inflict bodily harm upon her."

The words had barely escaped the lips of the pastor ere the Proctors,
both together, burst into a loud laugh, which even shocked the gravity
for a moment of the pastor and Elder Judge.

"But Mr. and Mrs. Proctor," said Elder Judge, "I hope you will look upon
this affair in a different way to that."

"We cannot," said Mr. Proctor; "the thing to which you refer is so
perfectly ludicrous. Let me tell you the fact in a word. That night Mrs.
Proctor came into the sitting-room from the shop terribly frightened
with what she said was a mouse under her dress. In her fright she ran
round the room thinking to shake the vermin from her clothes, and I took
the fire-shovel and ran after her with a view to kill the mouse. So that
is the sum of the matter."

The pastor and Elder Judge here looked each other in the face and
laughed heartily; and seemed relieved of a great burden. Instead of
seeking to do his wife bodily harm, Mr. Proctor was only in pursuit of a
mouse which had overreached its legitimate boundaries and found its way
into a foreign territory.

Although the facts as thus discovered were ludicrous, the results might
have been serious. For while the pastor and the elder were thus
ascertaining the facts, the Readys, and Smiths, and a whole clique of
kindred spirits with Mr. Bounce, were keeping up the circulation of the
scandal; and notwithstanding the pastor and his elder instantly began to
correct the mischief, it was a long time before the general impression
died out that Proctor was chasing his wife with the intention of beating
her. In fact, Mr. Bounce himself, and Mrs. Bounce, his wife, with
several others, always believed it to the day of their death; and ever
and anon tried to do a little business in it by whisperings; but they
found no custom, unless with an occasional new-comer into the
neighbourhood, or with some one who owed the Proctors a little spite.

* * * * *

Mr. Webster, of Necham, was much given to the habit of making mischief
by his talk. At one time he did great damage to a Church and its
minister, of which the following may be taken as an illustration:--

"You have had a new minister come among you lately, I understand," said
Mr. Webster one day to Mr. Watson.

"Yes, we have."

"What is his name?"

"His name is Mr. Good."

"Did not he come from Stukely to your place?"

"I believe he did," replied Mr. Watson.

"I thought