's soothing address Susan
made no answer, only to cry and sob still more bitterly than before.

Miss Silence, if she had a great stout heart, had no less a kind one,
and seeing Susan take the matter so bitterly to heart, she began
gradually to subside.

"Susan, you poor little fool, you," said she, at the same time giving
her a hearty slap, as expressive of earnest sympathy, "I really do feel
for you; that good-for-nothing fellow has been a cheatin' you, I do
believe."

"O, don't talk any more about it, for mercy's sake," said Susan; "I am
sick of the whole of it."

"That's you, Susan! Glad to hear you say so! I'll stand up for you,
Susan; if I catch Joe Adams coming here again with his palavering face,
I'll let him know!"

"No, no! Don't, for mercy's sake, say any thing to Mr. Adams--don't!"

"Well, child, don't claw hold of a body so! Well, at any rate, I'll just
let Joe Adams know that we hain't nothing more to say to him."

"But I don't wish to say that--that is--I don't know--indeed, sister
Silence, don't say any thing about it."

"Why not? You ain't such a _natural_, now, as to want to marry him,
after all, hey?"

"I don't know what I want, nor what I don't want; only, Silence, do now,
if you love me, do promise not to say any thing at all to Mr.
Adams--don't."

"Well, then, I won't," said Silence; "but, Susan, if you railly was in
love all this while, why hain't you been and told me? Don't you know
that I'm as much as a mother to you, and you ought to have told me in
the beginning?"

"I don't know, Silence! I couldn't--I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, Susan, you ain't a bit like me," said Silence--a remark evincing
great discrimination, certainly, and with which the conversation
terminated.

That very evening our friend Joseph walked down towards the dwelling of
the sisters, not without some anxiety for the result, for he knew by his
father's satisfied appearance that war had been declared. He walked into
the family room, and found nobody there but Miss Silence, who was
sitting, grim as an Egyptian sphinx, stitching very vigorously on a meal
bag, in which interesting employment she thought proper to be so much
engaged as not to remark the entrance of our hero. To Joseph's
accustomed "Good evening, Miss Silence," she replied merely by looking
up with a cold nod, and went on with her sewing. It appeared that she
had determined on a literal version of her promise not to say any thing
to Mr.