Hasfathertoldyouaboutit？MatildaJohnson，ofSouthampton，that’shername。’
’Yes，weknowallaboutit，’saidthewidow。
’Well，Ishallgiveoneoftheseshawlstoher——because，ofcourse，Ioughtto。’
’Ofcourse，’saidshe。
’ButtheotheroneI’vegotnouseforatall；and，’hecontinued，lookinground，’willyouhaveit，MissAnne？Yourefusedtheparrot，andyououghtnottorefusethis。’
’Thankyou，’saidAnnecalmly，butmuchdistressed；’butreallyI
don’twantit，andcouldn’ttakeit。’
’Butdohaveit！’saidBobinhurttones，Mrs。Garlandbeingallthewhileontenter-hookslestAnneshouldpersistinherabsurdrefusal。
’Why，there’sanotherreasonwhyyououghtto！’saidhe，hisfacelightingupwithrecollections。’ItnevercameintomyheadtillthismomentthatIusedtobeyourbeauinahumblesortofway。
Faith，soIdid，andweusedtomeetatplacessometimes，didn’twe——
thatis，whenyouwerenottooproud；andonceIgaveyou，orsomebodyelse，abitofmyhairinfun。’
’Itwassomebodyelse，’saidAnnequickly。
’Ah，perhapsitwas，’saidBobinnocently。’ButitwasyouIusedtomeet，ortryto，Iamsure。Well，I’veneverthoughtofthatboyishtimeforyearstillthisminute！Iamsureyououghttoacceptsomeonegift，dear，outofcomplimenttothoseoldtimes！’
Annedrewbackandshookherhead，forshewouldnottrusthervoice。
’Well，Mrs。Garland，thenyoushallhaveit，’saidBob，tossingtheshawltothatreadyreceiver。’Ifyoudon’t，uponmylifeIwillthrowitouttothefirstbeggarIsee。Now，here’saparcelofcapribbonsofthesplendidestsortIcouldget。Havethese——do，Anne！’
’Yes，do，’saidMrs。Garland。
’IpromisedthemtoMatilda，’continuedBob；’butIamsureshewon’twant’em，asshehasgotsomeofherown:andIwouldassoonseethemuponyourhead，mydear，asuponhers。’
’Ithinkyouhadbetterkeepthemforyourbrideifyouhavepromisedthemtoher，’saidMrs。Garlandmildly。
’Itwasn’texactlyapromise。Ijustsaid，“Til，there’ssomecapribbonsinmybox，ifyouwouldliketohavethem。“Butshe’sgotenoughthingsalreadyforanybrideincreation。Anne，nowyoushallhave’em——uponmysoulyoushall——orI’llflingthemdownthemill-tail！’
Annehadmeanttobeperfectlyfirminrefusingeverything，forreasonsobviouseventothatpoorwaif，themeanestcapacity；butwhenitcametothispointshewasabsolutelycompelledtogivein，andreluctantlyreceivedthecapribbonsinherarms，blushingfitfully，andwithherliptremblinginamotionwhichshetriedtoexhibitasasmile。
’WhatwouldTillysayifsheknew！’saidthemillerslily。
’Yes，indeed——anditiswrongofhim！’Anneinstantlycried，tearsrunningdownherfaceasshethrewtheparcelofribbonsonthefloor。’You’dbetterbestowyourgiftswhereyoubestowyourl——l——
love，Mr。Loveday——that’swhatIsay！’AndAnneturnedherbackandwentaway。
’I’lltakethemforher，’saidMrs。Garland，quicklypickinguptheparcel。
’Nowthat’sapity，’saidBob，lookingregretfullyafterAnne。’I
didn’trememberthatshewasaquick-temperedsortofgirlatall。
Tellher，Mrs。Garland，thatIaskherpardon。ButofcourseI
didn’tknowshewastooproudtoacceptalittlepresent——howshouldI？Uponmylifeifitwasn’tforMatildaI’d——Well，thatcan’tbe，ofcourse。’
’What’sthis？’saidMrs。Garland，touchingwithherfootalargepackagethathadbeenlaiddownbyBobunseen。
’That’sabitofbaccyformyself，’saidRobertmeekly。
Theexaminationofpresentsatlastended，andthetwofamiliespartedforthenight。Whentheywerealone，Mrs。GarlandsaidtoAnne，’Whataclosegirlyouare！IamsureIneverknewthatBobLovedayandyouhadwalkedtogether:youmusthavebeenmerechildren。’
’Oyes——sowewere，’saidAnne，nowquiterecovered。’Itwaswhenwefirstcamehere，aboutayearafterfatherdied。Wedidnotwalktogetherinanyregularway。YouknowIhaveneverthoughttheLovedayshighenoughforme。Itwasonlyjust——nothingatall，andIhadalmostforgottenit。’
Itistobehopedthatsomebody’ssinswereforgivenherthatnightbeforeshewenttobed。
