lton, her husband, is a young man who is getting on in the
world. He is clever in his profession, and sure to succeed beyond the
success of most men. He is quiet in manner, but he seems to have a way
of managing his quick, handsome wife, which is something of a surprise
to me, and to her also, I fancy. They are congenial and happy, and their
children are beings to adore. Tom and Kate are to live in town. They are
too young for the joys of country life, and must needs drag on as they
are, loved and admired by a host of friends. They can, and will,
however, spend much time at Four Oaks; and I need not say they approved
our plans.

Jack is our second. He was a junior at Yale, and I am shy of saying much
about him lest I be accused of partiality. Enough to say that he is
tall, blond, handsome, and that he has gentle, winning ways that draw
the love of men and women. He is a dreamer of dreams, but he has a
sturdy drop of Puritan blood in his veins that makes him strong in
conviction and brave in action. Jack has never caused me an hour of
anxiety, and I was ever proud to see him in any company.

Concerning Jane, I must be pardoned in advance for a father's
favoritism. She is my youngest, and to me she seems all that a father
could wish. Of fair height and well moulded, her physique is perfect.
Good health and a happy life had set the stamp of superb womanhood upon
her eighteen years. Any effort to describe her would be vain and
unsatisfactory. Suffice it to say that she is a pure blonde, with eyes,
hair, and skin just to my liking. She is quiet and shy in manner,
deliberate in speech, sensitive beyond measure, wise in intuitive
judgment, clever in history and literature, but always a little in doubt
as to the result of putting seven and eight together, and not
unreasonably dominated by the rules of orthography. She is fond of
outdoor life, in love with horses and dogs, and withal very much of a
home girl. Every one makes much of Jane, and she is not spoiled, but
rather improved by it. She was in her second year at Farmington, and,
like all Farmington students, she cared more for girls than for boys.

These were the children whom I was to transport from the city, where
they were born, to the quiet life at Four Oaks. After carefully taking
their measures, I felt little hesitation about making the change. They,
of course, had known of the plan, and had often been to the farm; but
they were still to find out what it really mea