he, in liberal mood.

He had an attentive listener. Mrs Nasmyth listened with vain efforts
not to let her face betray her utter bewilderment at the whole
proceeding, only assenting briefly when Mr Slowcome interrupted the
reading, now and then, to say interrogatively,--

"You remember?"

It dawned upon her at last that these were the items that made up the
subscription for the half year that was over; but except that her face
changed a little, she gave no sign. It is possible the deacon had had
some slight misgiving as to how Mrs Nasmyth might receive the
statement; certainly his voice took a relieved tone as he drew near the
end, and at last read the sum total: "Two hundred and seventy-two
dollars sixty-two and a-half cents."

Again Janet's eye sought the minister's, and this time he did not avoid
her look. The rather pained surprise had all gone out of his face.
Intense amusement at Janet's changing face, on which bewilderment,
incredulity and indignation were successively written, banished, for a
moment, every other feeling. But that passed, and by the look that
followed Janet knew that she must keep back the words that were rising
to her lips. It required an effort, however, and a rather awkward
silence followed. Deacon Slowcome spoke first:

"Well, I suppose, we may consider that it stands all right. And I, for
one, feel encouraged to expect great things."

"I doubt, sirs," said Janet in a voice ominously mild and civil, "there
are some things that haena been put down on yon paper. There was a cum
apples, and a bit o' unco spare rib, and--"

"Well, it's possible there are some folks ain't sent in their accounts
yet. That can be seen to another time."

Janet paid no attention to the interruption.

"There were some eggs from Mrs Sterne--a dozen and three, I think--and
a goose at the New Year from somebody else; and your wife sent a
pumpkin-pie; and there was the porridge and milk that Judge Merle
brought over when first we came here--"

"Ah! the pie was a present from my wife," said Deacon Fish, on whom Mrs
Nasmyth's awful irony was quite lost.

"And I presume Judge Merle didn't mean to charge for the porridge, or
hominy, or whatever it was," said Deacon Slowcome.

"And what for no'?" demanded Janet, turning on him sharply. "I'm sure
we got far more good and pleasure from it than ever we got o' your
bloody fore-quarter of beef, that near scunnered the bairns ere we were
done with it. Things