This opinion was borne out by his woebegone appearance . He was thin and pale ; his face had lost its youthful curves and looked hard and mature . He was moody and taciturn and his speech and manner were marked by a new cynicism . * * * * * In April a well-to-do storekeeper from an adjacent village began to court Bessy Houghton . He was over fifty , and had never been a handsome man in his best days , but Lynnfield oracles opined that Bessy would take him . She could n't expect to do any better , they said , and she was looking terribly old and dowdy all at once . In June Maggie Hatfield went to the Eastmans ' to sew . The first bit of news she imparted to Mrs. Eastman was that Bessy Houghton had refused Jabez Lea -- at least , he did n't come to see her any more . Mrs. Eastman twitched her thread viciously . `` Bessy Houghton was born an old maid , '' she said sharply . `` She thinks nobody is good enough for her , that is what 's the matter . Lawrence got some silly boy-notion into his head last winter , but I soon put a stop to that . '' `` I always had an idea that Bessy thought a good deal of Lawrence , '' said Maggie . `` She has never been the same since he left off going with her . I was up there the morning after that prayer-meeting night people talked so much of , and she looked positively dreadful , as if she had n't slept a wink the whole night . '' `` Nonsense ! '' said Mrs. Eastman decisively . `` She would never think of taking a boy like him when she 'd turned up her nose at better men . And I did n't want her for a daughter-in-law anyhow . I ca n't bear her .
So I put my foot down XXXXX time .
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