yours was not
the sort of man we all take him to be, and that he was to turn out
false, or inconstant; suppose now it turned out he had another wife
somewhere else--"

"Oh, that's nonsense, you know, Father John."

"Yes, but just supposing it,--or that he took some vagary into his
head, and changed his mind! You must have heard of men doing such
things, and why shouldn't your lover as well as another girl's? We're
all likely to be deceived in people, and why mayn't we be as well
deceived in Captain Ussher, as others have been in those they loved
as well? We'll all hope, and think, and believe it's not so; but
isn't it as well to be on the safe side, particularly in so important
a thing as your happiness, Feemy? You wouldn't like it to be said
through the country that you'd been jilted by the handsome captain,
and that you'd been thrown off by your lover as soon as he was tired
of you?"

"And that's thrue for you, Father John; but Myles isn't tired of me,
else why should he be coming up here to see me oftener than ever?"

"But it's that he never may be tired of you, Feemy; take my word for
it, he'll respect you a great deal more if you'll show more respect
to yourself."

"Well, Father John, and what is it you'd have me be doing?"

"Why, then, I'd just ask him to speak a word to Thady--just to
propose himself in the regular way."

"But Thady hates him so."

"No; Thady don't hate him: he's only jealous lest Captain Ussher
isn't treating you quite as he ought to do."

"But Thady is so queer in his manners; and I know Myles wouldn't like
to be asking leave and permission to be courting me."

"But, Feemy, he must like it; and you shouldn't like your lover the
more for thinking so little of your brother, or, for the matter of
that, of yourself either."

"You know, Father John, I can't help what he thinks of Thady. As to
his thinking of me, I'm quite satisfied with that, and I suppose
that's enough."

Father John was beginning to wax wroth, partly because he was
displeased with Feemy himself, and partly because Feemy answered him
too knowingly.

"Well, then, Feemy, it'll be one of the two: either Captain Ussher
will have to speak to Thady, and settle something about the marriage
in a proper and decent way; or else Thady will be speaking to him.
And now, which do you think will be the best?"

"It's not like you, Father John, to be making Thady quarrel with
Captain Ussher. You know it'd come to a quarrel if Th