Young Brown

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. WAKEFIELD-IN-THE-MARSH. In the centre of a sleepy village on the borders of Oxfordshire there stood a small public-house, which was known to all the waggoners on the road for its sound beer and sweet hay. There were many waggoners about thirty-five years ago, and the ' Chequers, ' which...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. WAKEFIELD-IN-THE-MARSH. In the centre of a sleepy village on the borders of Oxfordshire there stood a small public-house, which was known to all the waggoners on the road for its sound beer and sweet hay. There were many waggoners about thirty-five years ago, and the ' Chequers, ' which appeared from a large signboard, set in a clumsy framework upon a post, to be the sign of the inn, might have done a good business. But John Giles, the landlord, was for ever boozing with his customers on a bench before the door, and did not keep very clear accounts. He was a dull, good-natured fellow, who meant no harm to any one; and after his wife died there was no one to see into his gains. If he had his dinner ready at one o'clock, and a brown jug of mild ale at his elbow all day, he thought there was no need to trouble himself about anything else. A girl, who was said to be his wife's niece, kept these domestic arrangements in remarkably good order, and there was no one else on the premises but a contented ostler, who held his tongue whenever he could do so without offence, and did his work in a satisfactory manner, though not briskly; for whatever he might happen to be about, his eyes seemed to be always wandering in search of the girl, who evidently gave him subjects of reflection too deep for words. His name was Tom Brown, and he too was a connection of the deceased landlady, for she had taken care to people the inn before her departure, though she left no children of her own. He came from Northumberland, and had a deal of north-country shrewdness under his stolid looks. The girl was known as Madge Giles for every-day purposes. The curate, however, called her ' Miss Margaret, ' and she laughed at him for doing so, but was secretly pleased; it was pretty enough to see he..