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 ‘He is a mighty handsome man!’

‘I don’t think so’, said Tess coldly.

‘Well, there’s your chance, whether or no; and I’m sure he wears a beautiful diamond ring!’

‘Yes’, said little Abraham, brightly, from the window-bench; ‘and I seed it! and it did twinkle when he put his hand up to his mistarshers. Mother, why did our noble relation keep on putting his hand up to his mistarshers?’

‘Hark at that child!’ cried Mrs. Durbeyfield, with parenthetic admiration.

‘Perhaps to show his diamond ring,’ murmured Sir John, dreamily, from his chair.

‘I’ll think it over,’ said Tess, leaving the room.

‘Well, she’s made a conquest o’ the junior branch of us, straight off,’ continued the matron to her husband, ‘and she’s a fool if she don’t follow it up.’

‘I don’t quite like my children going away from home,’ said the higgler. ‘As the head of the family, the rest ought to come to me.’

‘But do let her go, Jacky’, coaxed his poor witless wife. ‘He’s struck wi’ her—you can see that. He called her Coz! He’ll marry her, most