ents as an assessor levies taxes, completed the round of the
village and began again. Mrs. Upjohn asked for and obtained the recipe
of a certain dish, the like of which had never before been seen in
Joppa, and the Joppites commended her boldness in asking and condemned
Mrs. Hardcastle's weakness in giving. The report that Mr. Upjohn had
apostatized from the Presbyterian Church, disapproving of its tenets as
regarded waltzing, was duly started, denied, violently adopted, and as
violently exploded. The statements that Jake Dexter was engaged to
Nellie Atterbury, that Bell Masters had offered herself to Mr. Halloway
and been declined with thanks, and that Gerald's hat had been imported
from Paris two days before, were also duly aired and evaporated. It had,
moreover, by this time become a town fact, that it was Bell Masters and
_not_ Janet Mudge whom Halloway had rowed to the party, and that he had
walked home with Mrs. Lane. Miss Brooks overheard him taking leave of
her at her door, and fancied--but was not sure--that she told him to
change his boots lest his feet should be damp. Everybody had also found
out beyond discussion or doubt that De Forest was Gerald's escort home
on that occasion, but that the engagement between them was broken off.
It was definitely known that he had said he was a blighted being, and
should shortly take a return ticket to New York. Everybody said it was a
shame, when they were so manifestly cut out for each other. In fact,
every thing had been found out about every thing. The evening had been
talked threadbare, and, alas, there was nothing else to talk about.
Phebe's reappearance downstairs, unscarred and bonnie as ever, was
become an old story long since, and Dr. Dennis' treatment of the case
was now admitted to have been the very best possible next to what Dr.
Harrison's treatment would have been, though by all means, it was
decided, Dr. Dennis and _not_ Dr. Harrison should have been called in
when Mr. Brown, the grocer, fell ill of a fever. Poor Joppa was indeed
fairly talked out. It had to settle down upon the fever and Mr. Brown
for lack of any thing else. It was really almost a godsend when Mrs.
Brown took the fever too, for it gave Joppa just twice as much to talk
about, and everybody said it was somebody's duty to see that the poor
souls had right advice in the matter. Jabez Brown, Jr., carried on the
business in his father's stead, and measured out his sugars and teas at
so much advice