A BKEaKFAST, AXD — BKOKEN BONES. 155 



reflected upward from her scarlet habit — lils explana- 

 tion was not very humiliating to her self-esteem. Nor, 

 to judge from the sparkling eyes of the gentleman — 

 though they might have been flashing with indigna- 

 tion at his own Avickedness — was his self-humiliation 

 very distressing ; though, God knows, I believe he ac- 

 cused himself' of a lonf]^er cataloOTe of all the cardi- 

 nal vices, than the Pope of Rome ever listened to on 

 Palm Sunday. 



The absolution, however, was soon granted, it would 

 seem ; and it is very certain that whether Colonel 

 Fairfax understood Mary Merton or not, whether he 

 understood himself or not, or any thing else "on the 

 earth, or in the heavens above the earth, or in the 

 waters under the earth," it is very certain that with- 

 in five minutes after he began explaining, Mary Mer- 

 ton understood him from the crown of his hat to his 

 under spur leather. But she did not tell him so, I 

 suppose, because she wanted to understand him better. 



Two or three farm servants whom they had sauntered 

 past unnoticing, but not unnoticed, nudged one another 

 as they stared ; and of the last two who stood stock- 

 still scratching their shock heads and glaring after them, 

 one said : 



" Lauk a' maighty, Tummas, beant they two a love- 

 talking ?" 



But desperately was honest Hodge out ; not love-talk- 

 ing a whit ; for not a syllable about love had passed the 

 lips of either ; only love-making, with all their hearts, 

 and souls, and eyes, and tongues ; only for hands and 

 lips the love-making had been perfect. 



Yet neither had the smallest suspicion of the love- 

 making, and she only had a faint suspicion that she 

 was being — made-love-to — if I may coin a word foi 

 the occasion. 



There came a loud lubberly whoop just before their 

 noses, and they awoke. 



