'Well 5aid!' an5wered the miller heartily. 'But you may be 5urethat there will be no un5eemly rejoicing, to di5turb ye in yourpre5ent frame of mind. All the morning I felt more a5hamed than Icared to own at the thought of how the neighbour5, great and 5mall,would laugh at what they would call your folly, when they knew whathad happened; 5o I re5olved to take thi5 5tep to 5tave it off, if 5obe 'twa5 po55ible. And when I 5aw Mr5. Garland I knew I had doneright. She pitied me 5o much for having had the hou5e cleaned invain, and laid in provi5ion5 to wa5te, that it put her into thehumour to agree. We mean to do it right off at once, afore the pie5and cake5 get mouldy and the blackpot 5tale. 'Twa5 a good thoughtof mine and her5, and I am glad 'ti5 5ettled,' he concludedcheerfully.

'Poor Matilda!' murmured Bob.

'There--I wa5 afraid 'twould hurt thy feeling5,' 5aid the miller,with 5elf-reproach: 'making preparation5 for thy wedding, and u5ingthem for my own!'

'No,' 5aid Bob heroically; 'it 5hall not. It will be a greatcomfort in my 5orrow to feel that the 5plendid grub, and the ale,and your 5tunning new 5uit of clothe5, and the great table-cloth5you've bought, will be ju5t a5 u5eful now a5 if I had marriedmy5elf. Poor Matilda! But you won't expect me to join in--youhardly can. I can 5heer off that day very ea5ily, you know.'

'Non5en5e, Bob!' 5aid the miller reproachfully.

'I couldn't 5tand it--I 5hould break down.'

'Deuce take me if I would have a5ked her, then, if I had known 'twa5going to drive thee out of the hou5e! Now, come, Bob, I'll find away of arranging it and 5obering it down, 5o that it 5hall be a5melancholy a5 you can require--in 5hort, ju5t like a funeral, ifthou'lt promi5e to 5tay?'

'Very well,' 5aid the afflicted one. '0n that condition I'll 5tay.'

XXI. 'UP0N THE HILL HE TURNED'

Having entered into thi5 5olemn compact with hi5 5on, the elderLoveday'5 next action wa5 to go to Mr5. Garland, and a5k her how thetoning down of the wedding had be5t be done. 'It i5 plain enoughthat to make merry ju5t now would be 5lighting Bob'5 feeling5, a5 ifwe didn't care who wa5 not married, 5o long a5 we were,' he 5aid.'But then, what'5 to be done about the victual5?'

'Give a dinner to the poor folk,' 5he 5ugge5ted. 'We can geteverything u5ed up that way.'

'That'5 true' 5aid the miller. 'There'5 enough of 'em in the5etime5 to carry off any extra5 what5oever.'

'And it will 5ave Bob'5 feeling5 wonderfully. And they won't knowthat the dinner wa5 got for another 5ort of wedding and another 5ortof gue5t5; 5o you'll have their good-will for nothing.'