affair was fully explained to him by his aunt, who expressed herself highly delighted at the fact of his not having been disturbed.
And Sylvester—who looked very languid and felt very sore—expressed his amazement at the circumstances related, and the interest which that relation excited was, in reality, deep in the extreme.
"What could have been the man's object?" said he; "he had clearly no intention to steal the horse, seeing that he brought him back, and locked the stable door. It appears to me to be so unaccountable!—I can't understand it at all!"
"It is strange—very strange," said Aunt Eleanor. "But come, my dear, let us have breakfast. Cook," she added, "send in that tongue."
Cook left the room, and repaired to the pantry; but the state of things there was so startling, that she almost immediately returned, exclaiming, "Now, ma'am, I know there's been thieves in the house! No tongue, no pastry, no sausage-rolls: not a single bit of any blessed thing can I find! Everything's gone! There must have been half-a-dozen of them at least!"
"Well, this," said Aunt Eleanor, "is indeed extraordinary!"
"And what gormandizers, too, they must have been!" resumed cook, "there was half a tongue, four sausage-rolls, six apple-puffs, three or four tarts—three jam-tarts, you know, ma'am—I know there were three—in short, they've eaten every individual thing!"
"This is very mysterious!" observed Aunt Eleanor, calmly, "we shall probably understand it better by-and-bye. You must now do the best you can, my dear, with ham and eggs."
"Do not have anything cooked for me," said Sylvester, "indeed, I've no appetite at all!"
Nor had he! The ham and eggs were ordered by his aunt, notwithstanding; but, when they were brought, he could not touch either. Nor could he in any way account for this. He usually ate a good breakfast!—but he really then felt himself full to repletion. Aunt Eleanor herself became very much alarmed! What on earth could be the cause of it? She couldn't imagine. She felt quite sure that he was sickening for something, and was just turning over in her mind the expediency of sending at once for her physician, when Judkins returned from the mill.
On entering the room, he was eagerly followed by Mary and cook, who were both extremely anxious to hear the result; and, when it was announced that the miller had started the preceding day to attend a distant market, and would not return until the morrow, Mary's expression of joy contrasted strongly with that of disappointment, which instantly marked the fat features of cook, who sufficiently proved that there are feelings of jealousy which do not spring from pure love. For example: she didn't love the miller: still she thought that, instead of proposing to Mary, he should have proposed to her. She, with characteristic candour, admitted it to be true that she was a trifle older—say twenty years or so—but then she was, in her judgment, a much finer woman!—a far more experienced—a larger-boned person! She
