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had uttered this libellous pleasantry. He coughed to that ex-
tent, and his breath eluded all his attempts to recover it with
that obstinacy, that I fully expected to see his head go down
behind the counter, and his little black breeches, with the
rusty little bunches of ribbons at the knees, come quivering
up in a last ineffectual struggle. At length, however, he got
better, though he still panted hard, and was so exhausted
that he was obliged to sit on the stool of the shop-desk.
‘You see,’ he said, wiping his head, and breathing with
difficulty, ‘she hasn’t taken much to any companions here;
she hasn’t taken kindly to any particular acquaintances and
friends, not to mention sweethearts. In consequence, an
ill-natured story got about, that Em’ly wanted to be a lady.
Now my opinion is, that it came into circulation principally
on account of her sometimes saying, at the school, that if
she was a lady she would like to do so-and-so for her uncle
- don’t you see? - and buy him such-and-such fine things.’
‘I assure you, Mr. Omer, she has said so to me,’ I returned
eagerly, ‘when we were both children.’
Mr. Omer nodded his head and rubbed his chin. ‘Just
so. Then out of a very little, she could dress herself, you see,
better than most others could out of a deal, and that made
things unpleasant. Moreover, she was rather what might be
called wayward - I’ll go so far as to say what I should call
wayward myself,’ said Mr. Omer; ‘- didn’t know her own
mind quite - a little spoiled - and couldn’t, at first, exactly
bind herself down. No more than that was ever said against
her, Minnie?’
‘No, father,’ said Mrs. Joram. ‘That’s the worst, I believe.’
