oolmaster's wife.

The buzz of talk had commenced again, though much subdued, and he was
at liberty to examine the company. They were four grown-up Hamilton
girls, he noticed, and three little ones. With the exception of the
beauty on the organ-stool, the young ladies were rather puzzling to a
stranger. They were all tall and fair and pretty, but the minister's
quick eye soon noted distinguishing characteristics. Bella, the eldest
and the one to whom the young Johnstone giant was paying such obvious
attentions, was the tallest and fairest. Sarah, the one with the
affected air of discontent, was the third in the quartette. He also
discovered afterwards that she was the cleverest and quite aware of the
fact, and the noisy rattle-brain who was up to some mischief in a
corner and to whom Mrs. Hamilton was making gesticulatory appeals, was
Maggie, the fourth girl.

But he was compelled to give his attention to his immediate neighbours;
with Mrs. Watson on one side and Miss Cotton on the other, he was soon
possessed of an exhaustive history of everyone present. Sarah Hamilton
went to the High School and was dreadful stuck up about it; Allan
Fraser, the pale young man talking to her, was studying medicine, and
young Donald Neil was going to be a minister. Both ladies agreed,
however, that Mr. Egerton would consider Donald's conduct anything but
clerical, though he was good to his mother, poor woman--a bad time she
had with those noisy rascals----

The steady flow of information was interrupted by the appearance of Mr.
Hamilton. He had been struggling with his coat and a clean collar ever
since the minister's arrival, and now came stumbling hurriedly into the
room.

"Eh, eh, good evening, Mr. Egerton," he cried heartily, "good evening,
sir, Ah'm jist that glad to see ye in the hoose, came awa into the
other room, come awa, man, an' we'll have a quiet word."

"Now, pa," protested Mrs. Hamilton, who had been hovering round her
guest, "don't take Mr. Egerton away out there!"

"Tuts, mother, Ah'll bring him back to the lassies, never fear!" he
cried, with ingenuous indiscretion. "Come awa, sir!"

The young man followed his host across the hall and into the dining
room. It was a big, rag-carpeted room; a large easy chair was set
beside the long table and a number of newspapers were strewn about.
The evening breeze blew in cool and sweet, setting the stiff, white
curtains swaying and bringing the refreshing scent o