o' briled chicken, nice broth and
sech, to kinder tempt my appetite like. The little critter used to
bring 'em in and be so pitiful to me and say, do Micah try to eat
this, so that you may git well; and she seemed so pooty, sincere and
nateral like in all her ways, that I took to her mightily, specially
as I hadn't Miss Adele to look arter and chore reound for, any more.
Once or twice, when she came to bring suthin, Ant McNab kinder advised
her to do this and that, and the way the leetle critter spunked up and
had her own way, made me think o' Miss Adele and pleased me some, I
tell ye.

"Well, arter I got well, she seemed to be just as chipper and pleasant
as ever, and was allers glad when I went to the heouse, and so it went
on (I won't bother abeout the rest on't) till six months ago. As I was
a walkin' hum from a meetin' at the Grove with her, she sed, 'what a
pooty Grove that is, of yours, Micah;' Witheout a considerin' a half a
minit, I sed, right away, 'Jinny, I'd give yeou that Grove and all I
have beside, upon one condition.' I looked at her, arter I'd sed it,
as skeered as I could be, fur fear she'd fly right at me, fur sayin'
sech a thing. But she didn't. She only colored up awfully and sed, in
a fluttered kinder way, 'what condition, Micah?' 'Pon condition that
you'd merry me, Jinny.' You may believe that arter I sed that, my
heart stood still, better'n a minit. She didn't say a word at fust,
seemed ruther took by surprise, and then, all of a sudding, she turned
her head and looked up inter my face as sarcy as ye ever see anything,
and says she, 'Do yeou think I'd ever merry a man with sech a horrid
name as Mummychog?' 'Is that all the objection you hev, Jinny?' ses I.
Ses she, ''Tis the greatest, I know of.' Then ses I, 'There ain't no
diffikilty, for my name aint Mummychog, and never was. When I came
deown to this kentry, I was a wild, reckless kind of a critter, and I
thought I'd take some outlandish name, jest for the joke on it. I took
Mummychog, and they allers called me so. But my real name is Jones.'
'Well, Mr. Jones,' ses she, lookin' sarcier than ever, 'I shall expect
yeou to hev a sign painted with your real name on it and put up on
your store, and yeou must build a new heouse before I merry yeou.'
That sobered me deown a leetle. I sed, 'But Jinny, I don't want ye to
merry me, unless ye like me. I'll build a heouse and gin it tew ye, ef
that's what ye want. But ye needn't merry me unless ye like me