hich Moses soon made
to him to have some private conversation with him in his study.

"I declare," said Miss Emily, as soon as the study-door had closed upon
her brother and Moses, "what a handsome young man he is! and what a
beautiful way he has with him!--so deferential! A great many young men
nowadays seem to think nothing of their minister; but he comes to seek
advice. Very proper. It isn't every young man that appreciates the
privilege of having elderly friends. I declare, what a beautiful couple
he and Mara Lincoln would make! Don't Providence seem in a peculiar way
to have designed them for each other?"

"I hope not," said Miss Roxy, with her grimmest expression.

"You don't! Why not?"

"I never liked him," said Miss Roxy, who had possessed herself of her
great heavy goose, and was now thumping and squeaking it emphatically on
the press-board. "She's a thousand times too good for Moses
Pennel,"--thump. "I ne'er had no faith in him,"--thump. "He's dreffle
unstiddy,"--thump. "He's handsome, but he knows it,"--thump. "He won't
never love nobody so much as he does himself,"--thump, _fortissimo con
spirito_.

"Well, really now, Miss Roxy, you mustn't always remember the sins of
his youth. Boys must sow their wild oats. He was unsteady for a while,
but now everybody says he's doing well; and as to his knowing he's
handsome, and all that, I don't see as he does. See how polite and
deferential he was to us all, this morning; and he spoke so handsomely
to you."

"I don't want none of his politeness," said Miss Roxy, inexorably; "and
as to Mara Lincoln, she might have better than him any day. Miss Badger
was a-tellin' Captain Brown, Sunday noon, that she was very much admired
in Boston."

"So she was," said Miss Emily, bridling. "I never reveal secrets, or I
might tell something,--but there has been a young man,--but I promised
not to speak of it, and I sha'n't."

"If you mean Mr. Adams," said Miss Roxy, "you needn't worry about
keepin' that secret, 'cause that ar was all talked over atween meetin's
a-Sunday noon; for Mis' Kittridge she used to know his aunt Jerushy, her
that married Solomon Peters, and Mis' Captain Badger she says that he
has a very good property, and is a professor in the Old South church in
Boston."

"Dear me," said Miss Emily, "how things do get about!"

"People will talk, there ain't no use trying to help it," said Miss
Roxy; "but it's strongly borne in on my mind that it ain't Adams, nor