238 FARMING IT 



did Dick think he was going to bring that woman 

 home for her to work for ? Well she guessed not ! 

 And did that woman think - Well, it is not 

 advisable to disclose all she said. In view of later 

 developments we both have reconsidered many 

 conclusions that we arrived at that day, and have 

 been truly sorry for some things we said; but 

 allowing for the excitement under which we 

 labored, and the sudden dashing of our hopes to 

 the ground, some allowance should be made for 

 us both. 



We were however firmly of the opinion that 

 she was at least forty, wore a false front, rouge, 

 pearl-powder, and high-heeled shoes, and laced 

 to suffocation. It was thought best to acquaint 

 Gramp and Dick's uncles and aunts with the 

 circumstances, and they were nearly as much 

 affected, and in somewhat the same way, as we 

 were. His aunts wept bitterly, while his uncles, 

 following Gramp's distinguished leadership, 

 painted some of the most vivid word-pictures I 

 ever saw or heard. I really was quite ashamed 

 of my feeble efforts after hearing theirs. 



For the next few days I thought of the matter 

 constantly. I slept badly and dreamed hideous 

 dreams. My wife went about with red eyes and 

 woe-begone countenance. My daughter was the 

 only one who viewed the matter in the proper 

 spirit. She looked at it with unjaundiced eyes, 



