of airy aloofness. "I haf been at a wedding and
a funeral and a baptism all in one week all among the sem people. And
I was at one young man's wedding one day last year and at his funeral
the same day the next week after."

"That was dreadful," said Margaret. "Do you think it would be safe to
fix it for the following Wednesday, Mrs. Carre?"

"Oh yes, I think! There iss no one very sick. Mr. Hamon he wass a very
old man and he died very sudden. He wass just knocking a nail in the
pigsty and he drop down and died."

"Poor old man!"

"He wass very old and he wass a good man. No one ever said any harm of
old Mr. Hamon."

"Then if no one else dies we'll say the following Wednesday," said
Graeme. "And if--well, if anything happens to prevent it, then we must
go across to Guernsey and get Mr. Lee to marry us."

"Oh, but that woult not do. We will keep them all alive till you are
married. It woult neffer do to disappoint them all when we are all
looking forward to it here."

"Very well then, see you all keep alive."

"And you will come to old Mr. Hamon's funeral?"

"H'm! I don't know. We'll see, Mrs. Carre. We'd sooner be at our own
wedding, you know, than at anybody else's funeral."

"They woult like it iff you woult. And he was a goot old man. They
tell me to ask if you woult be pleased to come."

"If they would like us to come we will come, Mrs. Carre," said
Margaret.

And so it came about that instead of kneeling before the altar that
Wednesday they stood by the graveside.

X

The Red House and the cottage were centres--nay, whirlpools--of mighty
activities for days beforehand.

Mrs. Carre insisted on cleaning down the Red House from top to bottom
for the home-coming of the bride, though, to Graeme's masculine
perceptions, its panelling of polished pitch pine from floor to
ceiling, in which you could see yourself as in a mirror, had always
appeared the very acme of cleanliness and comfort, with the additional
merit of a tendency towards churchwardly thoughts.

But when he ventured on a mild remonstrance anent the necessity for
so gigantic an upsetting, Mrs. Carre laughingly said, "Ach, you are
only a man. You woult neffer see"--and whirled her broom to the
endangerment of his head.

For Margaret's honeymoon--that, is, such of it as she had not enjoyed
before her marriage--was to consist of a change of residence from the
cottage, and a walk up the garden and through the hedge of gracious
Memories,