192 MISS BADSWORTH, M.F.H. 



was down here," Mrs. Barlow said, taking upon her the 

 defence of the absent. 



" Very likely ; that's why I'm not going to give him a 

 chance with Miss Lavvy." 



Bickersdyke finished the contents of his glass at a gulp 

 and eyed Mrs. Barlow as though seeking the weak spot in 

 an adversary's defence. That any one should presume to 

 dictate to Miss Lavvy, or lay down the law respecting that 

 young lady's future, produced the same effect upon Mrs. Bar- 

 low as " the shouting of the captains " did upon the war-horse 

 of old. Mrs. Barlow took the general and superficial view 

 of her sex as beheld from her own standpoint of female 

 capacity. 



" You had far best leave Miss Lavvy's choice to herself," 

 she said. 



Bickersdyke pushed his glass across the table in Lucy's 

 direction ; he was getting into the argumentative stage. 



*' My dear Mrs. Barlow," he said, " I've always supposed 

 you to be a sensible woman ; what becomes of the chances of 

 choice in the hands of a woman when the scales of fortune 

 are all in favour of one side ? Love in a cottage with bread 

 and cheese is all very well in the theory of poets, but I doubt 

 if there is a woman who would take it if roast beef and plum 

 pudding were offered as an alternative." 



*' That's where you are wrong, Mr. Bickersdyke ; you'll 

 find a woman will make her choice just where her fancy 

 leads her, and maybe it won't have nothing to do with 

 money. There is no manner of doubt that money and com- 

 fort are very good things, but you'll find when a woman 

 makes her choice she doesn't necessarily consider either one 

 or the other. Why, you haven't got to look far " 



Mrs. Barlow stopped ; she suddenly recollected that she was 

 getting on dangerous ground, for her illustration was about 

 to be taken from the case of a neighbour who had thrown in 

 her lot with a drunken ne'er-do-well who beat her, rather 

 than give her hand to the highly respectable son of a well- 

 to-do corn factor. 



