Sewell could not understand. She now said, "Oh! Mr.
Barker!" and coldly gave him her hand. "Have you been well? Must you
go?"
"Yes, thank you. I have got to be getting back. Well, good evening."
He bowed to the Sewells.
"You must come again to see me," said the minister, and looked at
his wife.
"Yes, it has been a very long time since you were here," Mrs. Sewell
added.
"I haven't had a great deal of time to myself," said Lemuel, and he
contrived to get himself out of the room.
Sewell followed him down to the door, in the endeavour to say
something more on the subject his wife had interrupted, but he only
contrived to utter some feeble repetitions. He came back in
vexation, which he visited upon Lemuel. "Silly fellow!" he
exclaimed.
"What has he been doing now?" asked Mrs. Sewell, with reproachful
discouragement.
"Oh, _I_ don't know! I suspect that he's been involving himself
in some ridiculous love affair!" Mrs. Sewell looked a silent
inculpation. "It's largely conjecture on my part, of course,--he's
about as confiding as an oyster!--but I fancy I have said some
things in a conditional way that will give him pause. I suspect from
his manner that he has entangled himself with some other young
simpleton, and that he's ashamed of it, or tired of it, already. If
that's the case, I have hit the nail on the head.
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