From Tom's point of view it was a splendid feat--one of those bold
and effective master-strokes that only a ready and determined sportsman
could conceive and on the instant carry into effect. Nelly's eyes were
closed for weeks--well-nigh for ever--and the skin peeled off her face;
but she consented to the cruel punishment without a murmur after the
first shriek of agony, and won Tom to good temper and tolerance of her
vanity by all sorts of happy concessions.
How many such tiffs--tough and smart--has poor Nelly borne? Her grief has
been so sore that she has torn her hair out by the roots in frenzy and
stamped upon it; but Tom, surly and impassive Tom, is her lord as well
as her most exacting master, and in their own way they are devoted to
one another.
The roughest cross Nelly was called upon to bear was the presence of
Tom's third wife--"Little Jinny"--the manner of whose wooing and
home-coming is to be told.
News came from Lucinda Point to Clump Point--passed from one to
another--that Tom's half-brother (a purely fictional relationship) had
died, leaving a young widow. According to Tom's rendering of the
matrimonial laws, he was the rightful heir.
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