"Does the old proverb of the 'new broom' hold good here too?" said he, smiling. "What's the name of your new minister?"
"I am not certain," said Fleda; "there were two talked of; the
last I heard was, that it was an old Mr. Carey; but from what
I hear this morning, I suppose it must be the other a Mr.
Ollum, or some such queer name, I believe."
Fleda thought her hearer looked very much amused, and followed his eye into the room, where Mrs. Evelyn was going about in all quarters looking at everything, and finding occasion to enter into conversation with at least a quarter of the people who were present. Whatever she was saying, it seemed at that moment to have something to do with them, for sundry eyes turned in their direction; and presently Dr. Quackenboss came up, with even more than common suavity of manner.
"I trust Miss Ringgan will do me the favour of making me acquainted with a with our future pastor!" said the doctor, looking, however, not at all at Miss Ringgan, but straight at the pastor in question. "I have great pleasure in giving you the first welcome, Sir or, I should say, rather the second; since, no doubt, Miss Ringgan has been in advance of me. It is not un a appropriate, Sir, for I may say we a divide the town between us. You are, I am sure, a worthy representative of Peter and Paul; and I am a a pupil of Esculapius, Sir! You are the intellectual physician, and I am the external."
"I hope we shall both prove ourselves good workmen, Sir," said the young minister, shaking the doctor's hand heartily.
"This is Dr. Quackenboss; Mr. Olmney," said Fleda, making a tremendous effort. But though she could see corresponding indications about her companion's eyes and mouth, she admired the kindness and self-command with which he listened to the doctor's civilities and answered them; expressing his grateful sense of the favours received, not only from him, but from others.
"Oh a little to begin with," said the doctor, looking round upon the room, which would certainly have furnished that for fifty people; "I hope we aint done yet by considerable But here is Miss Ringgan, Mr. a Ummin, that has brought you some of the fruits of her own garden, with her own fair hands a basket of fine strawberries, which, I am sure a will make you forget everything else!"
Mr. Olmney had the good-breeding not to look at Fleda, as he answered, "I am sure the spirit of kindness was the same in all, Dr. Quackenboss, and I trust not to forget that readily."
Others now came up; and Mr. Olmney was walked off to be "made acquainted" with all, or with all the chief of his parishioners then and there assembled. Fleda watched him going about, shaking hands, talking and smiling, in all directions, with about as much freedom of locomotion as a fly in a spider's web; till, at Mrs. Evelyn's approach, the others fell off a little, and taking him by the arm, she rescued him.
"My dear Mr. Olmney," she whispered, with an intensely amused face, "I shall have a vision of you every day for a month to come, sitting down to dinner, with a rueful face, to a whortleberry pie; for there are so many of them, your conscience will not let you have anything else cooked, you cannot manage more than one a day."