"'How sweet the breath beneath the hill
Of Sharon's lovely rose'" (Frontispiece)

"Do you know Miss Betty?"

"Looking up, he discovered his visitors"

"They crossed over to speak to her"

"She chose a chest of drawers"





CHAPTER FIRST.

THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN.

"A magician most profound in his art."


It was Sunday afternoon. The griffins on the doorstep stared straight
before them with an expression of utter indifference; the feathery foliage
of the white birch swayed gently back and forth; the peonies lifted their
crimson heads airily; the snowball bush bent under the weight of its white
blooms till it swept the grass; the fountain splashed softly.

"'By cool Siloam's shady rill