with any time upon her hands, you may be sure. I don't know what it is
about her; she never said a bright thing in her life, and a great, great
many silly ones; but everybody wants to talk to her, and her silly words
are precious to the man to whom she says them. Did you ever meet anybody
like her?"

"I? oh no. I never met anybody," I said, half-bitterly, beginning to be
afraid of the people whom I so soon should meet; and then I began to
talk about the road, and to inquire how far we had yet to drive, and to
ask to have a shawl about my shoulders. It was not yet seven o'clock,
but the country air was fresh and cool, and the rapid driving made
it cooler.

"We are almost there; and I hope, Miss d'Estrée, that you won't feel as
if you were going among strangers. You will not feel so long, at any
rate. It is too bad Richard isn't here; you know him so much better than
the rest of us. But before he comes back, I am sure you will feel as
much at home as he. But here's the gate."

There was a drive of perhaps an eighth of a mile from the gate to the
house: the trees and hedge were thick, so that one saw little of the
house from the road. The grounds were well kept; there was a nice lawn,
in front of the house, and some very fine old trees. The house was low
and irregular, but quite picturesque. It fronted the road; the rear
looked toward the river, about quarter of a mile distant, and of which
the view was lovely.

There was a piazza in front, on which four ladies stood; one of them
came forward, and came down the steps, and met me as I got out of the
carriage. That, of course, was Mrs. Hollenbeck, She welcomed me very