soon grew cheerful, and consequently talkative; and summoned Mrs. Balk
for a little gossip. The substance of what I gathered from her rather
diffusive conversation was as follows:

My aunt had resided at The Shallows ever since the death of my uncle
Geoffrey, but she had maintained a silent and reserved habit; and Mrs.
Balk was of opinion that she had had some great misfortune. She had
persistently refused all intercourse with the people at The Mere. Squire
Maryon, himself a cold and taciturn man, had once or twice showed a
disposition to be friendly, but she had sternly repulsed all such
overtures. Mrs. Balk was of opinion that Miss Ringwood was not "quite
right," as she expressed it, on some topics; especially did she seem
impressed with the idea that The Mere ought to belong to her. It
appeared that the Ringwoods and Maryons were distant connections; that
The Mere belonged in former times to a certain Sir Henry Benet; that he
was a bachelor, and that Squire Maryon's father and old Mr. Ringwood
were cousins of his, and that there was some doubt as to which was the
real heir; that Sir Henry, who disliked old Maryon, had frequently said
he had set any chance of dispute at rest, by bequeathing the Mere
property by will to Mr. Ringwood, my mother's father; that, on his
death, no such will could be found; and the family lawyers agreed that
Mr. Maryon was the legal inheritor, and my uncle Geoffrey and his
sisters must be content to take the Shallows, or nothing at all. Mr.
Maryon was comparatively rich, and the Ringwoods poor, consequently they
were advised not to enter upon a costly lawsuit. My aunt Aldina
maintained to the last that Sir Henry had made a will, and that Mr.
Maryon knew it, but had destroyed or suppressed the document. I did not
gather from Mrs. Balk's narrative that Miss Ringwood had any foundation
for her belief, and I dismissed the notion at once as baseless.

"And my uncle Geoffrey died of apoplexy, you say, Mrs. Balk?"

"_I_ don't say so, sir, no more did Miss Ringwood; but _they_ said so."

"Whom do you mean by _they_?"

"The people at The Mere--the young doctor, a friend of Squire Maryon's,
who was brought over from York, and the rest; he fell heavily from his
chair, and his head struck against the fender."

"Playing at cards with Mr. Maryon, I think you said."

"Yes, sir; he was too fond of cards, I believe, was Mr. Geoffrey."

"Is Mr. Maryon seen much in the county--is he hospitable?"

"W