THEY ARE OF¥.—-THEY ARE MARRIED. 147

May-fair day, when they would all be busy with
country customers. He did not see Williams again
that night, but he resolved on the very first opportu-
nity to place the utmost confidence in him as regarded
himself; to confess his love for his sister, which he
~ could not doubt being agreeable to him, and obtaining
from him a knowledge of their residence, to lose no
time in making her an offer of his heart and hand.
He would by this means prove to Williams how little
he thought of the painful past as regarded his father
—nay, on his marriage, he would enter into a bond
on behalf of his wife, to make some provision for the
old man. He would in every way do that which was
generous and honourable, and this he would tell Wil-
liams. Nothing puts one in such good humour with
one’s-self and all the world as the intention of doing
something remarkably generous, especially when one
can serve one’s-self at the same time. It was this
feeling which made Reynolds alert and cheerful all
the day. The country people said, “ What a nice
gentleman he was!” He listened to all kinds of
weariful histories about diseases in cattle and children,
and old folks; he prescribed for dry-rot in houses,
and the fly in turnips; he did not sell even a penny-
worth of turmeric without a pleasant word. Every
customer was charmed with him; he “ quite cut
out” their old favourite, Mr. Isaacs, who happened to
be rather out of humour that day, it must be con-
fessed. At the end of the day, Mr. Reynolds informed
his partner that there never had been such a day
since he had known the shop; it had been quite
crowded all day : and on adding up the day’s receipts,
besides booking, it was half as much again as that
day last year.