their perambulators in either direction. Hat in hand I delivered my
message. I could see that it gave the women great pleasure and the
man some doubt. His mouth fell open a little; their cheeks flushed
and their eyes shone.

"I don't know as we better," the wife hesitated; "I'm afraid we'll
crowd you." And she looked wistfully toward my wife. The young
girl looked at her.

"Not at all!" I cried. "There's an abundance of room. My wife's
keeping the places for you,"--in fact, I saw her putting her arm out
along the bench, and explaining to a couple who had halted in front
of her that the seats were taken--"and she'll be disappointed."

"Well," the woman consented, with a little sigh of triumph that
touched me, and reanimated all my interest in her and in her friend.
She said, with a sort of shy, instinctive politeness, "I don't know
as you and Mr. Deering got acquainted last night."

"My name is March," I said, and I shook the hand of Mr. Deering. It
was rather thick.

"And this--is our friend," Mrs. Peering went on, in presentation of
me to the young lady, "Miss Gage, that's come with us."

I was delighted that I had guessed their relative qualities so
perfectly, and when we arrived at Mrs. March I glibly presented
them. My wife was all that I could have wished her to be of
sympathetic and intelligent. She did not overdo it by shaking
hands, but she made places for the ladies, smiling cordially; and