nt; The Happy Heart draws the
heart-strings alike of the physically tired and mentally jaded. Apart
from the promise of good liquor--and all who go to Shereling can rely on
the promise being fulfilled--it makes an esthetic appeal. For it is
still an old-fashioned country tavern of the prettiest type, destined to
make even the total abstainer wonder whether he be so absolutely in the
right after all. It boasts a porch, over which a Virginia creeper
spreads its amorous leaves; rose-bushes waft a welcome and the sure hope
of peace to plowman or golfer after the day's striving. A meditative
cow, apparently an artistic fixture, chews the cud in a field hard by
from day to day. Smoke curls lazily from a huge and ancient chimney, as
much as to say, "Be of good cheer! I come from the kitchen!" And there
is, too, one of those signposts you see sometimes in the south,--a
pillar placed separate from the inn itself with a swinging board above.
The superscription, by the way, was due to the fancy of the squire's
wife. When the squire entered into his inheritance and married he had
had dreams. He wished to be like Dogberry and have everything handsome
about him. His wife, a pretty imaginative creature, had imbued him with
ideas for the betterment of his dependents, and he had tried to fulfil
her wishes. He inclined to the practical side, and to him was due at
least half the credit for the improved housing and sanitation of
Shereling. She, practical enough, thought that estheticism should show
an equal growth; and to her shade the visitor does reverence when he
admires the profuse planting of trees, the village library with its good
pictures, the addition of a tower to the church, and a fine organ. Last,
but not least, she persuaded her husband to have the inn called The
Happy Heart, instead of The Bull and Dog.

In this desirable residence Tony and Robert Hedderwick sat at two
o'clock, enjoying their cigars after a copious lunch. Robert had slept
the whole morning, and now felt a new man. Tony was tired, but
disinclined for bed,--there had been too much to interest him up to the
present, and he felt there might be more to come. This was such a new
sensation that he had no trouble in propping his eyelids till the
evening, and he listened with zest while Robert prattled cheerfully of
his incredible adventures. They had, of course, agreed to work as
partners, so long as tedium kept away: they were mutually attracted, and
already more th