“He’s a gude hater.”

“Time will bring the best of him to the top again some day.  I understand him, I think.  We possess more in common than people suppose.  We feel deeply and haven’t a grain of philosophy between us.”

“Well, I reckon I’ve allus been inclined to deep ways of thought myself; and work up here, wi’ nothing to break your thoughts but the sight of a hawk or the twinkle of a rabbit’s scut, be very ripening to the mind.  If awnly Phoebe was here!  Sometimes I’m in a mood to ramp down-long an’ hale her home, whether or no.  But I sweats the longing out o’ me wi’ work.”

“The day will soon come.  Time drags with me just now, somehow, but it races with you, I’ll warrant.  I must get on with my book, and see Hicks and try and persuade him to help me.”

“’Tis like your big nature to put it that way.  You’rn tu soft-hearted a man to dwell in a house all alone.  Let the dead stones bide, Martin, an’ look round for a wife.  Theer’s more gude advice.  Blamed if I doan’t advise everybody nowadays!  Us must all come to it.  Look round about an’ try to love a woman.  ’T will surprise ‘e an’ spoil sleep if you can bring yourself to it.  But the cuddlin’ of a soft gal doan’t weaken man’s thews and sinews neither.  It hardens ’em, I reckon, an’ puts fight in the most poor-spirited twoad as ever failed in love.  ’Tis a manly thing, an’ ‘boldens the heart like; an’, arter she’s said ‘Yes’ to ’e, you’ll find a wonnerful change come awver life.  ’Tis all her, then.  The most awnself[8] man feels it more or less, an’ gets shook out of his shell.  You’ll knaw some day.  Of course I speaks as wan auld in love an’ married into the bargain.”

[8] Awnself=selfish.

“You speak from experience, I know.  And is Phoebe as wise as you, Will?”

“Waitin’ be harder for a wummon.  They’ve less to busy the mind, an’ less mind to busy, for that matter.”

“That’s ungallant.”

“I doan’t knaw.  ‘Tis true, anyway.  I shouldn’t have failed in love wi’ her if she’d been cleverer’n me.”

“Or she with you, perhaps?”

“P’r’aps not.  Anyway as it stands we’m halves of a whole:  made for man and wife.  I reckon I weern’t wan to miss my way in love like some poor fules, as wastes it wheer they might see’t wasn’t wanted if they’d got eyes in their heads.”

“What it is to be so wise!”

Will laughed joyously in his wisdom.

“Very gude of ’e to say that.  ’Tis a happy thing to have sense enough.  Not but we larn an’ larn.”

“So we should.  Well, I must be off now.  I’m safe on the Moor to-day!”

“Ess, by the looks of it.  Theer’ll likely come some mist after noon, but shouldn’t be very thick.”