220 SPORTING REMINISCENCES 



fully, and would have gone on doing so had not 

 Tom's cow broken into Mollie's garden and eaten 

 all her cabbages. 



Then began a wordy feud and threats of the 

 law. A summons was issued. Tom hung his head 



with shame. Mr. , the agent of the place, 



heard of it and tried to patch it up, vainly. 



Finally he came again and smilingly announced 

 a solution — what was it ? 



" Marry the woman, Tom. Then she'll mind her 

 own cow. I'll go across and tell her. It's time it 

 came off." 



Before the astounded man could speak he was 

 over to cross fat MoUie with the same brisk pro- 

 posal. 



" It's the only way to keep the cow, Mollie," 

 he said, " and the law is nonsense. And both your 

 mothers dead now. Tom, come over here. It's 

 all settled." 



" His honour says " the man shuffled across 



sheepishly, bewildered. 



" Let ye sthay to tea anyways. Ye've hens an' 

 ye pig, all disgraces to a dacent house." 



They were married in three weeks, were 

 strangely happy, going hand in hand through the 

 twilight of life and dying within a month of each 

 other. 



It will often take a month or more before the 

 details are arranged, and everything may hang in 

 abeyance, or even be broken off for one flitch of 



