y Lynch'd dare come in there to pull her out, before
the blessed altar, glory be to God."

"Ah but, mother, you know, she has been so frighted."

"Frighted, indeed! She'll get over these tantrums, I hope, before
Sunday next, or I know where I'll wish her again."

So Anty was left at home, and the rest of the family went to mass. When
the women returned, Meg manoeuvred greatly, and, in fine, successfully,
that no one should enter the little parlour to interrupt the wooing she
intended should take place there. She had no difficulty with Jane, for
she told her what her plans were; and though her less energetic sister
did not quite agree in the wisdom of her designs, and pronounced an
opinion that it would be "better to let things settle down a bit,"
still she did not presume to run counter to Meg's views; but Meg had
some work to dispose of her mother. It would not have answered at all,
as Meg had very well learned herself, to caution her mother not to
interrupt Martin in his love-making, for the widow had no charity for
such follies. She certainly expected her daughters to get married, and
wished them to be well and speedily settled; but she watched anything
like a flirtation on their part as closely as a cat does a mouse.
If any young man were in the house, she'd listen to the fall of his
footsteps with the utmost care; and when she had reason to fear that
there was anything like a lengthened _tete-a-tete_ upstairs, she would
steal on the pair, if possible, unawares, and interrupt, without the
least reserve, any billing and cooing which might be going on, sending
the delinquent daughter to her work, and giving a glower at the swain,
which she expected might be sufficient to deter him from similar
offences for some little time.

The girls, consequently, were taught to be on the alert--to steal about
on tiptoe, to elude their mother's watchful ear, to have recourse to a
thousand little methods of deceiving her, and to baffle her with her
own weapons. The mother, if she suspected that any prohibited frolic
was likely to be carried on, at a late hour, would tell her daughters
that she was going to bed, and would shut herself up for a couple of
hours in her bed-room, and then steal out eavesdropping, peeping
through key-holes and listening at door-handles; and the daughters,
knowing their mother's practice, would not come forth till the
listening and peeping had been completed, and till they had
ascertained, by some infal