“I to marry before my brother, and leave him with none to take care of him! Who can do him a red deer collop, except Sally herself, as I can? Come home, dear, at once, and I will do you one; for you never ate a morsel of supper, with all the people you had to attend upon.” This was true enough; and seeing no chance of anything more than cross questions and crooked purposes, at which a girl was sure to beat me, I even allowed her to lead me home, with the thoughts of the collop uppermost. But I never counted upon being beaten so thoroughly as I was; for knowing me now to be off my guard, the young hussy stopped at the farmyard gate, as if with a brier entangling her, and while I was stooping to take it away, she looked me full in the face by the moonlight, and jerked out quite suddenly,-- “Can your love do a collop, John?” “No, I should hope not,” I answered rashly; “she is not a mere cook-maid I should hope.” “She is not half so pretty as Sally Snowe; I will answer for that,” said Annie. “She is ten thousand times as pretty as ten thousand Sally Snowes,” I replied with great indignation. “Oh, but look at Sally's eyes!” cried my sister rapturously. “Look at Lorna Doone's,” said I; “and you would never look again at Sally's.” “Oh Lorna Doone. Lorna Doone!” exclaimed our Annie half-frightened, yet clapping her hands with triumph, at having found me out so: “Lorna Doone is the lovely maiden, who has stolen poor somebody's heart so. Ah, I shall remember it; because it is so queer a name. But stop, I had better write it down. Lend me your hat, poor boy, to write on.” “I have a great mind to lend you a box on the ear,” I answered her in my vexation, “and I would, if you had not been crying so, you sly good-for-nothing baggage. As it is, I shall keep it for Master Faggus, and add interest for keeping.” “Oh no, John; oh no, John,” she begged me earnestly, being sobered in a moment. “Your hand is so terribly heavy, John; and he never would forgive you; although he is so good-hearted, he cannot put up with an insult. Promise me, dear John, that you will not strike him; and I will promise you faithfully to keep your secret, even from mother, and even from Cousin Tom himself.” “And from Lizzie; most of all, from Lizzie,” I answered very eagerly, knowing too well which of my relations would be hardest with me. “Of course from little Lizzie,” said Annie, with some contempt; “a young thing like her cannot be kept too long, in my opinion, from the knowledge of such subjects. And besides, I should be very sorry if Lizzie had the right to know your secrets, as I have, dearest John. Not a soul shall be the wiser for your having trusted me, John; although I shall be very wretched when you are late away at night, among those dreadful people.”