 

 merry band of young sisters divided among them the 

 responsibilities of the home housekeeping. But the 

 old storeroom is not much altered since the days — the 

 sweet, happy days — when the four were girls together 

 in their father's home. 



