Page:Eliot - Adam Bede, vol. I, 1859.djvu/211

Rh nothing, she was only prompted to complain more bitterly.

"I know thee couldst do better wi'out me, for thee couldst go where thee likedst, an' marry them as thee likedst. But I donna want to say thee nay, let thee bring home who thee wut; I'd ne'er open my lips to find faut, for when folks is old an' o' no use, they may think theirsens well off to get the bit an' the sup, though they'n to swallow ill words wi 't. An' if thee'st set thy heart on a lass as 'll bring thee noght and waste all, when thee mightst ha' them as 'ud make a man on thee, I'll say noght, now thy feyther's dead an' drownded, for I'm no better nor an old haft when the blade's gone."

Adam, unable to bear this any longer, rose silently from the bench, and walked out of the workshop into the kitchen. But Lisbeth followed him.

"Thee wutna go up-stairs an' see thy feyther, then? I'n done everythin' now, an' he'd like thee to go an' look at 'm, for he war allays so pleased when thee wast mild to 'm."

Adam turned round at once, and said, "Yes, mother; let us go up- stairs. Come, Seth, let us go together."

They went up-stairs, and for five minutes all was