e whether he was in love, as it is
called, or not. If he had succumbed to such a shallow-pated, bold,
common girl, I felt contempt for him, and this contempt was deepened
when I realized that he might be trifling with her. In any event it
mortified and angered me to think he had been seen with me; (he had
often called upon me and we had been out together several times), and
that the old neighborhood gossips had coupled our names. Now it would be
reported that Miss Sprig had cut me out; if I was pleasant toward him,
they would wag their foolish old heads, and whisper about my efforts to
win him back; if I was cool, they would shake these same empty pates,
and prattle about my wounded affections. It was one of those cases where
you can't possibly do the right thing--I mean the thing that will silence
the clacking tongue: consequently, as luck would have it, I plunged into
the worst possible course I could have taken, for when Mrs. Catlin, who
lived catacorner from me, and who watched me as a cat watches a mouse,
said something one day about Mr. Chance's feeling bound to pay attention
to Mr. Purblind's cousin, as long as she was visiting there, and that
she knew such a girl wasn't to his taste, and she was sure he would
come to his senses soon, I was so angry that I lost control of my
temper, and all control of my wits, and blazed out with:

"It's none of my business or concern whom he pays attention to, and for
my part I think they're well mated."

Whereupon, realizing I had made a perfect fool of myself, and that this
speech of mine would go the rounds of the suburb, and I could never
erase it from the village mind--not if I lived a hundred sensible years,
I had much ado to withhold myself from seizing a pot of bachelors'
buttons that stood near, and breaking the whole thing over Mrs. Catlin's
idiotic skull.

It was on top of this pleasant interview with Mrs. Catlin, that Mr.
Chance came over, and asked me to attend a concert that evening with
himself and Miss Sprig, and he very narrowly avoided receiving the
bachelors' buttons that Mrs. Catlin had but just escaped.

I strode indoors, and began packing some of my effects, for I was
resolved to move that day, or the next. Not because I had discovered I
had such fools for neighbors--I had always known that--but because I had
just discovered that they had a fool for a neighbor.

Worldly considerations prevailed with me, and I took out the Penates
that I had slammed int