“Fine growing marning, you.” “Ay, casualty weather, though.” Ding⁠—ding⁠—dill! Dill⁠—ding⁠—dill! This last was the cracked bell of the village church ringing “to service.” The speakers were two farmer...

Baa⁠—baa! A long-drawn pettish bleating that sometimes sounded absurdly like the “Ma⁠—ma!” of a spoilt child. The lambs gambolled in the genial sunshine over the daisies; the ewes, arrived at the age ...

The huge waterwheel in the mill by Warren House went slowly round and round, grinding the corn. The ancient walls of the mill trembled under the ponderous motion, trembled but stood firm, as they had ...

“Gee, Diamond! Now, Captain!” cried Margaret, imitating the gruff voice of the carter. Crack! The long-knotted lash of the wagon-whip, bound about the handle with brazen rings, whistled in the air and...

“Aw, aim for th’ Tump, measter; aim for th’ Tump,” said the carter, slanting his whip to indicate the direction. “When you gets thur, look’ee, go for th’ Cas’l; and when you gets thur, go athwert the ...

Margaret did not remove her hand from Geoffrey’s grasp, partly because her mind was occupied with the difficulties of the position, partly because she naturally relied upon him. That position, trying ...

When Geoffrey felt certain that she was sleeping, his next care was to examine the exterior of the Cave, thinking that there might probably be openings between the stones that would admit a draught. T...

“Thistledown for thoughts,” said May Fisher, laughing, as she tried to seize the glossy balls floating by on the idle air of the lane. “Thoughts are of little value, then,” said Felix St. Bees. “Excep...

Once more Andrew Fisher, aged ninety years, sat in his beehive chair facing the western window in Warren House. The sun was sinking, and seemed to hang over the distant vale, towards which the old man...

Puff‑puff! puff‑puff! hum‑m‑m! as the flywheel whizzed round with a sudden ease in working. “I detest these ploughing engines,” said Squire Thorpe, looking over the gate and leaning his arms on it, as...

It was fortunate that Basset’s dislike of meeting Squire Thorpe caused Geoffrey to be conveyed to Greene Ferne, for Felix was there, and he had sufficient knowledge of surgery to staunch the wound. Th...

This expedient of the dock-leaf over a crack in the barrel was actually put in practice. ↩ Little contemptible scarecrow. ↩...