The two youths had next been at work on a song in which a muff of a man, who offers nothing particular in return, requests 'Nancy' to gang wi' him, leaving her home, her dinner, her brooches, her best gowns, &c., behind, to walk through snow-drifts, blasts, and other perils by his side, and afterwards strew flowers on his clay.

Desirous as it seemed to show that the young person was not so misguided as her silence has hitherto left the world to think, they had added a verse, which ran as follows:-- "'Ah, wilt thou thus, for his loved sake, All manner of hardships dare to know ?' The fair one smiled whenas he spake, And promptly answered, 'No, sir; no,'" "Cray," said John Mortimer, observing the boy's wan appearance, "how could you think of sitting up so late ?" "Why, the thupper wath on purpoth for him," exclaimed Johnnie.

"We gave it in hith honour, ath a mark of thympathy." "Because he was burnt out," said Gladys.

"Papa, did you know?
his tutor's house was burnt down, and the boys had to escape in the night." "But it wath a great lark," observed Johnnie, "and he knowth he thought tho." "Yes," said Crayshaw, folding his hands with farcical mock meekness, "but I saved hardly anything--nothing whatever, in fact, but my Yankee accent, and that only by taking it between my teeth." "There was not enough of it to be worth saving, my dear boy," said Brandon.
Crayshaw's face for once assumed a genuine expression, one of alarm.

He was distinguished at school for the splendid Yankee dialect he could put on, as Johnnie was for his mastery of a powerful Devonshire lingo; but if scarcely a hint of his birthplace remained in his daily speech, and he had not noticed any change, there was surely danger lest this interesting accomplishment should be declining also.
"I am always imitating the talk I hear in the cottages," he remarked; "I may have lost it so." "Perhaps, as Cray goes to so many places, it may get scattered about," said little Bertram; but he was speedily checked by Johnnie, who observed with severity that they didn't want any "thrimp thauth." "He mutht thimmer," said Johnnie, "thath what he mutht do.