"
The general had received all her approaches with a banter, and had
suffered her to get hold of his hand; but at the mention of the piece
of silver, he hemmed, looked grave, and, turning to us, asked if we
had not better continue our walk. "Come, my master," said the girl,
archly, "you'd not be in such a hurry, if you knew all that I could
tell you about a fair lady that has a notion for you. Come, sir; old
love burns strong; there's many a one comes to see weddings, that go
away brides themselves."--Here the girl whispered something in a low
voice, at which the general coloured up, was a little fluttered, and
suffered himself to be drawn aside under the hedge, where he appeared
to listen to her with great earnestness, and at the end paid her
half-a-crown with the air of a man that has got the worth of his
money. The girl next made her attack upon Master Simon, who, however,
was too old a bird to be caught, knowing that it would end in an
attack upon his purse, about which he is a little sensitive. As he has
a great notion, however, of being considered a royster, he chucked her
under the chin, played her off with rather broad jokes, and put on
something of the rake-helly air, that we see now and then assumed on
the stage, by the sad-boy gentleman of the old school.
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