Mrs. Lathrop chewed her clover.

“‘N’ then there’s Jathrop!” continued the speaker, suddenly transfixing her friend with a piercing glance,—­“there’s even Jathrop! under my feet night ‘n’ day.  I declare to you ’t upon my honor I ain’t turned around four times out o’ five this week without almost fallin’ over Jathrop wantin’ me to give him a chance to explain his feelin’s, I don’t wish to hurt your feelin’s, Mrs. Lathrop, ‘n’ it’s natural ’t, seein’ you can’t help yourself, you look upon him ’s better ‘n’ nothin’, but still I will remark ‘t Jathrop’s the last straw on top o’ my hump, ‘n’ this mornin’ when I throwed out the dish-water ‘n’ hit him by accident jus’ comin’ in, my patience clean gin out.  I didn’t feel no manner o’ sympathy over his soapy wetness, ‘n’ I spoke my mind right then ‘n’ there.  ‘Jathrop Lathrop,’ I says to him, all forgettin’ how big he’d got ‘n’ only rememberin’ what a bother he’s always been, ‘Jathrop Lathrop, you let that soakin’ be a lesson to you ‘n’ march right straight home this instant, ‘n’ ’f you want to think of me, think ‘t if I hear any more about your feelin’s the feelin’ you’ll have best cause to talk about ‘ll be the feelin’ o’ gettin’ spanked.’”

Mrs. Lathrop sighed slightly.

Miss Clegg echoed the sigh.

“There never was a truer sayin’ ‘n’ the one ’t things goes by contraries,” she continued presently.  “Here I’ve been figgerin’ on bein’ so happy married, ‘n’ instid o’ that I find myself missin’ father every few minutes.  There was lots o’ good about father, particular when he was asleep.  I’d got so used to his stayin’ where I put him ’t I don’t know ’s I c’d ever get used to a man ’s could get about.  ’F I wanted to talk, father was always there to listen, ‘n’ ’f he wanted to talk I c’d always go downstairs.  He didn’t never have but one button to keep sewed on ‘n’ no stockings to darn a tall.  ‘N’ all the time there was all them nice gover’ment bonds savin’ up for me in his desk!  No, I sha’n’t consider no more as to gettin’ married.  While it looked discouragin’ I hung on ‘n’ never give up hope, but I sh’d be showin’ very little o’ my natural share o’ brains ’f I didn’t know ’s plain ’s the moon above ’t ’f I get to be eighty ‘n’ the fancy takes me I c’n easy get a husband any day with those bonds.  While I couldn’t seem to lay hands on no man I was wild to have one—­now ’t I know I c’n have any man ’t I fancy, I don’t want no man a tall.  It’ll always be a pleasure to look back on my love-makin’, ‘n’ I wouldn’t be no woman ’f down in the bottom of my heart I wasn’t some pleased over havin’ ’s good ‘s had four offers inside o’ the same week.  But I might o’ married, Mrs. Lathrop, ‘n’ Heaven might o’ seen fit to give me such a son ’s he give you, ‘n’ ‘f I hadn’t no other reason for remainin’ single that alone ’d be s’fficient.  After all, the Lord said ’It is not good for man to be alone,’ but He left a woman free to use her common sense ‘n’ I sh’ll use mine right now.  I’ve folded up the pink nightgown, ‘n’ I’m thinkin’ very seriously o’ givin’ it to Amelia Fitch, ‘n’ I’ll speak out frank ‘n’ open ‘n’ tell her ‘n’ everybody else ’t I don’t envy no woman—­not now ‘n’ not never.”