nce made it so.
Bideabout has a good bit o' land, for which he is his own landlord,
he has money laid by, so folks tell. You might do worse. It's a
great complerment he's paid you. You see he's well off, and you
have nothin'. Men generally, nowadays, look out for wives that have
a bit o' money to help buy a field, or a cow, or nothin' more than
a hog. You see Bideabout's above that sort o' thing. If you can't
have butter to your bread, you must put up wi' drippin."

"I'm not going to take Bideabout," said Mehetabel.

"I don't say you should. But he couldn't a took a fancy to you
wi'out Providence ordainin' of it."

"And if I don't like him," threw in the girl, half angry, half
in tears, "I suppose that is the doings of Providence too?"

Mrs. Verstage evaded a reply to this. She said: "I do not press
you to take him. You are kindly welcome to stay on with us a bit,
till you've looked about you and found another. We took you up as
a babe and cared for you; but the parish allowance was stopped
when you was fourteen. It shan't be said of us that bare we took
you in and bare we turn you out. But marry you must. It's ordained
o' nature. There's the difference atwixt a slug and a snail. The
snail's got her own house to go into. A slug hasn't. When she's
uncomfortable she must go underground."

The hostess was silent for awhile. Mehetabel said nothing. Her
cheeks burned. She was choking.

Mrs. Verstage went on: "There was Betsy Purvis--she was a bit of
a beauty, and gave herself airs. She wouldn't have Farmer James,
as his legs was so long, he looked like a spider--and she wouldn't
have Odger Kay, as his was too short--he looked like a dachs-dog.
It came in the end she married Purvis, who had both his legs shot
off in the wars, 'cos and why? she couldn't get another. She'd
been too finical in choosin'."

"Are you tired of me?" gasped the girl. "Do you wish to be rid
of me?"

"Not at all," answered the landlady. "It's becos we're so fond
of you, father and I, that we want to see you well settled."

"And father--does he wish me to take Bideabout?"

Mrs. Verstage hesitated.

"He hasn't said that right out. You see he didn't know for certain
Jonas were hoppin' about you. But he'd be tremendous pleased to
have you well married."

"And you think I should be well married if I became Bideabout's
wife?"

"Of course. He's a great catch for the likes of you, who belong to
nobody and to no place, properly. Beggars mustn'