the
academy, I could see plain enough that it was time for me to hang up
my fiddle. Bill he used to set in the singers' seats, too, and he
would have it that he sung tenor. He no more sung tenor than a
skunk-blackbird; but he made b'lieve he did, jest to git next to Miry
in the singers' seats. They used to set there in the seats a writin'
backward and forward to each other till they tore out all the leaves of
the hymn-books, and the singin'-books besides. Wal, I never thought that
the house o' the Lord was jest the place to be courtin' in, and I used
to get consid'able shocked at the way things went on atween 'em. Why,
they'd be a writin' all sermon-time; and I've seen him a lookin' at her
all through the long prayer in a way that wa'n't right, considerin' they
was both professors of religion. But then the fact was, old Black Hoss
John was to blame for it, 'cause he never let 'em have no chance to hum.
Ye see, old Black Hoss he was sot agin Elderkin 'cause he was poor.
You see, his mother, the old Widdah Elderkin, she was jest about the
poorest, peakedest old body over to Sherburne, and went out to days'
works; and Bill Elderkin he was all for books and larnin', and old Black
Hoss John he thought it was just shiftlessness: but Miry she thought
he was a genius; and she got it sot in her mind that he was goin' to be
President o' the United States, or some sich.

"Wal, old Black Hoss he wa'n't none too polite to Miry's beaux in
gineral, but when Elderkin used to come to see her he was snarlier than
a saw: he hadn't a good word for him noways; and he'd rake up the
fire right before his face and eyes, and rattle about fastenin' up the
windows, and tramp up to bed, and call down the chamber-stairs to Miry
to go to bed, and was sort o' aggravatin' every way.

"Wal, ef folks wants to get a gal set on havin' a man, that 'ere's the
way to go to work. Miry had a consid'able stiff will of her own; and, ef
she didn't care about Tom Beacon before, she hated him now; and, if she
liked Bill Elderkin before, she was clean gone over to him now. And
so she took to goin' to the Wednesday-evenin' lecture, and the
Friday-even-in' prayer-meetin', and the singin'-school, jest as regular
as a clock, and so did he; and arterwards they allers walked home the
longest way. Fathers may jest as well let their gals be courted in the
house, peaceable, 'cause, if they can't be courted there, they'll find
places where they can be: it's jest human natur