Novel Notes | Page 8

corners of Juliana's mouth which conjured up the sound of
rippling laughter. Had I acted on impulse, I should have clasped Juliana
in Josiah's arms.

"But, I reflected, more sterling qualities than mere playfulness and
prettiness are needed for a wife. Hannah, though not so charming,
clearly possessed both energy and sense--qualities highly necessary to a
poor man's wife. Hannah's father was a pious man, and was 'doing
well'--a thrifty, saving man, no doubt. He would have instilled into her
lessons of economy and virtue; and, later on, she might possibly come
in for a little something. She was the eldest of a large family. She was
sure to have had to help her mother a good deal. She would be
experienced in household matters, and would understand the bringing
up of children.
"Julia's father, on the other hand, was a retired sea-captain. Seafaring
folk are generally loose sort of fish. He had probably been in the habit
of going about the house, using language and expressing views, the
hearing of which could not but have exercised an injurious effect upon
the formation of a growing girl's character. Juliana was his only child.
Only children generally make bad men and women. They are allowed
to have their own way too much. The pretty daughter of a retired
sea-captain would be certain to be spoilt.
"Josiah, I had also to remember, was a man evidently of weak character.
He would need management. Now, there was something about
Hannah's eye that eminently suggested management.
"At the end of two days my mind was made up. I wrote 'Hannah' on a
slip of paper, and posted it.
"A fortnight afterwards I received a letter from Josiah. He thanked me
for my advice, but added, incidentally, that he wished I could have
made it Julia. However, he said, he felt sure I knew best, and by the
time I received the letter he and Hannah would be one.
"That letter worried me. I began to wonder if, after all, I had chosen the
right girl. Suppose Hannah was not all I thought her! What a terrible
thing it would be for Josiah. What data, sufficient to reason upon, had I
possessed? How did I know that Hannah was not a lazy, ill- tempered
girl, a continual thorn in the side of her poor, overworked mother, and a
perpetual blister to her younger brothers and sisters? How did I know

she had been well brought up? Her father might be a precious old fraud:
most seemingly pious men are. She may have learned from him only
hypocrisy.
"Then also, how did I know that Juliana's merry childishness would not
ripen into sweet, cheerful womanliness? Her father, for all I knew to
the contrary, might be the model of what a retired sea-captain should be;
with possibly a snug little sum safely invested somewhere. And Juliana
was his only child. What reason had I for rejecting this fair young
creature's love for Josiah?
"I took her photo from my desk. I seemed to detect a reproachful look
in the big eyes. I saw before me the scene in the little far-away home
when the first tidings of Josiah's marriage fell like a cruel stone into the
hitherto placid waters of her life. I saw her kneeling by her father's
chair, while the white-haired, bronzed old man gently stroked the
golden head, shaking with silent sobs against his breast. My remorse
was almost more than I could bear.
"I put her aside and took up Hannah--my chosen one. She seemed to be
regarding me with a smile of heartless triumph. There began to take
possession of me a feeling of positive dislike to Hannah.
"I fought against the feeling. I told myself it was prejudice. But the
more I reasoned against it the stronger it became. I could tell that, as
the days went by, it would grow from dislike to loathing, from loathing
to hate. And this was the woman I had deliberately selected as a life
companion for Josiah!
"For weeks I knew no peace of mind. Every letter that arrived I dreaded
to open, fearing it might be from Josiah. At every knock I started up,
and looked about for a hiding-place. Every time I came across the
heading, 'Domestic Tragedy,' in the newspapers, I broke into a cold
perspiration. I expected to read that Josiah and Hannah had murdered
each other, and died cursing me.
"As the time went by, however, and I heard nothing, my fears began to
assuage, and my belief in my own intuitive good judgment to return.

Maybe, I had done a good thing for Josiah and Hannah, and they were
blessing me. Three years passed peacefully away, and I was beginning
to forget the existence of the Hacketts.
"Then he came