Australian Tales - Setis

courteous, however, thus plainly to express his sentiments to the young
lady, but he wisely acted upon the judgment of her character, which that
interview afforded, and did not in any way express his feelings. In a short
time his hastily-formed attachment succumbed to the sober reasonings of
common sense; at a month's end his love for Miss Birdy had flown away,
and his heart was again his own. In due course he married a sensible
young lady, accomplished and domesticated, and has since enjoyed many
years of conjugal happiness. Miss Birdy married too, and although her
husband's income was sufficient for a stylish establishment, her
extravagance and want of management — in less than seven years
— involved him in pecuniary difficulties.
In a short time Mr. Skimmer returned to the parlour and put an end, for
a time, to Jonathan's speculations. Soon afterwards, Phoebe — in a neat
afternoon dress — took her seat at the tea table, which was garnished
with a ham of her own curing, a loaf of her own baking, and some nice
fresh butter of her own churning; which interesting facts Jonathan
adroitly ascertained in the course of the social meal. Many were the
loving glances which stole out of the corners of his eyes towards her, as
she sat behind the big tin tea-pot; and when she asked him if his tea was
agreeable, he was going to say, “that it would be as sweet as mead, even
if she had only looked at it, and had forgotten to sugar it,” but he was
afraid to attempt such a long speech.
After tea, Mr. Skimmer and Jonathan smoked a pipe together, and
chatted about cattle and cart wheels, and many other topics which they
mutually understood, while Phoebe sat and listened, and at the same time
nimbly plied her needle and thimble in the necessary repairs to some of
her father's working shirts. About nine o'clock Jonathan bade farewell to
his kind friends, and trudged homeward in the face of the full moon, with
his heart full of love and pleasing anticipations, for he had ascertained, in
a way unmistakably plain, though difficult to explain, that he had found
favour in Phoebe's eyes; and he had also satisfied himself that she was an
industrious and domesticated young woman; just the wife for him, and
the very identical girl that his mother and sister Suke would have chosen.
Jonathan had been scarcely twelve months in the colony, yet he had
saved nearly thirty pounds (out of his pound a week with board and
perquisites), besides sending ten pounds to his mother; which is a pretty
good proof of his steady habits. As he went on his way, he was busy in
forming plans for the future, for he was too wise even to think of rushing
into matrimony, before he had the means of providing a comfortable
home; he had seen too much misery ensue from such indiscretion. His
master had promised him an advance of wages after Christmas, and he
estimated that by the end of another year he would be worth seventy
pounds, at least. Then he went into a calculation on the cost of a
domestic outfit, and by the time he had arrived at his master's gate, he