ontinues Piet
some minutes later; and this time he has reduced the space between
himself and the maiden by about three inches.

After the lapse of another few minutes, the maiden, who is evidently
bashful, ventures again, 'Ja! Piet.'

Piet's eyes wander away across the open veldt in front of him, and
gradually from the observation of kopjes, they wander upwards towards
the pale moon; but, as has already been remarked, that luminary
suggests no new theme in the mind of Piet.

'The last Nachtmaal was very good.'

With this he once more edges away from his end of the form and covers
an additional three inches.

'Ja! Piet.'

Another person would have become exasperated at this stage, but not so
Piet.

'The new minister preaches very well,' is followed up by an advance of
three more inches.

'Ja, Piet!'

The form may be an inconveniently long one, and this naturally hampers
Piet somewhat, because by the time he has covered half the distance,
his stock of remarks may be exhausted. But he gets close up in time,
by the exercise of perseverance, and when he is at last in a position
to manipulate his left arm in connection with the maiden's waist, he
does so with a sigh of relief.

'I think I love you a great deal,' is what he says when he has placed
his arm to his satisfaction. The maiden whispers 'Ja, Piet!' and the
thing is done.

But the young Boer does not attach so much importance to pleasant
features and agreeable dispositions, as he does to the worldly
standing of the lady's parents. If there is the slightest prospect of
a handsome dowry in the shape of one or two farms, the inducement to
enter into married bliss is, of course, greater than in the case of
the young lady who merely brings with her a nice set of false teeth
and a pleasant countenance. Young widows are in great demand
throughout the country, because, as a rule, they are in possession of
farms and stock which require the undivided attention of a responsible
man, and that man must be a husband.

Such an instance occurred only the other day. This very fortunate
young man, before his betrothal, could conveniently count his riches
on the fingers of his left hand--in pence! But he is happy now,
because he can bring in a load of wool every year with his own waggon
and oxen, and talk to the merchant with all the swagger and assurance
of a full-blown capitalist.

It must not be supposed that such occurrences are uncommon; they
happen almost every