eys sorted; and John and Lillie were on
their way to the station.

"I shall find out Walter in New York, and bring him back with me,"
said John, cheerily, as he parted from Grace in the hall. "I leave you
to get things all to rights for us."

It would not have been a very agreeable or cheerful piece of work to
tidy the disordered house and take command of the domestic forces
under any other circumstances; but now Grace found it a very nice
diversion to prevent her thoughts from running too curiously on this
future meeting. "After all," she thought to herself, "he is just the
same venturesome, imprudent creature that he always was, jumping to
conclusions, and insisting on seeing every thing in his own way. How
could he dare write me such a letter without seeing me? Ten years
make great changes. How could he be sure he would like me?" And she
examined herself somewhat critically in the looking-glass.

"Well," she said, "he may thank me for it that we are not engaged, and
that he comes only as an old friend, and perfectly free, for all he
has said, to be nothing more, unless on seeing each other we are
so agreed. I am so sorry the old place is all demolished and
be-Frenchified. It won't look natural to him; and I am not the kind of
person to harmonize with these cold, polished, glistening, slippery
surroundings, that have no home life or association in them."

But Grace had to wake from these reflections to culinary counsels with
Bridget, and to arrangements of apartments with Rosa. Her own
exacting carefulness followed the careless footsteps of the untrained
handmaids, and rearranged every plait and fold; so that by nightfall
the next day she was thoroughly tired.

She beguiled the last moments, while waiting for the coming of the
cars, in arranging her hair, and putting on one of those wonderful
Parisian dresses, which adapt themselves so precisely to the air of
the wearer that they seem to be in themselves works of art. Then she
stood with a fluttering color to see the carriage drive up to the
door, and the two get out of it.

It is almost too bad to spy out such meetings, and certainly one has
no business to describe them; but Walter Sydenham carried all before
him, by an old habit which he had of taking all and every thing for
granted, as, from the first moment, he did with Grace. He had no idea
of hesitations or holdings off, and would have none; and met Gracie as
if they had parted only yesterday, and as if h