id Mrs. Derrick, 'I _did_ know; the Committee
told me all about him. And of course he thinks I know,--and I
don't,--no more than I do my great-grandmother's name, which I never
did remember yet.'

"'Mother, shall I go and ask him, or wait till after supper?'

"'Oh, you sha'n't go,' said her mother. 'Wait till after supper, and
we'll send Cindy. He won't care about his name till he gets his tea,
I'll warrant... Faith, don't you think he liked his supper?'

"'I should think he would, after having no dinner,' said Faith.

"'There's Cindy, this minute! Run and tell her to go right away, and
find out what his name is,--tell her _I_ want to know,--you can put
it in good words.'

"Cindy presently came back, and handed a card to Faith.

"'It's easy done,' said Cindy. 'I jest asked him if he'd any
objections towards tellin' his name,--and he kinder opened his eyes
at me, and said, "No." Then I said, says I, "Mis' Derrick do' know,
and she'd like ter." "Miss Derrick!" says he, and he took out his
pencil and writ that. But I'd like ter know _what_ he cleans his
pencil with,' said Cindy, in conclusion, for I'm free to confess _I_
never see brass shine so in my born days.'"

Cindy's "free confessions" are an important feature of the book.

In Chapter VI, Squire Deacon and his sister hold a brief Yankee
dialogue, of which this is a sample:--

"'Sam! what are you bothering yourself about Mr. Linden for?'

"'How long since you was made a trustee?' said the Squire, beginning
his sentence with an untranslatable sort of grunt, and ending it in
his teacup.

"'I've been _your_ trustee ever since you was up to anything,' said
his sister. 'Come, Sam,--don't you begin now! What's made you so
crusty?'

"'It a'n't the worst thing to be crusty,' said the Squire. 'Shows a
man's more'n half baked, anyhow.'

"'Well, what has he done?'

"'Sure enough!' said the Squire, 'what _has_ he done? That's just
what I can't find out.'

"'What do you want to find out for? What ails him?'

"'Suppose he hasn't done nothin'. Is that the sort o' man to teach
litteratur in Pattaquasset?'

"'Now, Sam Deacon, what do you expect to do by all this fuss you're
making?' said his sister, judicially.

"'What's the use of cross-examining a man at that rate? When I do
anything, you'll know it.'"

The characters are all invested with reality by skilfully introduced
anecdotes, or by personal traits carelessly and happily sketched. But
it is a costly ex