Did you read any o'
that theer letter--so much as a word, or did 'e larn wheer 'twas writ
from?"
"If I knawed, I shouldn't tell 'e, not now. I'd sooner cut my tongue out
than aid 'e 'pon the road you'm set. An' you a righteous thinkin' man
wance!"
He looked at her and there was that in his face which showed a mind busy
with time past. His voice had changed and his eyes softened.
"I be punished for much, Mary Chirgwin. I be punished wi' loss an' wi' sich
work put on me as may lead to a terrible ugly plaace at the end. But theer
'tis. Like the chisel in the hand o' the carpenter, so I be a sharp tool in
the Lard's grip."
"Never! You be a poor, dazed worm in the grip o' your awn evil thots! You'm
foxing [Footnote: _Foxing_--Deceiving.] yourself, Joe; you'm listenin'
to the devil an' tellin' yourself 'tis God--knawin' 'tedn' so all the
while. Theer's no religion as would put you in the right wi' sich notions
as them. Listen to your awn small guidin' voice, Joe Noy; listen to me, or
to Luke Gosp'lers or any sober-thinkin', God-fearin' sawl. All the world
would tell 'e you was wrong--all the wisdom o' the airth be agin you, let
alone heaven."
"If 'twas any smaller thing I'd listen to 'e, Mary, for I knaw you to be a
wise, strong wummon; but theer ban't no mistakin' the message I got
down-long when they told me what's fallen 'pon Joan Tregenza. No fay; my
way be clear afore me; an' the angel o' God will lead my footsteps nearer
an' nearer till I faace the man.
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