wife's eye fell upon the handsome building, with its cool, vine-
wreathed piazza--upon the shaded walks, the sparkling fountains
and the thousands of roses which were now in full bloom, she
almost cried with delight, even forgetting, for a time, that she
was in the "horrid country." But she was ere long reminded of the
fact by Mrs. Leah, who told of the "crowds of gaping people," who
had been up to see the house. With a deprecating glance at the
village where the "gaping people" were supposed to live, Ella drew
nearer to her husband, expressing a wish that the good folks of
Dunwood would confine their calls to the house and grounds, and
not be troubling her. But in this she was destined to be
disappointed, for the inhabitants of Dunwood were friendly, social
people, who knew no good reason why they should not be on terms of
equality with the little lady of Rose Hill; and one afternoon,
about a week after her arrival at Dunwood, she was told that some
ladies were waiting for her in the parlor.

"Dear me! Sophy," said she, while a frown for an instant clouded
her pretty face, "tell them I'm not at home."

"But I just told them you were," answered Sophy, adding that "the
ladies were well-dressed and fine-looking," and suggesting that
her young mistress should wear down something more appropriate
than the soiled white muslin wrapper in which she had lounged all
day, because "it was not worth her while to dress, when there was
no one but her _husband_ to see her."

This, however, Ella refused to do. "It was good enough for country
folks," she said, as she rather reluctantly descended to the
parlor, where her first glance at her visitors made her half