Tamar was equally successful, and equally well pleased with her
arrangements in other parts of the cottage; the kitchen opened on one
side to a little flower garden, on the other to the small yard, where
Mrs. Margaret intended to keep her poultry, and the whole domain was
encompassed by the small green field, which made up the extent of the
dell, and was the only bit of land left to the representative of the
house of Dymock. But Mrs. Margaret had reckoned that the land would keep
a little favourite cow, and with this object Tamar had taken great pains
to learn to milk.
When all was ready, Mrs. Margaret with many tears took leave of Dymock's
Tower; she had not seen the process of preparation in the cottage, and
was therefore perfectly astonished when she entered the house. Tamar
received her with tears of tenderness, and the worthy lady having
examined all the arrangements, blessed her adopted one, and confessed
that they had all in that place that man really required. Neither did
she or Tamar find that they had more to do than was agreeable; if they
had no servants to wait upon them, they had no servants to disarrange
their house. They had engaged an old cottager on the moor to give them
an hour's work every evening, and for this they paid him with a stoup of
milk, or some other small product of their dairy; money they had not to
spare, and this he knew,--nor did he require any; he would have given
his aid to the fallen family for nothing, had it been asked of him.
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