WhenBobandhisfatherwereleftalone，themillersaid，’Well，Robert，aboutthisyoungwomanofthine——Matildawhat’shername？’
’Yes，father——MatildaJohnson。Iwasjustgoingtotellyeabouther。’
Themillernodded，andsippedhismug。
’Well，sheisanexcellentbody，’continuedBob；’thatcantrulybesaid——arealcharmer，youknow——anicegoodcomelyyoungwoman，amiracleofgenteelbreeding，youknow，andallthat。Shecanthrowherhairintothenicestcurls，andshe’sgotsplendidgownsandheadclothes。Inshort，youmightcallheralandmermaid。She’llmakesuchafirst-ratewifeasthereneverwas。’
’Nodoubtshewill，’saidthemiller；’forIhaveneverknowntheewantinginsenseinajineralway。’Heturnedhiscuproundonitsaxistillthehandlehadtravelledacompletecircle。’Howlongdidyousayinyourletterthatyouhadknownher？’
’Afortnight。’
’NotVERYlong。’
’Itdon’tsoundlong，’tistrue；and’twasreallylonger——’twasfifteendaysandaquarter。Buthangit，father，Icouldseeinthetwinklingofaneyethatthegirlwoulddo。IknowawomanwellenoughwhenIseeher——Ioughtto，indeed，havingbeensomuchabouttheworld。Now，forinstance，there’sWidowGarlandandherdaughter。Thegirlisanicelittlething；buttheoldwoman——O
no！’Bobshookhishead。
’Whatofher？’saidhisfather，slightlyshiftinginhischair。
’Well，she’s，she’s——Imean，Ishouldneverhavechoseher，youknow。She’sofanicedisposition，andyoungforawidowwithagrown-updaughter；butifallthemenhadbeenlikemeshewouldneverhavehadahusband。Ilikeherinsomerespects；butshe’sastyleofbeautyIdon’tcarefor。’
’O，if’tisonlylooksyouarethinkingof，’saidthemiller，muchrelieved，’there’snothingtobesaid，ofcourse。Thoughthere’smanyaduchessworse-looking，ifitcomestoargument，asyouwouldfind，myson，’headded，withasenseofhavingbeenmollifiedtoosoon。
Themate’sthoughtswereelsewherebythistime。
’AstomymarryingMatilda，thinksI，here’soneoftheverygenteelestsort，andImayaswelldothejobatonce。SoIchoseher。She’sadeargirl；there’snobodylikeher，searchwhereyouwill。’
’Howmanydidyouchooseheroutfrom？’inquiredhisfather。
’Well，shewastheonlyyoungwomanIhappenedtoknowinSouthampton，that’strue。Butwhatofthat？ItwouldhavebeenallthesameifIhadknownahundred。’
’Herfatherisinbusinessnearthedocks，Isuppose？’
’Well，no。Inshort，Ididn’tseeherfather。’
’Hermother？’
’Hermother？No，Ididn’t。Ithinkhermotherisdead；butshehasgotaveryrichauntlivingatMelchester。Ididn’tseeheraunt，becausetherewasn’ttimetogo；butofcourseweshallknowherwhenwearemarried。’
’Yes，yes，ofcourse，’saidthemiller，tryingtofeelquitesatisfied。’Andshewillsoonbehere？’
’Ay，she’scomingsoon，’saidBob。’Shehasgonetothisaunt’satMelchestertogetherthingspacked，andsuchlike，orshewouldhavecomewithme。IamgoingtomeetthecoachattheKing’sArms，Casterbridge，onSunday，atoneo’clock。Toshowwhatacapitalsortofwifeshe’llbe，ImaytellyouthatshewantedtocomebytheMercury，because’tisalittlecheaperthantheother。ButI
said，“Foronceinyourlifedoitwell，andcomebytheRoyalMail，andI’llpay。“Icanhavetheponyandtraptofetchher，I
suppose，as’tistoofarforhertowalk？’
’Ofcourseyoucan，Bob，oranythingelse。AndI’lldoallIcantogiveyouagoodweddingfeast。’
PreparationsforMatilda’swelcome，andfortheeventwhichwastofollow，atonceoccupiedtheattentionofthemill。Themillerandhismanhadbutdimnotionsofhousewiferyonanylargescale；sothegreatweddingcleaningwaskindlysupervisedbyMrs。Garland，Bobbeingmostlyawayduringthedaywithhisbrother，thetrumpet-major，onvariouserrands，oneofwhichwastobuypaintandvarnishforthegigthatMatildawastobefetchedin，whichhehaddeterminedtodecoratewithhisownhands。
