’Miss Warrington was so excessively rude and abrupt in her manner to me the other evening,’ I explained, ’that I am now convinced she has suddenly grown to hate me.’

‘If you’re not as blind as a bat!’ commented Elizabeth.  ’Can’t you see she’s doin’ that to ’ide ’er feelings—­so that you’ll never guess ’ow ’er ‘eart is torn an’ bleedin’ like.’

‘Dear me, Elizabeth, do you mean this?’ I asked in the utmost concern.

‘Sure of it.  As a matter o’ fact she’s more gone on you than ever.  She’s got to not eatin’ now, so you can guess ‘ow bad she is.’

I wiped the gathering moisture from my brow.  ’Elizabeth, this is terrible—­it must be stopped.  I must discover some way to make Miss Warrington actually dislike me.  In this I hope for your assistance.  You know Miss Warrington much better than I do.  You are, no doubt, acquainted with her likes and prejudices?’

’Not ‘arf, I aint,’ she said.

Taking this as meaning an affirmative, I continued, ’Perhaps you are able to tell me what it is about me that attracts her.  I have a plan—­I shall do exactly the opposite of what she desires of me.’

‘To set her agen you, like,’ remarked Elizabeth.

‘Exactly.’

She stood for a few moments regarding me with her head on one side.  Had you known her to be capable of it you might almost have imagined that she was thinking.  Certainly she breathed much harder than usual.  At last, to my profound astonishment, she suddenly sat down, threw her apron over her face and burst into unrestrained laughter.

‘Compose yourself, my good girl,’ I said, anxious lest the family should overhear, ‘what is the matter?’

‘I got an idea,’ she said as soon as she had recovered.  ’It aint ’arf a bad one.  You say you want to know wot it is Miss Marryun likes about you?’

‘I do, indeed,’ I said eagerly.

’Well, I can tell you that right away.  It’s your towsled look, so to speak.  Only the other day she ses to me, she ses, “Wot I like about Mr. Roarings is the rough kind o’ suits ’e wears, them baggy trousis, an’ also ‘is great clompin’ boots.  I like the free an’ easy way ’e throws ‘is feet up to the ledge of the mantelpiece,” she ses, “an’ the way ’e ‘as of wearin’ ’is ’air ’anging all about ’is ears, shaggy-like."’

‘Incredible!’ I exclaimed.

‘An’ only yesterday she stood on this very spot where you are now and ses to me, thoughtful like:  “Don’t you love a man with a heavy beard an’ moustarch—­like Mr. Roarings, f’r instance?” she ses.’

’"Well, miss, since you put the question to me,” I ses plain out; “I’m not parshul to either, though I’ve ’ad young men with ’em, singly and both together.  I prefers ’em entirely without, but beggars can’t be choosers, can they?”

’Then Miss Marryun said thoughtful like:  “I think I’m rather different from other wimmin, Elizabeth.  Very few would admire a man like Mr. Roarings.  But ‘e’s my style, so to speak, if I was pickin’ an’ choosin’.  But to show you ’ow strange I am,” she goes on, “if ’e made ’isself spruce I should get to dislike ‘im all at once."’