This occasions a flood of recollected sensory detail, Updike at his best, an eternalizing of the moment of that kiss which stands in defiance of age and decrepitude and the bone cancer winnowing Mamie in the prison of her reduced self.

The town was one of the strongholds of the Reformed faith.

One passenger train in each direction can run as a mixed train, and by this means the empty wagons are returned.

I have understood that the parents frequently receive handsome comshaws for their daughter, but never give anything with them ; they cannot therefore be charged with the meanness of marrying for money: at least the men are free from the charge and the women don't appear to have so much as a negative in the business.