The Argosy — page 378: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

360 The Village Blacksmith. ‘‘Both. One is a lady; a real lady too, a widow, who is going to be married again to-morrow, more shame for her ; and the other is a man ; at least he ought to be; but poor things as they all are, he is hardly worthy the name. However, Mark Brown’ll come to the gallows one day without any help from me, I daresay.” ‘¢Oh! I was half afraid you meant me. I bring more sorrow than comfort to most people in the course of the year, I fear.” ‘ Ah! comfort is for heaven,” said Mrs, Canter, unconsciously quoting our greatest poet. ‘Well, here is a letter for you, Mrs. Canter; I hope you'll find some comfort in that.” ‘¢ Not likely. I'll take it as soon as I have propped up this line. Strange, isn’t it! One prop will keep a whole line full of clothes off the ground, just as one sensible woman will keep a whole family of fools out of the gutter.” ‘* Ah! I should not mind being one of the family if you were the prop,” said the postman, who, though ten years her junior, was a great admirer of Mrs. Canter. ‘‘Mr, Lane, I am a widow,” replied Mrs. Canter, putting her arms akimbo and facing her admirer with great dignity. ‘TJ know you are. If you had a husband living I should not have said it,” said Mr. Lane, who was a brave man in his way. © As I said before, Mr. Lane, I am a widow, and I haven't waxed wanton yet ; when I do I'll let you know. Mary Jane, let me catch you out here with that baby before breakfast again, and I'll wait on you,” said Mrs. Canter, whose temper was ruffled; not by the postman’s wooing, or Mary Jane’s imprudence, but by the thought of Mr. Ryot Tempest’s second marriage, which was uppermost in her mind to-day. The postman saw the moment was not propitious for pressing his suit, and departed; and as Mary Jane knew by ex- perience the sensation of being waited on by her mother was not a pleasant one, she also beat a hasty retreat. And Mrs. Canter, having hung out her linen, proceeded to read her letter. It was from a friend of Reuben’s, and it gave so bad an account of him that Mrs. Canter, who was feeling very anxious as to the effect Janet’s arrival might have on her brother, decided to go over for the day and see him. She had an ulterior motive, but that she did not acknowledge even to herself. This was, that she intended to call on Mr. Ryot Tempest and give him the benefit of her opinion On second marriages in general, and his own in particular. ** And I shan’t mind my stops to-day, as Reuben says, I can tell him,” said Mrs. Canter to herself, as she hastily assumed her weeds, which she always wore on Sundays and when she went out beyond the limits of the drying-ground. To forget her stops, in other words to forget herself, was, in the blacksmith’s opinion, one of Norah’s faults, and if present on such occasions he was wont to pull her up by saying: ‘“‘ Mind your stops, Norah.” CORNICE OOS @ (GO)