The trial, though apparently a drawn battle, had been fatal to him--he was cut; he dared not pay his addresses to any lady in the county, and he often felt very lonely now.

So everything combined to draw him toward Mary Wells--her swarthy beauty, which shone out at church like a black diamond among the other women; his own loneliness; and the pleasure these stolen meetings gave him.

Custom itself is pleasant, and the company of this handsome chatterbox became a habit, and an agreeable one.

The young woman herself employed a woman's arts; she was cold and loving by turns till at last he gave her what she was working for, a downright promise of marriage.

She pretended not to believe him, and so led him further; he swore he would marry her.
He made one stipulation, however.