should think," said Rachel, "that old fools are the greatest fools
of all." Ezra sighed. "I do not know," she said at this, "that the
poor-marquis is so much to blame, but the lady should have known better
than listen to his folly."

"I had thought," said Ezra, patiently, "you would ha' took a different
view of it, Rachel." They went on to the gate without another word.
"Good-morning, Rachel," Ezra said there. "Don't be afraid of me. I
will not come back again to this subject. I had hoped you would not ha'
looked on it with such mislikin'; but sence you do, I will say no more
about it."

So they parted, and met again and were good friends, and not infrequent
companions, and Ezra said no more.

The eve of Reuben's great day came round, and Reuben was dismissed from
his sweetheart's presence to wander where he would, for Ruth and her
assistants (among whom was none more important than Aunt Rachel) had
a prodigious deal to do. The lovers were to leave directly after their
marriage for no less a place than London, and there were dresses to be
tried on and finished and packed, and altogether the time was trying.
In his wanderings about the fields Reuben encountered the younger
Sennacherib, whom he strove vainly to avoid; not because he disliked
him, but because his own thoughts kept him in better company just then
than the younger Sennacherib was likely to provide in his own person.
But Snac was not a man to be lightly shaken off, and Reuben bent himself
to listen to him as best he might.

"So," said young Sennacherib, "thee beest goin' to enter into the bounds
of 'oly matterymony?" Reuben laughed, and nodded an affirmative. "Well,
theest done a very pretty thing for me amongst you."

"For you?" said Reuben. "How?"

"Why this way," said Snac, bending his knees to make the tight embraces
of his cords endurable. "Thee wast by when my feyther gi'en me the
farewell shillin'. Very well. I'd got nothin' i' the world, and he
knowed it. After a bit he begun to relent a bit, though nobody 'd iver
had expected sich a thing. But so it was. He took to sendin' me a sov
a week, onbeknownst to anybody, and most of all to mother. Well, mother
sends me a sov a week from the beginning unbeknownst to anybody, and
most of all him. Her'd ha' gone in fear of her life if her'd ha' guessed
he knowed it. And now my income's cut down to half, and all because of
this here weddin' o' thine."

"I don't see how," said Reuben.

"Why thus," said