“The king’ call’d down’ his no-bles all’,
      By one’, by two’, by three’;
    Earl Mar’-shal, I’ll’ go shrive’-the queen’,
      And thou’ shalt wend’ with me’.

   “A boon’, a boon’, quoth Earl’ Mar-shal’,
      And fell’ on his bend’-ded knee’,
    That what’-so-e’er’ the queen’ shall say’,
      No harm’ there-of’ may be’.”

Want of breath prevented a continuance of the song; and the breakdown attracted the attention of a firm-standing man of middle age, who kept each corner of his crescent-shaped mouth rigorously drawn back into his cheek, as if to do away with any suspicion of mirthfulness which might erroneously have attached to him.

“A fair stave, Grandfer Cantle; but I am afeard ’tis too much for the mouldy weasand of such a old man as you,” he said to the wrinkled reveller.  “Dostn’t wish th’ wast three sixes again, Grandfer, as you was when you first learnt to sing it?”

“Hey?” said Grandfer Cantle, stopping in his dance.

“Dostn’t wish wast young again, I say?  There’s a hole in thy poor bellows nowadays seemingly.”

“But there’s good art in me?  If I couldn’t make a little wind go a long ways I should seem no younger than the most aged man, should I, Timothy?”

“And how about the new-married folks down there at the Quiet Woman Inn?” the other inquired, pointing towards a dim light in the direction of the distant highway, but considerably apart from where the reddleman was at that moment resting.  “What’s the rights of the matter about ’em?  You ought to know, being an understanding man.”

“But a little rakish, hey?  I own to it.  Master Cantle is that, or he’s nothing.  Yet ’tis a gay fault, neighbour Fairway, that age will cure.”

“I heard that they were coming home to-night.  By this time they must have come.  What besides?”

“The next thing is for us to go and wish ’em joy, I suppose?”

“Well, no.”

“No?  Now, I thought we must. I must, or ’twould be very unlike me—­the first in every spree that’s going!

   “Do thou’ put on’ a fri’-ar’s coat’,
      And I’ll’ put on’ a-no’-ther,
    And we’ will to’ Queen Ele’anor go’,
      Like Fri’ar and’ his bro’ther.

“I met Mis’ess Yeobright, the young bride’s aunt, last night, and she told me that her son Clym was coming home a’ Christmas.  Wonderful clever, ’a believe—­ah, I should like to have all that’s under that young man’s hair.  Well, then, I spoke to her in my well-known merry way, and she said, ’O that what’s shaped so venerable should talk like a fool!’—­that’s what she said to me.  I don’t care for her, be jowned if I do, and so I told her.  ’Be jowned if I care for ‘ee,’ I said.  I had her there—­hey?”

“I rather think she had you,” said Fairway.

“No,” said Grandfer Cantle, his countenance slightly flagging.  “’Tisn’t so bad as that with me?”

“Seemingly ’tis, however, is it because of the wedding that Clym is coming home a’ Christmas—­to make a new arrangement because his mother is now left in the house alone?”