George A. Birmingham

“ Moriarty, much wiser, went out and dug potatoes. There is nothing more soothing to racked nerves than digging in the ground, and there is a mild excitement about driving a spade into potato ridges which distracts the mind from painful thoughts and terrifying anticipations. The turning up of the roots of any particular plant may display an amazing wealth of tubers, may expose to the gaze of the delighted gardener some potato of huge size or very unusual shape. ”

“ It is always possible, unless you are very skilful at the work, that a spade may slice a potato, leaving you face to face with two reproachful, earth-soiled, flat surfaces, useless for the pot, a manifest disgrace to your digging. Moriarty was not a highly skilled or very experienced potato digger. ”

“ I'm not setting up to teach ladies like yourselves what ought to be and what ought not, but I'd say myself that the men that would run away from yez, from the like of yez"—he spoke with a smile that was meant to flatter—"isn't worth looking after."
"Do you dare to suggest——" said Miss Farquharson.
"It's not the first time that suggestion has been made," said Miss Blow. "It's part of the scandalous conspiracy in which every man, woman and child in this place is involved."
"If you won't take your supper when it's offered you," said Jimmy, "maybe you'll sit inside in the hotel. ”