"The dear miss--she were a good soul, if I say it--said as 'ow she 'ad read in a book that they drank tea in Canada, just like _real_ people and may be these would be useful as well as hornamental, but love me, dearies, I need the room more. I suppose I should 'ardly give 'em away, but if the squire's daughter hever comes a-visiting me I'll 'ave to borrow 'em back." Her lips were smiling as she made this little speech, but a tell-tale splash fell on one of the pieces as she handed it over. "Our present is outside, and I'm a-goin' to bring it in," said Burke, putting on his cap and coat. "Oh, I wouldn't bring it in, Tom," his wife suggested. "Let them see it out there." But Burke was bound to do it in style. "In it comes," he insisted, and plunged into the night. In a few minutes he returned with a heavy sack of his back, which he set in the middle of the floor. Again and again he made the trip until five sacks were in the pile. "Ten bushels of seed wheat," he exclaimed proudly, "and may every kernel yield a hundred-fold!" "Pretty good speech, Tom," said his wife. "I was sure you'd forget it." "Forget nothin'!" Tom retorted. "I made that up, right off the bat." "You'll be Member of Parliament some day, with a gift like that," Jack prophesied. "Fer the constitooency of Sittin' Crow," Jake added, maliciously, but the point of his shaft was lost on the audience. "Weel, Ah'm thinkin' Ah'll be next," remarked the placid Andy Smith, tapping his clay pipe and returning it to his pocket. From somewhere he produced a kit of steel-worker's tools; wonderful pieces of British workmanship, they were. I believe Jack still carries some of them in the back seat of his automobile. "No as much as Ah could o' wisht," said Andy, modestly, "but richt guid in the makin', and they'll come gey handy when you buy that threshing-mill for the neighbourhood." Just then we observed the color mantling to the tawny hair of Ole Hansen. "Ay tank by Yimminy Ay mak myself maybe a yoke (joke)," the tall Swede confessed. "Ay say to Olga, 'By dam, Olga, what you tank, Ay tak a load o' hay?' She say, 'Ole, you get more fool all the time. Hay for a marriaging! What you tank dey are, oxes?' Den Ay say, 'Well, den, w'at else?' an' she say, 'Dere ain't nodding else,' an' den Ay say 'Dah hay gets it', an' so it does." "I hope you're not going to bring it in, too," said Lucy Burke. "Yah!" said Ole, opening his mouth in a great circular orifice and laughing silently while his head rocked in inward appreciation of Mrs. Burke's joke. "Ay tank she make good bedding, but not to-night. Ay pitch 'im off beside dah barn." We found it was true. Ole, having nothing to bring but a load of hay, in the fullness of his heart brought that.