heerful as he thought his ma wuzn't goin' to fail
him, Maggie tryin' to keep up and tend to havin' Tommy's clothes
fixed; she hated to have him go, and wanted him to go. She and Thomas
J. wuz clingin' to that string, black as a coal, and hash feelin' to
our fingers. Miss Meechim and Dorothy wuz as happy as could be. Miss
Meechim wuz tall and slim and very genteel, and sandy complected, and
she confided her rulin' passion to me the first time I see her for any
length of time.

"I want Dorothy to be a bachelor maid," sez she. "I am determined that
she shall not marry anyone. And you don't know," sez she fervently,
"what a help my nephew, Robert Strong, has been to me in protectin'
Dorothy from lovers. I am so thankful he is going with us on this long
trip. He is good as gold and very rich; but he has wrong ideas about
his wealth. He says that he only holds it in trust, and he has built
round his big manufactory, just outside of San Francisco, what he
calls a City of Justice, where his workmen are as well cared for and
happy as he is. That is very wrong, I have told him repeatedly. It is
breaking down the Scriptures, which teaches the poor their duty to the
rich, and gently admonishes the rich to look down upon and guide the
poor. How can the Scriptures be fulfilled if the rich lift up the poor
and make them wealthy? I trust that Robert will see his mistake in
time, before he makes all his workmen wealthy. But, oh, he is such a
help to me in protecting Dorothy from lovers."

"How duz he protect her?" sez I.

"Oh, he has such tact. He knows just how opposed I am to matrimony in
the abstract and concrete, and he has managed gently but firmly to
lead Dorothy away from the dangers about her. Now, he don't care for
dancing at all; but there was a young man at home who wuz just winning
her heart completely with his dexterity with his heels, as you may
say. He was the most graceful dancer and Dorothy dotes on dancing. I
told my trouble to Robert, and what should that boy do but make a
perfect martyr of himself, and after a few lessons danced so much
better that Dorothy wuz turned from her fancy. And one of her suitors
had such a melodious voice, he wuz fairly singin' his way into her
heart, and I confided my fears to Robert, and he immediately
responded, dear boy. He just practised self-denial again, and
commenced singing with her himself, and his sweet, clear tenor voice
entirely drowned out the deep basso I had feared. Of co