tempt it; but inside of us we jest sung for joy,
the hull set and caboodle of us.

All but Miss Plank, and a few old maids and widders, and such, who mebby
had had hopes. Miss Plank looked and acted as flat and crushed down as
one of her favorite cakes, or as if she wuz a-layin' under her own
sirname.

She said she hated to lose the profit of such a boarder, and mebby that
wuz it--I don't say it wuzn't. But this I know, wimmen will keep up
hopes, moles or no moles, and age has no power to keep out expectations.

But I make no insinuations, nor will take none. She said that it wuz
money she hated to lose, and mebby it wuz.

But on that question I riz up her hopes agin, for Mr. Freeman wuz bound
on bein' married imegatly and to once, and he said that they would
remain right there for the remainder of the year at least.

Isabelle hung off, and wanted to go back to Jonesville and be married to
our house, as I warmly urged 'em to.

But Mr. Freeman, lookin' decided and firm as anything you ever see, he
sez to Isabelle--

"Do you suppose I am ever goin' to lose sight of you agin? No indeed!"

And I sez, "Wall, come right home with us to Jonesville, and keep your
eyes on her."

I wuz as happy as a king, and he knew it. And he thinks a sight of me,
for it wuz through me, he sez, that their meetin' wuz brought about.

He didn't say he wouldn't do that, so I wuz greatly in hopes that that
would be the way it would turn out.

I thought to myself, "Oh, how I would love to have 'em married in my
parlor, right back of the hangin' lamp!"

The semi-detatched widder said she got a letter about that time bringin'
her bad news, trials, and tribulations, so it wuzn't to be wondered that
she looked sad and worried. Mebby she did git such a letter.

But anyway she and Miss Plank made up with each other. They become clost
friends. Miss Plank told me, "She loved her like a sister."

And the semi-detatched widder told me, "If she ever see a woman that she
thought more on than she did her own mother, it wuz Miss Plank."

Wall, I wuz glad enough to see 'em reconciled, for they had been at such
sword's pints, as you may say, that it made it dretful disagreeable to
the other boarders.

Miss Piddock acted, and I believe wuz tickled, to see Mr. Freeman's
happiness; for he didn't make any secret of it, and couldn't, if he
wanted to. For radiant eyes and blissful smiles would have told the
story of his joy, if his lips hadn't.

Miss