75
	    A prophetic Joke.
might be more prosperous, he hoped with econo-
my that &c &c � in short played the common-
sense accepted man to the life.  How did Anne
know, he asked, that he had not consulted Mr and
Mrs Edwards? what had Anne to allege against
the engagement?  �Why only a year ago� upspake
Anne, �you were making love to Sally!�     Both
the girls were bristling with indignation, (I am
not writing entirely by Sally�s account as will ap-
pear subsequently) Sally flushed and tremulous.
Said she �And were you in earnest?�      There
was a look of pain in his face then that made the
girl regret, deeply, that she had uttered the words.
He carried the matter off well enough, with, �Why
you have no interest in the matter, you know �
you don�t expect a man to remain single always,
because he has been rejected by one girl?�   That
dashed her.      Eliza was wroth, too.     Said she:
�he�ll be proposing to me next!�       Matt wasn�t
present at the first onset, but she kept silence
or held down her pretty head and giggled subsequent-
ly and Jack enjoyed the joke enormously.     Fr
a couple of days the girls were completely hoaxed,
their undeceiving only arriving in consequence of
Haney�s fearing papa and mamma might hear
of it.            Sallie thinks Haney has changed in his
estimate of her, supposing her not so �insensible