“And when this chap married 'er sister--'im and me was great
friends--what must 'e do but arst me down to Colchester, close by where
She lived. Naturally I was introjuced to 'er people, and well, very
soon, her and me was engaged.”
He repeated “engaged.”
“She lived at 'ome with 'er father and mother, quite the lady, in a very
nice little 'ouse with a garden--and remarkable respectable people they
was. Rich you might call 'em a'most. They owned their own 'ouse--got
it out of the Building Society, and cheap because the chap who had it
before was a burglar and in prison--and they 'ad a bit of free'old land,
and some cottages and money 'nvested--all nice and tight: they was what
you'd call snug and warm. I tell you, I was On. Furniture too. Why! They
'ad a pianner. Jane--'er name was Jane--used to play it Sundays, and
very nice she played too. There wasn't 'ardly a 'im toon in the book she
COULDN'T play...
“Many's the evenin' we've met and sung 'ims there, me and 'er and the
family.
“'Er father was quite a leadin' man in chapel. You should ha' seen him
Sundays, interruptin' the minister and givin' out 'ims. He had gold
spectacles, I remember, and used to look over 'em at you while he sang
hearty--he was always great on singing 'earty to the Lord--and when HE
got out o' toon 'arf the people went after 'im--always. 'E was that sort
of man. And to walk be'ind 'im in 'is nice black clo'es--'is 'at was a
brimmer--made one regular proud to be engaged to such a father-in-law.
And when the summer came I went down there and stopped a fortnight.
“Now, you know there was a sort of Itch,” said Mr. Brisher. “We wanted
to marry, me and Jane did, and get things settled. But 'E said I 'ad
to get a proper position first. Consequently there was a Itch.
Consequently, when I went down there, I was anxious to show that I was a
good useful sort of chap like. Show I could do pretty nearly everything
like. See?”