ch he had no right to make public,
threw him into confusion, out of which condition he delivered himself,
amidst some laughter and much applause, by a bold and irrelevant
continuation of the subject, to the effect that, knowing all that and a
great deal more besides, he (including Mrs Gambart) had not only
effected a sale which, he might say, was the main-sail that had caught
the breezes of prosperity by which the craft of the McLeods, so to
speak, had been blown so happily that day into the Partridge Bay haven
of felicity (tremendous cheering, during which Gambart wiped his bald
head and flushed face, and collected himself). Moreover, he continued,
it was he who, against McLeod's will, had bought Barker's Mill (hear
hear! from Bob Smart, who thought he was quoting poetry), and although,
of course, he had not known that the goods in the _Betsy_ were insured
(at this point another frown pulled him up and made him reckless), he
nevertheless would stoutly hold against any man (cheers) or woman
(cheers and laughter), that he, including Mrs Gambart, had had a finger
in the pie, which, after simmering for a considerable time (the pie, not
the finger) in the oven of--of (cheers) ah! had that night been done
(brown, from Bob Smart) _to a turn_ (severely), and been dished up in
such splendid style that a more auspicious climax could--could--

The remainder was drowned in vociferous cheering, in which Mr Gambart
himself joined, shook hands with the guests on each side of him, sat
down, and blew his nose.

It was at this point that Bob Smart, overcome by a gush of feeling,
burst into a song, the burden of which was that the light of former days
being faded, their glories past and shaded, and the joys of other days
being too bright to last, it was not worth while doing more than making
a simple statement of these facts without expressing a decided opinion
either one way or another in regard to them.

As he sang this rather pretty song in the voice of a cracked tea-kettle,
a thrill of delight ran through the company when deaf Mrs Crowder,
being ignorant of what was going on, suddenly said that as there seemed
to be a pause in the flow of soul, she, although a woman, would venture
to express a sentiment, if not to propose a toast. This was of course
received with a shout of joy, which effectually quenched Mr Smart. In
a sweet tremulous little voice the old lady said, "let us wish, with all
our hearts, that health, happiness, cha