"Scarcely a friend; I did not know him as well as I knew Mr. Huntington. He was rather an acquaintance."
The eyeglass fell from under Derrice's brow. She seemed disinclined to talk, and her visitors rose to take leave. "You'll come see us, dear?" said the widow.
"Certainly; where do you live?"
"Here, dear, is a card,—Mrs. James, 38 Pownall."
"Pownall; is it street, avenue, square—?"
"Street, dear, always understood. Good-bye. I'm real glad to make your acquaintance," and squeezing her hand until the girl winced with pain, and recovered only to wince again under an alarming muscular pressure from the carpenter's bride, the little widow reluctantly tore herself away.
Mrs. Prymmer let them out at the street door, compressed her lips as the widow whispered, "Ain't she a beauty? What a pity she don't go to church!" and then moved slowly back in the direction of the parlour. She would address a remonstrance to Derrice on the subject of the eyeglass, but on her appearance the girl lost with such rapidity her sad, reflective attitude, and putting her glass in her eye fixed it with such a defiant expression on her mother-in-law, that that good lady was surprised and confused, and could only mutter a hasty, "Are you going out?"
"Yes," said Derrice, briefly, and she was just about to sweep by her when she was checked by a question from the hall in an animated voice, "Is Mrs. Mercer at home? Mrs. Mercer, not Mrs. Prymmer,—I don't want to see her."
Mrs. Prymmer heard the clearly spoken sentence, yet she rushed forward with outstretched hand, "Why, Miss Gastonguay, you're a sight for sore eyes."
"Am I?" said the lady, coolly, and overlooking the offered hand. "I don't think your eyes have ever beheld me with much favour since I sat on the bench behind you and the other small girls at school, and for the sake of example exposed your cheating at lessons to the master. Do go away, Hippolyta Prymmer,—you hate me, you know you do, and upon my word I've no love for you. What is the use of being sneaky when old age is creeping on you? We kept it up when we were young; do let us get through the death-dance honestly."