He took it so beautiful, and he has match-makers a-besettin' him so much, I dare presoom to say he mistrusted what I wuz up to in my own mind.

And, like as not, Isabelle wouldn't look at him, or any other man, anyway.
"But I wouldn't have thought on't in the first place," sez I, "if Isabelle hadn't been such a born angel, and seemed cut out a purpose for him by Providence.

But I shall try to stop a-thinkin' on't." And sez Josiah, "You had better have done that in the first place." Wall, I wuz as good as my word.

I didn't say another word _pro_ nor _con_.

But I kep up a-thinkin' inside of me, bein' but mortal, and havin' two eyes in my head.
Wall, as I say, finally Gertrude Plank had left her room vacant, and our niece had come to us with a cheerful face and one small trunk full of neccessaries for her week's visit.
I call her our niece, though she wuzn't quite that relationship to us.
But it is quite hard sometimes to git the relationship headed right, and marshal 'em out into company before you--specially when they are fifth or sixth cousins.
And I thought, bein' our ages wuz such, and our affections wuz so strong, back and forth, that it would be jest as well to jest use that plain term aunt and uncle and niece--it looked better, anyway, as our ages stood.