Arthur opened the long low window, and looked out upon the old blasted and blackened forest of

chimneys, and the old red glare in the sky, which had seemed to him once

upon a time but a nightly reflection of the fiery environment that was

presented to his childish fancy in all directions, let it look where it

would. He drew in his head again, sat down at the bedside, and looked on at

Affery Flintwinch making the bed. 'Affery, you were not married when I went away.'

She screwed her mouth into the form of saying 'No,' shook her head, and

proceeded to get a pillow into its case. 'How did it happen?'

'Why, Jeremiah, o' course,' said Affery, with an end of the pillow-case

between her teeth. 'Of course he proposed it, but how did it all come about? I should have

thought that neither of you would have married; least of all should I

have thought of your marrying each other.'

the pillow into its place on the bolster, that he

was still looking at her as if waiting for the rest of her reply,

she gave it a great poke in the middle, and asked, 'How could I help

myself?' 'How could you help yourself from being married!'

'O' course,' said Mrs Flintwinch. 'It was no doing o' mine. I'D never

thought of it. I'd got something to do, without thinking, indeed! She

kept me to it (as well as he) when she could go about, and she could go

about then.' 'Well?' 'Well?' echoed Mrs Flintwinch. 'That's what I said myself. Well! What's

the use of considering? If them two clever ones have made up their minds

to it, what's left for me to do? Nothing.'

'Was it my mother's project, then?'

'The Lord bless you, Arthur, and forgive me the wish!' cried Affery,

speaking always in a low tone. 'If they hadn't been both of a mind in

it, how could it ever have been? Jeremiah never courted me; t'ant likely

that he would, after living in the house with me and ordering me

about for as many years as he'd done. He said to me one day, he said,

"Affery," he said, "now I am going to tell you something. What do you

think of the name of Flintwinch?" "What do I think of it?" I says.

"Yes," he said, "because you're going to take it," he said. "Take it?" I

says. "Jere-MI-ah?" Oh! he's a clever one!'

Mrs Flintwinch went on to spread the upper sheet over the bed, and the

blanket over that, and the counterpane over that, as if she had quite

concluded her story. 'Well?' said Arthur again.




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