Page:Over fen and wold; (IA overfenwold00hissiala).pdf/117

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Indeed, it must formerly have been quite a Pickwickian inn, and in our mind's eye we conjured up a picture in which the immortal Sam Weller was the chief character, standing in the courtyard below flirting with the neat be-ribboned maids above as they leaned over the open gallery, when for a moment business was slack in the yard, and the chamber bells had a brief respite from ringing. The building and courtyard had a genuine old-world flavour about them that was very charming, and to add to its interest and attractiveness the building was not decayed or ruined, as so many of the kind are, but was well preserved and maintained, so that it must have looked to us much the same as it did in the days of our ancestors—peace be to their ashes!

At the "George" we were received by a motherly landlady with a welcoming smile, that made us feel more like an expected guest arriving than an utter stranger seeking food and shelter for a time; this ready greeting in the good old-fashioned style promptly recalled to memory Shenstone's famous and often-quoted lines as to the warmness of the welcome a traveller may find at an inn.

So much to our liking were both landlady and hostelry, that we forthwith determined to stop the night beneath the sign of the "George" at Huntingdon, though it was only then mid-day. "I really must make a sketch of your pretty courtyard!" I exclaimed to the landlady, after returning her greeting with thanks, for we were always most particular to repay courtesy with courtesy. "Oh! do