Minnie sat reading; she rose for a moment to greet the visitor, spoke a word or two very modestly, even shyly, and let her eyes fall again upon the book.

Considering the warmth of the day it was not unnatural that Mr.Gammon showed a very red face, shining with moisture; but his decided hilarity, his tendency to hum tunes and beat time with his feet, his noisy laughter and expansive talk, could hardly be attributed to the same cause.

Having taken a seat near Minnie he kept his look steadily fixed upon her, and evidently discoursed with a view of affording her amusement; not altogether successfully it appeared, for the young girl--she was but seventeen--grew more and more timid, less and less able to murmur replies.

She was prettier than her mother had ever been, and spoke with a better accent.

Her features suggested a more delicate physical inheritance than Mrs.Clover's comeliness could account for.