A Colonial Wooing
first at one and then another of the three who were so intimately concerned with the subject under discussion.
Finally, Matthew Watson began moving uneasily in his chair and was about to speak, when Ruth, anticipating him, said, "Mother, will thee not decide for me? I have said again and again I would not leave thee, and thee has said I should not go against my will, but there has been a cloud of sorrow resting upon thee ever since the hateful letter came. It has made me a cause of discontent and worry, as father's actions show, and I would be led by those who should speak for me as to my duty. As Friend Bunting has said to others of me, "I am with you but not of you,' and if not as strict a Friend at heart as my parents, is that not my misfortune rather than my fault? Why will thee not decide for me, mother?" asked Ruth, with her voice trembling with emotion.
"Had thee given more heed to the solemn words of our meetings," began Matthew Watson, in his sing-song voice that made most people distrustful of the speaker without
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