n political economy which he
had brought down in his pocket, thinking of Polly while he strove
to confine his thoughts to the great subject of man's productive
industry. Is there any law of Nature,--law of God, rather,--by which
a man has a right to enough of food, enough of raiment, enough of
shelter, and enough of recreation, if only he will work? But Polly's
cheeks, and Polly's lips, the eager fire of Polly's eye as she would
speak, and all the elastic beauty of Polly's gait as she would walk,
drove the great question from his mind. Was he ever destined to hold
Polly in his arms,--close, close to his breast? If not, then the laws
of Nature and the laws of God, let them be what they might, would not
have been sufficient to protect him from the cruellest wrong of all.

It was as she went to afternoon church that he hoped to intercept
her. Morning church with many is a bond. Afternoon church is a virtue
of supererogation,--practised often because there is nothing else to
do. It would be out of the question that he should induce her to give
up the morning service; but if he could only come upon her in the
afternoon, a little out of sight of others, just as she would turn
down a lane with which he was acquainted, near to a stile leading
across the fields towards Edgeware, it might be possible that he
should prevail. As the hour came near, he put the useless volume into
his pocket, and stationed himself on the spot which he had selected.
Almost at the first moment in which he had ventured to hope for her
presence, Polly turned into the lane. It was six months after this
occurrence that she confessed to him that she had thought it just
possible that he might be there. "Of course you would be there,--you
old goose; as if Jemima hadn't told me that you'd been about all day.
But I never should have come, if I hadn't quite made up my mind."
Then Ontario administered to her one of those bear's hugs which were
wont to make Polly declare that he was an ogre. It was thus that
Polly made her confession after the six months, as they were sitting
very close to each other on some remote point of the cliffs down
on the Kentish coast. At that time the castle had been altogether
transferred out of the keeping of Mr. Neefit.

But Polly's conduct on this occasion was not at all of a nature to
make it supposed that Jemima's eyes had been so sharp. "What, Mr.
Moggs!" she said. "Dear me, what a place to find you in! Are you
coming to church?