slender man in Confederate gray, with
clean-cut aristocratic features, wavy hair, and long, drooping
mustache. What a figure he must have been at the head of his command,
or leading a charge across the level, while the guns of the Federals
belched smoke, and flame and leaden death.

"They offered him a brigade," the agent was saying, "but he declined
it, preferring to remain with his regiment."

"What did he do when the war was over?" Croyden asked.

"Came home, sir, and resumed his law practice. Like his great leader,
he accepted the decision as final. He didn't spend the balance of his
life living in the past."

"And why did he never marry? Surely, such a man" (with a wave of his
hand toward the portrait) "could have picked almost where he chose!"

"No one ever just knew, sir--it had to do with Miss Borden,--the sister
of Major Borden, sir, who lives on the next place. They were
sweethearts once, but something or somebody came between them--and
thereafter, the Colonel never seemed to think of love. Perhaps, old
Mose knows it, and if he comes to like you, sir, he may tell you the
story. You understand, sir, that Colonel Duval is Mose's old master,
and that every one stands or falls, in his opinion, according as they
measure up to him. I hope you intend to keep him, sir--he has been a
faithful caretaker, and there is still good service in him--and his
wife was the Colonel's cook, so she must have been competent. She would
never cook for anyone, after he died. She thought she belonged to
Clarendon, sort of went with the place, you understand. Just stayed and
helped Mose take care of it. She doubtless will resume charge of the
kitchen again, without a word. It's the way of the old negroes, sir.
The young ones are pretty worthless--they've got impudent, and
independent and won't work, except when they're out of money. Excuse
me, I ramble on----"

"I'm much interested," said Croyden; "as I expect to live here, I must
learn the ways of the people."

"Well, let Mose boss the niggers for you, at first; he understands
them, he'll make them stand around. Come over to the drawing-room, sir,
I want you to see the furniture, and the family portraits.... There,
sir, is a set of twelve genuine Hepplewhite chairs--no doubt about it,
for the invoice is among the Colonel's papers. I don't know much about
such things, but a man was through here, about a year ago, and, would
you believe it, when he saw the original invoice and loo