stay at home this time your father was a professional man certainly having spoken as a mother she sighed as a woman why do you sigh mother you are so and stiff about everything very we ll go oh no � i am not sure that we ought i did not promise and there will be no trouble in keeping away anne apparently did not feel certain of her own opinion and instead of supporting or looked thoughtfully down and brought the trumpet major her hands together on her bosom till her fingers met tip to tip as the day advanced the young woman and her mother became aware that great preparations were in progress in the miller s wing of the house the between the and the was not very thorough consisting in many cases of a simple up of the doors in the dividing walls and thus when the mill began any new performances they proclaimed themselves at once in the more private dwelling the smell of miller s pipe came down mrs s chimney of an evening with the greatest regularity every time that he his fire they knew from the vehemence or of the blows the precise state of his mind and when he wound his clock on sunday nights the of that reminded the widow to wind hers this of noises was most perfect where s mrs s and anne who was occupied for some time in the latter apartment enjoyed the privilege of hearing the visitors arrive and of catching stray sounds and words without the connecting phrases that made them entertaining to judge from the laughter they the passed through the house and went into the garden where they had tea in a large summer house an the trumpet major occasional of bright colour through the foliage being all that was visible of the assembly from mrs s windows when it grew dusk they all could be heard coming indoors to finish the evening in the parlour then there was an of the above mentioned signs of enjoyment and upstairs and down a of doors and a of cups and glasses till the adjoining tenant without friends on his own side of the might have been tempted to wish for entrance to that merry dwelling if only to know the cause of these of and to see if the guests were really so numerous and the observations so very amusing as they seemed the of life on the side of the party wall began to have a very gloomy effect by the contrast when about half past nine o clock one of these bursts of gaiety had for a longer time than usual anne said i believe mother that you are wishing you had gone i own to feeling that it would have been very cheerful if we had joined in said mrs in a tone i was rather too nice in listening to you and not going the parson never calls upon us except in his spiritual capacity old the trumpet major man is hardly genteel and there s nobody left to speak to lonely people must accept what company they can get or do without it altogether that s not natural anne and i am surprised to hear a young woman like you say such a thing nature will not be stifled in that way song and powerful chorus heard through i declare the room on the other side of the wall seems quite a paradise compared with this mother you are quite a girl said anne in slightly superior accents jo in and join them by all means oh no � not now said her mother shaking her head it is too late now we ought to have taken advantage of the invitation they would look hard at me as a poor mortal who had no real business there and the miller would say with his broad smile ah you be obliged to come round while the and mrs continued thus to pass the evening in two places her body in her own house and her mind in the miller s somebody knocked at the door and directly after the elder himself was admitted to the room he was dressed in a suit between grand and gay which he used for such occasions as the the trumpet major present and his blue coat yellow and red waistcoat with the three lower buttons steel shoes and stockings became him very well in mrs s eyes your servant ma am said the miller as a matter of propriety the raised standard of politeness required by his higher costume now begging your pardon i can t this tis unnatural that you two ladies should be here and we under the same making merry without ye your husband poor man � lovely that a would make to be sure � would have been in with us long ago if he had been in your place i can take no nay from ye upon my honour you and anne must come in if it be only for half an hour john and his friends have got passes till twelve o clock to night and saving a few of our own village folk the lowest visitor present is a very genteel german if you should any on the score of respectability ma am we ll pack off the ones into the back kitchen widow and anne looked yes at each other after this appeal we ll follow you in a few minutes said the elder smiling and she rose with anne to go upstairs the trumpet major no fu wait for ye said the miller or perhaps you ll alter your mind again while the mother and daughter were upstairs dressing and saying to each other well we go now as if they hadn t wished to go all the evening other steps were heard in the passage and the miller cried from below your pardon 