"What sort of a man is Mr. Hall?" asked John, after a pause.

"I don't know anything against him," said Mrs. Berry.

"I don't know why it is," said John, "but I don't like his looks. I took rather a prejudice against him when I saw him just now."

"I never liked him," said his aunt, "though I can't give any good reason for my dislike. He never treated me in any way of which I could complain."

"How long has he been in the store?"

"How long is it, Martha?" asked Mrs. Berry, turning to her oldest daughter, who, by the way, was a very pretty girl, with blooming cheeks and dark, sparkling eyes.

"It will be four years in October, mother."

"Yes, I remember now."

"He seems quite a young man."

"I think he is twenty-three."