while Silence laid down her needle, and
looked half amused and half angry. Our hero, however, continued his
business with inflexible perseverance, unpinning his work and moving the
seam along, and going on with increased velocity.

Poor Miss Silence was at length vanquished, and joined in the loud laugh
which seemed to convulse her sister. Whereupon our hero unpinned his
work, and folding it up, looked up at her with all the assurance of
impudence triumphant, and remarked to Susan,--

"Your sister had such a pile of these pillow cases to make, that she was
quite discouraged, and engaged me to do half a dozen of them: when I
first came in she was so busy she could not even speak to me."

"Well, if you ain't the beater for impudence!" said Miss Silence.

"The beater for _industry_--so I thought," rejoined our hero.

Susan, who had been in a highly tragical state of mind all day, and who
was meditating on nothing less sublime than an eternal separation from
her lover, which she had imagined, with all the affecting attendants and
consequents, was entirely revolutionized by the unexpected turn thus
given to her ideas, while our hero pursued the opportunity he had made
for himself, and exerted his powers of entertainment to the utmost, till
Miss Silence, declaring that if she had been washing all day she should
not have been more tired than she was with laughing, took up her candle,
and good-naturedly left our young people to settle matters between
themselves. There was a grave pause of some length when she had
departed, which was broken by our hero, who, seating himself by Susan,
inquired very seriously if his father had made proposals of marriage to
Miss Silence that morning.

"No, you provoking creature!" said Susan, at the same time laughing at
the absurdity of the idea.

"Well, now, don't draw on your long face again, Susan," said Joseph;
"you have been trying to lengthen it down all the evening, if I would
have let you. Seriously, now, I know that something painful passed
between my father and you this morning, but I shall not inquire what it
was. I only tell you, frankly, that he has expressed his disapprobation
of our engagement, forbidden me to go on with it, and----"

"And, consequently, I release you from all engagements and obligations
to me, even before you ask it," said Susan.

"You are extremely accommodating," replied Joseph; "but I cannot promise
to be as obliging in giving up certain promises made t