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CHAPTER L

A MERRY MEETING A SAD ONE

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Now the business I had most at heart (as every one knows by this time) was to marry Lorna as soon as might be, if she had no objection, and then to work the farm so well, as to nourish all our family.  And herein I saw no difficulty; for Annie would soon be off our hands, and somebody might come and take a fancy to little Lizzie (who was growing up very nicely now, though not so fine as Annie); moreover, we were almost sure to have great store of hay and corn after so much snow, if there be any truth in the old saying,—­

    “A foot deep of rain
     Will kill hay and grain;
     But three feet of snow
     Will make them come mo’.”

And although it was too true that we had lost a many cattle, yet even so we had not lost money; for the few remaining fetched such prices as were never known before.  And though we grumbled with all our hearts, and really believed, at one time, that starvation was upon us, I doubt whether, on the whole, we were not the fatter, and the richer, and the wiser for that winter.  And I might have said the happier, except for the sorrow which we felt at the failures among our neighbours.  The Snowes lost every sheep they had, and nine out of ten horned cattle; and poor Jasper Kebby would have been forced to throw up the lease of his farm, and perhaps to go to prison, but for the help we gave him.

However, my dear mother would have it that Lorna was too young, as yet, to think of being married:  and indeed I myself was compelled to admit that her form was becoming more perfect and lovely; though I had not thought it possible.  And another difficulty was, that as we had all been Protestants from the time of Queen Elizabeth, the maiden must be converted first, and taught to hate all Papists.  Now Lorna had not the smallest idea of ever being converted.  She said that she loved me truly, but wanted not to convert me; and if I loved her equally, why should I wish to convert her?  With this I was tolerably content, not seeing so very much difference between a creed and a credo, and believing God to be our Father, in Latin as well as English.  Moreover, my darling knew but little of the Popish ways—­whether excellent or otherwise—­inasmuch as the Doones, though they stole their houses, or at least the joiner’s work, had never been tempted enough by the devil to steal either church or chapel.

Lorna came to our little church, when Parson Bowden reappeared after the snow was over; and she said that all was very nice, and very like what she had seen in the time of her Aunt Sabina, when they went far away to the little chapel, with a shilling in their gloves.  It made the tears come into her eyes, by the force of memory, when Parson Bowden did the things, not so gracefully nor so well, yet with pleasant imitation of her old Priest’s sacred rites.