And at that the bad sheep laughed--laughed distinctly and undoubtedly, a husky, vulgar laugh; and, while her friend stood glued to the ground, too astonished to move, she changed her note for the first time and bleated: "Go-o-o-d, ve-e-ry go-o-o-d! Be-e-e-est sho-o-o-ot he-e-e's ma-a-a-de!" I would have given half-a-crown if it had been she I had hit instead of the other one.

It is ever the good and amiable who suffer in this world.
I had wasted more time than I had intended in the paddock, and when Ethelbertha came to tell me it was half-past seven, and the breakfast was on the table, I remembered that I had not shaved.

It vexes Ethelbertha my shaving quickly.

She fears that to outsiders it may suggest a poor- spirited attempt at suicide, and that in consequence it may get about the neighbourhood that we are not happy together.

As a further argument, she has also hinted that my appearance is not of the kind that can be trifled with.
On the whole, I was just as glad not to be able to take a long farewell of Ethelbertha; I did not want to risk her breaking down.