he fondness of a creature's love,
How strong it strikes the sense!
Thither the warm affections move,
Nor can we drive them thence."

In fact, Miss Ruey's sentimental vein was in quite a gushing state, for
she more than once extracted from the dark corners of the limp calico
thread-case we have spoken of certain long-treasured _morceaux_ of
newspaper poetry, of a tender and sentimental cast, which she had laid
up with true Yankee economy, in case any one should ever be in a
situation to need them. They related principally to the union of kindred
hearts, and the joys of reciprocated feeling and the pains of absence.
Good Miss Ruey occasionally passed these to Mara, with glances full of
meaning, which caused the poor old thing to resemble a sentimental
goblin, keeping Sally Kittridge in a perfect hysterical tempest of
suppressed laughter, and making it difficult for Mara to preserve the
decencies of life toward her well-intending old friend. The trouble with
poor Miss Ruey was that, while her body had grown old and crazy, her
soul was just as juvenile as ever,--and a simple, juvenile soul
disporting itself in a crazy, battered old body, is at great
disadvantage. It was lucky for her, however, that she lived in the most
sacred unconsciousness of the ludicrous effect of her little
indulgences, and the pleasure she took in them was certainly of the most
harmless kind. The world would be a far better and more enjoyable place
than it is, if all people who are old and uncomely could find amusement
as innocent and Christian-like as Miss Ruey's inoffensive thread-case
collection of sentimental truisms.

This quilting of which we speak was a solemn, festive occasion of the
parish, held a week after Moses had sailed away; and so _piquant_ a
morsel as a recent engagement could not, of course, fail to be served up
for the company in every variety of garnishing which individual tastes
might suggest.

It became an ascertained fact, however, in the course of the evening
festivities, that the minister was serenely approbative of the event;
that Captain Kittridge was at length brought to a sense of the errors of
his way in supposing that Sally had ever cared a pin for Moses more than
as a mutual friend and confidant; and the great affair was settled
without more ripples of discomposure than usually attend similar
announcements in more refined society.

CHAPTER XXXIV

FRIENDS

The quilting broke up at the pr