rybody. And the young
man--that's the Mr. Lammeter as now is, for he'd niver a sister--soon
begun to court Miss Osgood, that's the sister o' the Mr. Osgood as now
is, and a fine handsome lass she was--eh, you can't think--they pretend
this young lass is like her, but that's the way wi' people as don't
know what come before 'em. _I_ should know, for I helped the old
rector, Mr. Drumlow as was, I helped him marry 'em."

Here Mr. Macey paused; he always gave his narrative in instalments,
expecting to be questioned according to precedent.

"Aye, and a partic'lar thing happened, didn't it, Mr. Macey, so as you
were likely to remember that marriage?" said the landlord, in a
congratulatory tone.

"I should think there did--a _very_ partic'lar thing," said Mr. Macey,
nodding sideways. "For Mr. Drumlow--poor old gentleman, I was fond on
him, though he'd got a bit confused in his head, what wi' age and wi'
taking a drop o' summat warm when the service come of a cold morning.
And young Mr. Lammeter, he'd have no way but he must be married in
Janiwary, which, to be sure, 's a unreasonable time to be married in,
for it isn't like a christening or a burying, as you can't help; and so
Mr. Drumlow--poor old gentleman, I was fond on him--but when he come to
put the questions, he put 'em by the rule o' contrairy, like, and he
says, "Wilt thou have this man to thy wedded wife?" says he, and then
he says, "Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded husband?" says he.
But the partic'larest thing of all is, as nobody took any notice on it
but me, and they answered straight off "yes", like as if it had been me
saying "Amen" i' the right place, without listening to what went
before."

"But _you_ knew what was going on well enough, didn't you, Mr. Macey?
You were live enough, eh?" said the butcher.

"Lor bless you!" said Mr. Macey, pausing, and smiling in pity at the
impotence of his hearer's imagination--"why, I was all of a tremble: it
was as if I'd been a coat pulled by the two tails, like; for I couldn't
stop the parson, I couldn't take upon me to do that; and yet I said to
myself, I says, "Suppose they shouldn't be fast married, 'cause the
words are contrairy?" and my head went working like a mill, for I was
allays uncommon for turning things over and seeing all round 'em; and I
says to myself, "Is't the meanin' or the words as makes folks fast i'
wedlock?" For the parson meant right, and the bride and bridegroom
meant right.