110 OLD ACQUAINTANCE AND NEW.

Thus they made their comments and then sat down
to talk.

‘Well, I ‘ve heard say,” said Mrs. Proctor, “ that
young Williams is as a relation of theirs—some sup-
pose a son of that poor Phebe Phillips, Mrs.
Osborne’s sister, that married so badly—but I don’t
know—it may or it may not—however, you see, they
were always very fond of him, and behaved to him as
if he were their own son. When there wasall that
stir and scandal about the players! Lord, what a stir
it made! They took his part and cleared him through
thick and thin—though folks said there was some-
thing very scandalous and shameful, if it could only
have come out. Nobody knew justly what it was,
but those Miss Kendricks, who after that time were
ten times more intimate than ever,—and Mr. Good-
man, who was vicar here at that time. Well, as I
was saying, after all that scandal, poor Mrs. Osborne
never rightly was herself again. She had no regular
complaint, but she got ailing ; now she went here and
now there—now for change of air, now for mineral
waters, and now for sea-bathing. It was well for
Mr. Osborne that he had such a trustworthy person
in his shop as Mr.-Isaacs—young Reynolds was out
of his time and was gone—was gone to some great
house in London—his aunts thought of making
something out of the common way of him-~and it
was weli I say that Mr. Osborne had that steady Mr.
Isaacs with him, for after his wife was so poorly he
never rightly cared about business—there ain't many
such husbands ! ” “

‘© I’ve heard say,” remarked Mrs. Morley, “ that
it was a love-match at first.”

“ Like enough,” returned her friend, “ and old