means of keeping a
wife well,' said Mrs Wackles to her eldest daughter, 'he'll state 'em
to us now or never.'--'If he really cares about me,' thought Miss
Sophy, 'he must tell me so, to-night.'

But all these sayings and doings and thinkings being unknown to Mr
Swiveller, affected him not in the least; he was debating in his mind
how he could best turn jealous, and wishing that Sophy were for that
occasion only far less pretty than she was, or that she were her own
sister, which would have served his turn as well, when the company
came, and among them the market-gardener, whose name was Cheggs. But Mr
Cheggs came not alone or unsupported, for he prudently brought along
with him his sister, Miss Cheggs, who making straight to Miss Sophy and
taking her by both hands, and kissing her on both cheeks, hoped in an
audible whisper that they had not come too early.

'Too early, no!' replied Miss Sophy.

'Oh, my dear,' rejoined Miss Cheggs in the same whisper as before,
'I've been so tormented, so worried, that it's a mercy we were not here
at four o'clock in the afternoon. Alick has been in such a state of
impatience to come! You'd hardly believe that he was dressed before
dinner-time and has been looking at the clock and teasing me ever
since. It's all your fault, you naughty thing.'

Hereupon Miss Sophy blushed, and Mr Cheggs (who was bashful before
ladies) blushed too, and Miss Sophy's mother and sisters, to prevent Mr
Cheggs from blushing more, lavished civilities and attentions upon him,
and left Richard Swiveller to take care of himself. Here was the very
thing he wanted, here was good cause reason and foundation for
pretending to be angry; but having this cause reason and foundation
which he had come expressly to seek, not expecting to find, Richard
Swiveller was angry in sound earnest, and wondered what the devil
Cheggs meant by his impudence.

However, Mr Swiveller had Miss Sophy's hand for the first quadrille
(country-dances being low, were utterly proscribed) and so gained an
advantage over his rival, who sat despondingly in a corner and
contemplated the glorious figure of the young lady as she moved through
the mazy dance. Nor was this the only start Mr Swiveller had of the
market-gardener, for determining to show the family what quality of man
they trifled with, and influenced perhaps by his late libations, he
performed such feats of agility and such spins and twirls as filled the
company with astonishment,