y unwell?"

"Yes, my dear," said Mrs. Sennacherib; "he's got enough to last his
time, unless it should please the Lord to send him a new and suddener
affliction. I've seen a many go the same road. It's mostly the young as
bears his particular kind of sufferin', but it's on his face in as plain
readin' as the family Bible. He's a lonish sort of a man, save for his
nephew Reuben, but he'll ha' the parish for his mourners when his time
does come. The gentlest, harmlessest creetur as ever was a neighbor is
Ezra Gold."

"Hem!" said Aunt Rachel. The monosyllable was at once curt and frozen.
It implied as complete a denial as could have been expressed in a
volume.

"Why, what have you got again him?" asked Mrs. Sennacherib.

"I?" said Rachel. "Against whom, my dear creature?"

Mrs. Sennacherib had spoken in the absolute certainty of impulse, and
found herself a little confused.

"Mr. Gold," she answered, somewhat feebly.

"What should I have against Mr. Gold?" asked the old maid, with a chill
air of dignity and a pretence of surprise. She was not going to take
everybody into her confidence.

"What, to be sure?" said Mrs. Sennacherib, retiring from instinct. "In
old days there used to be a sort of kindness between you; at least it
was said so."

"It is a great pity that people cannot be taught to mind their own
business," said Rachel.

"So it is, Miss Blythe--so it is," Mrs. Sennacherib assented, hastily.
"I hate them folks as has got nothing better to do than to talk about
their neighbors. But, as I was a-sayin', he's a-breakin' up fast, poor
man, and that's a thing as is only too clear to a old experienced eye
like mine. A beautiful sperrit the man's got, to be sure, but allays
a mild and sorrowful look with him. When me and Sennacherib was first
married, he'd a habit of coming over here with 'Saiah Eld and Mr. Fuller
for the music. It was pretty to hear 'em, for they'm all fine players,
though mostly theer music was above my mark; but sometimes they'd get
him to play somethin' by himself, and then 'twas sweet. But he give up
playin' all of a sudden--I could niver mek out why or wheer-for, an' I
suppose it's over five-an'-twenty 'ear since he touched the fiddle."

Now Mrs. Sennacherib, though not an untruthful woman as a general thing,
had an idea as to the why and wherefore of Ezra Gold's withdrawal from
the amateur ranks of Heydon Hay. She took most of her ideas from her
husband, though she was not accustomed