"Oh! I only meant something in that style; not widows', of course,
but rather like Mrs Jamieson's."

This effort at concealment was the beginning of the tremulous
motion of head and hands which I have seen ever since in Miss
Matty.

The evening of the day on which we heard of Mr Holbrook's death,
Miss Matilda was very silent and thoughtful; after prayers she
called Martha back and then she stood uncertain what to say.

"Martha!" she said, at last, "you are young"--and then she made so
long a pause that Martha, to remind her of her half-finished
sentence, dropped a curtsey, and said -

"Yes, please, ma'am; two-and-twenty last third of October, please,
ma'am."

"And, perhaps, Martha, you may some time meet with a young man you
like, and who likes you. I did say you were not to have followers;
but if you meet with such a young man, and tell me, and I find he
is respectable, I have no objection to his coming to see you once a
week. God forbid!" said she in a low voice, "that I should grieve
any young hearts." She spoke as if she were providing for some
distant contingency, and was rather startled when Martha made her
ready eager answer -

"Please, ma'am, there's Jem Hearn, and he's a joiner making three-
and-sixpence a-day, and six foot one in his stocking-feet, please,