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THE MASTER OF ASKE.
47

"I warn thee, Eleanor. Take care what thou art doing. It is far easier to put t' devil in a good husband than to get him out If thy mother hed iver talked to me as thou talked to Anthony this night, I would have gone to t' mill and I would hev stopped there till she said she was 'shamed o' hersen; yes, I would, if I'd stopped there t' rest o' my life."

"I suppose all husbands are alike. I have no doubt they are."

"Nay, then, they aren't There are some varry bad ones, and some varry good ones. Thou hes got a better than thou deserves. And don't thee forget one thing, thou can sow scornful, doubtful speeches if thou wants to, but thou will be sure to reap a fine harvest of plain, even' down hatred and sorrow. Mind what I say."

But though he thought it right to speak thus to her, he had never loved and admired her so much. Marriage had developed the beautiful girl into a splendidly brilliant woman. The magnificence of her dress at dinner, the haughty confidence of her manner affected him strangely. He rode home in a conflict of emotion, but the end of every train of thought was the same—"She was a good, loving lass when she was under my roof,