'Ha! ha! fine talking
for the likes of you, Winslows that you are. But there's a curse on
you all! The poor lady as was murdered won't let you be! Why,
there's one of you, poor humpy object--'
At this savage attack on me, Griff waxed furious, and shouted at her
to hold her confounded tongue, but this only diverted the attack on
himself. 'And as for you--fine chap as ye think yourself,
swaggering and swearing at poor folk, and setting your dog at them--
your time's coming. Look out for yourself. It's well known as how
the curse is on the first-born. The Lady Margaret don't let none of
'em live to come after his father.'
Griff laughed and said, 'There, we have had enough of this;' and in
fact we had already moved on, so that he had to make some long steps
to overtake us, muttering, 'So we've started a Meg Merrilies! My
father won't keep such a foul-mouthed hag in the parish long!'
To which I had to respond that her cottage belonged to the trustees
of the chapel, whereat he whistled. I don't think he knew that we
had heard her final denunciation, and we did not like to mention it
to him, scarcely to each other, though Emily looked very white and
scared.
We talked it over afterwards in private, and with Henderson, who
confessed that he had heard of the old woman's saying something of
the kind to other persons. We consulted the registers in hopes of
confuting it, but did not satisfy ourselves.
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