s of anger rolled slowly out of his eyes and over his veined and
roughened cheeks to the crescent shaped hollow of his chin. So deeply
rooted in his mind was the conviction that his ninety years furnished an
unanswerable argument for the truth of his opinions, that the assurance
of experience had conferred upon him something of that manner of
superhuman authority with which the assurance of inexperience had
endowed Mr. Mullen.

"I for one was al'ays against Abel's marrying," interposed Betsey with
a placable air. "I knew she'd be a drag on him, an' now that he's goin'
into politics with sech good chances, the mo's the pity. I've told him
so time and agin when he stopped at the or'nary."

At this point the appearance of Solomon Hatch caused her to explain
hurriedly, "We were jest speakin' of Abel an' his chances for the
Legislature. You've got a mighty good son-in-law, Solomon."

"Yes," said Solomon, sourly, "yes, but Judy's a fool."

The confession had burst from an overburdened soul, for like Gay
he could tolerate no divergence from the straight line of duty, no
variation from the traditional type, in any woman who was related to
him. Men would be men, he was aware, but if any phrase so original as
"women will be women" had been propounded to him, he would probably have
retorted with philosophic cynicism, that "he did not see the necessity."
His vision was enclosed in a circle beyond which he could not penetrate
even if he had desire to, and the conspicuous fact within this circle
at the moment was that Judy had made a fool of herself--that she had
actually burst out crying in church when Mr. Mullen had announced his
acceptance of a distant call! He was sorry for Abel, because Judy was
his wife, but, since it is human nature to exaggerate the personal
element, he was far sorrier for himself because she was his daughter.

"Yes, Judy's a fool," he repeated angrily, and there was a bitter
comfort in the knowledge that he had first put into words the thought
that had engaged every mind at the ordinary.

"Oh, she's young yet, an' she'll outgrow it," observed Betsey as
sincerely as she had made the opposite remark some minutes before. "A
soft heart is mo' to be pitied than blamed, an' it'll soon harden into
shape now she's settled down to matrimony."

"I ain't never seen a female with an ounce of good hard sense except
you, Mrs. Bottom," replied Solomon. "Thar's a contrariness in the rest
of 'em that makes 'em tryin'