“She’s off the stocks at last, thank God!” said Mr. Black to Squire Dudley, who stood beside him; “she’s off the stocks and afloat!” CHAPTER II. MRS. PIGGOTT’S ASSISTANT. It was late on in the autumn by this time, and most of the visitors who had come down to the Hollow in the bright summer weather were now elsewhere. Miss Hope, having patched up a peace with her nephew, was at Copt Hall; Mrs. Ormson at Torquay, with her eldest son, the state of whose health was considered unsatisfactory; Mrs. Black, at Hastings; Mr. Black, much in town; Mr. Harcourt, in Scotland; and Bessie, at home, keeping house for her father. There was no one left at Berrie Down, in fact, excepting Master Marsden, who remained on at the Hollow, because the state of Dr. Marsden’s finances prevented the boy being sent to school; while the state of his mother’s health rendered it an act of real charity to keep the “noisy, ill-mannered, ill-conditioned young whelp” (this was Arthur’s summary of him) away from that small, uncomfortable, wretchedly-managed suburban house. Early in November, Alick was to enter on his new duties; and at Christmas, by special desire of Arthur, there was to be another and, larger family gathering in Berrie Down. All kinds of people were to meet all other kinds of people; and the Hollow, he said, “should see Christmas kept in thorough good old English style, for once.” Already the younger Dudleys were speculating as to whether there would be an abundance of berries on the holly bushes, and Mrs. Piggott was looking to the fattening of her turkeys, and meditatively calculating how many of those unfortunate birds the expected guests would, in all probability, consume. Already she was pouring into the ears of her youthful handmaiden, Prissy Dobbin by name, tales which sounded to that unsophisticated damsel like romances, anent the number of plums she should have to stone, currants to wash and dry and pick, about the quantity of mixed peel she must cut up, and the amount of suet she would have to chop, for the Christmas puddings. As for mincemeat, Mrs. Piggott avowed her intention of commencing that whenever the twenty-first of November was come and past; and had the Israelites been journeying, for a second time, out of Egypt, and purposed making a halt at Berrie Down on their way, the worthy housekeeper could scarcely have “salted down” a larger quantity of butter, nor looked more anxiously at the tenants of the poultry-yard and the contents of the nests than she did.