On the following morning Ralph Newton was in Conduit Street exactly at the hour named. He had not even then made up his mind;—but he thought that he might get an extension of the time allowed him for decision. After all, it was hardly a month yet since the proposition was made to him. He found Mr. Neefit in the back shop, measuring a customer. "I\'ll be with you in two minutes," said Mr. Neefit, just putting his head through the open door, and then going back to his work; "3—1—1/8, Waddle; Sir George isn\'t quite as stout as he was last year. Oh, no, Sir George; we won\'t tie you in too tight. Leave it to us, Sir George. The last pair too tight? Oh, no; I think not, Sir George. Perhaps your man isn\'t as careful in cleaning as he ought to be. Gentlemen\'s servants do get so careless, it quite sickens one!" So Mr. Neefit went on, and as Sir George was very copious in the instructions which he had to give,—all of which, by-the-bye, were absolutely thrown away,—Ralph Newton became tired of waiting. He remembered too that he was not there as a customer, but almost as a member of the family, and the idea sickened him. He bethought himself that on his first visit to Conduit Street he had seen his Polly in the shop, cutting up strips wherewith her father would measure gentlemen\'s legs. She must then have been nearly fifteen, and the occupation, as he felt, was not one fitting for the girl who was to be his wife. "Now, Mr. Newton," said Mr. Neefit, as Sir George at last left the little room. The day was hot, and Mr. Neefit had been at work in his shirt sleeves. Nor did he now put on his coat. He wiped his brow, put his cotton handkerchief inside his braces, and shook hands with our hero. "Well, Mr. Newton," he said, "what do you think of it? I couldn\'t learn much about it, but it seemed to me that you and Polly got on famous that night. I thought we\'d have seen you out there again before this."

"I couldn\'t come, Mr. Neefit, as long as there was a doubt."

"Oh, as to doubts,—doubts be bothered. Of course you must run your chance with Polly like any other man."

"Just so."

"But the way to get a girl like that isn\'t not to come and see her for a month. There are others after our Polly, I can tell you;—and men who would take her with nothing but her smock on."

"I\'m quite sure of that. No one can see her without admiring her."

"Then what\'s the good of talking of doubts? I like you because you are a gentleman;—and I can put you on your legs, which, from all I hear, is a kind of putting you want bad enough just at present. Say the word, and come down to tea this evening."

"The fact is, Mr. Neefit, this is a very serious matter."

"Serious! Twenty thousand pounds is serious. There ain\'t a doubt about that. If you mean to say you don\'t like the bargain,"—and as he said this there came a black cloud upon Mr. Neefit\'s brow,—"you\'ve only got to say the word. Our Polly is not to be pressed upon any man. But don\'t let\'s have any shilly-shallying."

"Tell me one thing, Mr. Neefit."

"Well;—what\'s that?"

"Have you spoken to your daughter about this?"

Mr. Neefit was silent for a moment, "Well, no; I haven\'t," he said. "But, I spoke to her mother, and women is always talking. Mind, I don\'t know what our Polly would say to you, but I do think she expects something. There\'s a chap lives nigh to us who used always to be sneaking round; but she has snubbed him terribly this month past. So my wife tells me. You come and try, Mr. Newton, and then you\'ll know all about it."

Ralph was aware that he had not as yet begun to explain his difficulty to the anxious father. "You see, Mr. Neefit," he said,—and then he paused. It had been much easier for him to talk to Sir Thomas than to the breaches-maker.

"If you don\'t like it,—say so," said Mr. Neefit;—"and don\'t let us have no shilly-shallying."

"I do like it."

"Then give us your hand, and come out this evening and have a bit of some\'at to eat and a drop of some\'at hot, and pop the question. That\'s about the way to do it."

"Undoubtedly;—but marriage is such a serious thing!"

"So it is serious,—uncommon serious to owe a fellow a lot of money you can\'t pay him. I call that very serious."

"Mr. Neefit, I owe you nothing but what I can pay you."

"You\'re very slow about it, Mr. Newton; that\'s all I can say. But I wasn\'t just talking of myself. After what\'s passed between you and me I ain\'t going to be hard upon you."

"I\'ll tell you what, Mr. Neefit," said Ralph at last,—"of course you can understand that a man may have difficulties with his family."

"Because of my being a breeches-maker?" said Neefit contemptuously.

"I won\'t say that; but there may be difficulties."

"Twenty thousand pounds does away with a deal of them things."

"Just so;—but as I was saying, you can understand that there may be family difficulties. I only say that because I ought perhaps to have given you an answer sooner. I won\'t go down with you this evening."

"You won\'t?"

"Not to-night;—but I\'ll be with you on Saturday evening, if that will suit you."

"Come and have a bit of dinner again on Sunday," said Neefit. Ralph accepted the invitation, shook hands with Neefit, and escaped from the shop.

When he thought of it all as he went to his rooms, he told himself that he had now as good as engaged himself to Polly;—as good or as bad. Of course, after what had passed, he could not go to the house again without asking her to be his wife. Were he to do so Neefit would be justified in insulting him. And yet when he undertook to make this fourth visit to the cottage, he had done so with the intention of allowing himself a little more time for judgment. He saw plainly enough that he was going to allow himself to drift into this marriage without any real decision of his own. He prided himself on being strong, and how could any man be more despicably weak than this? It was, indeed, true that in all the arguments he had used with Sir Thomas he had defended the Neefit marriage as though it was the best course he could adopt;—and even Sir Thomas had not ultimately ventured to oppose it. Would it not be as well for him to consider that he had absolutely made up his mind to marry Polly?

On the Friday he called at Mr. Moggs\'s house; Mr. Moggs senior was there, and Mr. Moggs junior, and also a shopman. "I was sorry," said he, "that when your son called, I had friends with me, and could hardly explain circumstances."

"It didn\'t signify at all," said Moggs junior.

"But it does signify, Mr. Newton," said Moggs senior, who on this morning was not in a good humour with his ledger. "Two hundred and seventeen pounds, three shillings and four-pence is a good deal of money for boots, Mr. Newton, You must allow that."

"Indeed it is, Mr. Moggs."

"There hasn\'t been what you may call a settlement for years. Twenty-five pounds paid in the last two years!" and Mr. Moggs as he spoke had his finger on the fatal page. "That won\'t do, you know, Mr. Newton;—that won\'t do at all!" Mr. Moggs, as he looked into his customer\'s face, worked himself up into a passion. "But I suppose you have come to settle it now, Mr. Newton?"

"Not exactly at this moment, Mr. Moggs."

"It must be settled very soon, Mr. Newton;—it must indeed. My son can\'t be calling on you day after day, and all for nothing. We can\'t stand that you know, Mr. Newton. Perhaps you\'ll oblige me by saying when it will be settled." Then Ralph explained that he had called for that purpose, that he was making arrangements for paying all his creditors, and that he hoped that Mr. Moggs would have his money within three months at the farthest. Mr. Moggs then proposed that he should have his customer\'s bill at three months, and the interview ended by the due manufacture of a document to that effect. Ralph, when he entered the shop, had not intended to give a bill; but the pressure had been too great upon him, and he had yielded. It would matter little, however, if he married Polly Neefit. And had he not now accepted it as his destiny that he must marry Polly Neefit?

The Saturday he passed in much trouble of spirit, and with many doubts; but the upshot of it all was that he would keep his engagement for the Sunday. His last chance of escape would have been to call in Conduit Street on the Saturday and tell Mr. Neefit, with such apologies as he might be able to make, that the marriage would not be suitable. While sitting at breakfast he had almost resolved to do this;—but when five o\'clock came, after which, ............