people; their
improvidence; their wickedness is by Heavens! enough to--Now look at
that couple, will you!"

Well! They were worth looking at. And marriage seemed as reasonable and
fair a deed as they need have in contemplation.

"A man may live to be as old as Methuselah," said Mr. Filer, "and may
labor all his life for the benefit of such people as those; and may heap
up facts on figures, facts on figures, facts on figures, mountains high
and dry; and he can no more hope to persuade 'em that they have no right
or business to be married than he can hope to persuade 'em that they
have no earthly right or business to be born. And _that_ we know they
haven't. We reduced that to a mathematical certainty long ago!"

"Come here, my girl!" said Alderman Cute.

The young blood of her lover had been mounting, wrathfully, within the
last few minutes; and he was indisposed to let her come. But, setting a
constraint upon himself, he came forward with a stride as Meg approached
and stood beside her. Trotty kept her hand within his arm still, but
looked from face to face as wildly as a sleeper in a dream.

"Now, I'm going to give you a word or two of good advice, my girl," said
the Alderman, in his nice easy way. "It's my place to give advice, you
know, because I'm a Justice. You know I'm a Justice, don't you?"

Meg timidly said, "Yes." But everybody knew Alderman Cute was a Justice!
Oh dear, so active a Justice always! Who such a mote of brightness in
the public eye, as Cute!

"You are going to be married, you say," pursued the Alderman. "Very
unbecoming and indelicate in one of your sex! But never mind that.
After you're married, you'll quarrel with your husband, and come to be a
distressed wife. You may think not; but you will, because I tell you so.
Now, I give you fair warning, that I have made up my mind to Put
distressed wives Down. So, don't be brought before me. You'll have
children--boys. Those boys will grow up bad, of course, and run wild in
the streets without shoes or stockings. Mind, my young friend! I'll
convict 'em summarily every one, for I am determined to Put boys without
shoes or stockings, Down. Perhaps your husband will die young (most
likely) and leave you with a baby. Then you'll be turned out of doors,
and wander up and down the streets. Now don't wander near me, my dear,
for I am resolved to Put all wandering mothers Down. All young mothers,
of all sorts and kinds, it's my determination to Put Down.