The village was fairly mad about her, many a fight there
was over her, so I suppose the priest was right. He had to get rid
of her; but I think he might not have been so hard upon her as he
was. It is said that he went down to her house one evening;
Julia's people were well-to-do people; they kept a shop; you might
have seen it as we came along the road, just outside of the
village it is. And when he came in there was one of the richest
farmers in the country who was trying to get Julia for his wife.
Instead of going to Julia, he had gone to the father. There are
two counters in the shop, and Julia was at the other, and she had
made many a good pound for her parents in that shop; and he said
to the father: 'Now, what fortune are you going to give with
Julia?' And the father said there was many a man who would take
her without any, and Julia was listening quietly all the while at
the opposite counter. The man who had come to marry her did not
know what a spirited girl she was, and he went on till he got the
father to say that he would give L70, and, thinking he had got him
so far, he said, 'Julia will never cross my doorway unless you
give her L80.' Julia said never a word, she just sat there
listening, and it was then that the priest came in. He listened
for awhile, and then he went over to Julia and said, 'Are you not
proud to hear that you will have such a fine fortune?' And he
said, 'I shall be glad to see you married. I would marry you for
nothing, for I cannot have any more of your goings-on in my
parish.
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