Bythewidow’sdirectiontheoldfamiliarincrustationofshiningdirt，imprintedalongthebackofthesettlebytheheadsofcountlessjollysitters，wasscrubbedandscrapedaway；thebrowncircleroundthenailwhereonthemillerhunghishat，stainedbythebriminwetweather，waswhitenedover；thetawnysmudgesofbygoneshouldersinthepassagewereremovedwithoutregardtoacertaingenialandhistoricalvaluewhichtheyhadacquired。Thefaceoftheclock，coatedwithverdigrisasthickasadiachylonplaister，wasrubbedtillthefiguresemergedintoday；while，insidethecaseofthesamechronometer，thecobwebsthatformedtriangularhammocks，whichthependulumcouldhardlywadethrough，wereclearedawayatoneswoop。
Mrs。Garlandalsoassistedattheinvasionofworm-eatencupboards，wherelayersofancientsmellslingeredoninthestagnantair，andrecalledtothereflectivenosethemanygoodthingsthathadbeenkeptthere。Theupperfloorswerescrubbedwithsuchabundanceofwaterthattheold-establisheddeath-watches，wood-lice，andflour-wormswerealldrowned，thesudstricklingdownintotheroombelowinsolivelyandnovelamannerastoconveytheromanticnotionthatthemillerlivedinacavewithdrippingstalactites。
Theymovedwhathadneverbeenmovedbefore——theoakcoffer，containingthemiller’swardrobe——atremendousweight，whatwithitslocks，hinges，nails，dirt，framework，andthehardstratificationofoldjackets，waistcoats，andknee-breechesatthebottom，neverdisturbedsincethemiller’swifedied，andhalfpulverizedbythemoths，whoseflattenedskeletonslayamidthemassinthousands。
’Itfairlymakesmybackopenandshut！’saidLoveday，as，inobediencetoMrs。Garland’sdirection，heliftedonecorner，thegrinderandDavidassistingattheothers。’Alltogether:speakwhenyebegoingtoheave。Now！’
Thepotcoversandskimmerswerebroughttosuchastatethat，onexaminingthem，thebeholderwasnotconsciousofutensils，butofhisownfaceinaconditionofhideouselasticity。Thebrokenclock-linewasmended，thekettlesrocked，thecreepernailedup，andanewhandleputtothewarming-pan。Thelargehouseholdlanternwascleanedout，afterthreeyearsofuninterruptedaccumulation，theoperationyieldingaconglomerateofcandle-snuffs，candle-ends，remainsofmatches，lamp-black，andelevenouncesandahalfofgoodgrease——invaluableasdubbingforskittybootsandointmentforcart-wheels。
Everybodysaidthatthemillresidencehadnotbeensothoroughlyscouredfortwentyyears。ThemillerandDavidlookedonwithasortofawetemperedbygratitude，tacitlyadmittingbytheirgazethatthiswasbeyondwhattheyhadeverthoughtof。Mrs。Garlandsupervisedallwithdisinterestedbenevolence。Itwouldneverhavedone，shesaid，forhisfuturedaughter-in-lawtoseethehouseinitsoriginalstate。Shewouldhavetakenadisliketohim，andperhapstoBoblikewise。
’Whydon’tyecomeandliveherewithme，andthenyouwouldbeabletoseetoitatalltimes？’saidthemillerasshebustledaboutagain。Towhichsheansweredthatshewasconsideringthematter，andmightingoodtime。HehadpreviouslyinformedherthathisplanwastoputBobandhiswifeinthepartofthehousethatshe，Mrs。Garland，occupied，assoonasshechosetoenterhis，whichrelievedherofanyfearofbeingincommodedbyMatilda。
Thecookingfortheweddingfestivitieswasonaproportionatescaleofthoroughness。Theykilledthefoursupernumerarychickensthathadjustbeguntocrow，andthelittlecurly-tailedbarrowpig，inpreferencetothesow；nothavingbeenputupfatteningformorethanfiveweeksitwasexcellentsmallmeat，andthereforemoredelicateandlikelytosuitatown-bredlady’stastethanthelargeone，which，havingreachedtheweightoffourteenscore，mighthavebeenalittlegrosstoaculturedpalate。Therewerealsoprovidedacoldchine，stuffedveal，andtwopigeonpies。Alsothirtyringsofblack-pot，adozenofwhite-pot，andtenknotsoftenderandwell-washedchitterlings，cookedplainincasesheshouldlikeachange。