“There,” said Betty to herself, “let him chew his cud on that as he goes home, with his lions and his varmint. Varmint, indeed! There’s a fine fellow for you, who says, when he goes to quarterly meeting, or other place of Quaker feasting, he looks round the dinner-table of them rich Friends and takes what he likes least, to mortify his carnal will! And he’ll never confess as he likes music,—‘Nor does mester,’ he says. Does not he, though? And Mester Thorsby tells me as how he’s seen both him and ‘mester’ listening as demurely as owls by daylight to the barracks band at Castleborough. And did not Mester Thorsby actchully catch Sylvanus listening to a ballad-singer i’ th’ street. ‘What, is that you, Sylvanus?’ says Mester Thorsby; and th’ old sly-boots says, as innocent as th’ parson’s horse, as niver works o’ Sundays, ‘Yes, Friend Thorsby,’ says he, ‘I just staid a moment to discover whether the vagabond was singing anything likely to corrupt the youth.’ Ha, what an old cunning fox!—but he’ll not come his lions over me again in a hurry, I’ll warrant.” And Betty gave her milk-pails an extra-scouring; for a “bit of a raffle,” as she called it, always made her put out her energies, and she laughed to herself as she thought how she should tell it all to Sukey Priddo, as they went to Hillmartin chapel together on Sunday; and how Sukey would roast Sylvanus again about his lions. CHAPTER VII. A QUAKER WEDDING, AND ANOTHER WEDDING. “Well, Frank Leroy is not only back again,” said Thorsby, at the Grange on Sunday after the trial of Hopcraft, “but he is amazing jolly. I think some little bird must have whistled to him out in India there, and sent him home so nimbly; don’t you think so, Letty?” “Likelier things have happened,” said Letty, with a merry smile in her eyes. “And unlikelier too,” added Thorsby. “Frank has taken the very largest and handsomest house in the Park, too, with a charming large garden and pleasure-grounds running down to the little river, and looking across to Rockville; and, really, I could fancy we could see it from here. What does that mean, Letty? Do young bachelors require now-a-days such great houses?” Letty laughed. “Young men are rather ambitious now-a-days, it must be confessed. Perhaps Dr. Leroy thinks he will secure thy little bird, which lured him back, in a fine cage before long.” “That is just what I was thinking,” said Thorsby; “and somehow I have been continually meeting Mrs. Heritage and Millicent going about the town amongst the shops, and Millicent looks as spry as ever,—quite killing with those dark eyes and eyelashes of hers. It is really delightful.” “They are buying up remnants and bargains, I dare say,” said Letty, archly, “for making up for the poor against winter.” “I dare say,” said Thorsby. “However, I am charmed above everything to have Frank back.”