l--how ample--how homelike!

He ran up the steps of the commodious front porch and was on the point
of opening the door when some impulse he could not define made him pause
and, instead of turning the knob, announce himself with a rap upon the
shining brass knocker.

One of the old family servants whom he had known and loved from his
infancy, and with whom he had always been a pet, opened the door, and
with beaming face and eager voice greeted him with the enthusiastic
hospitality of his kind--lifting up his voice and his hands in praise to
God that he was once more in this world permitted to look upon the face
of "Marse Eddie."

The whilom young master of the house was equally, if less picturesquely,
warm in his expressions of pleasure at seeing the old man again, and
gave him his carpet-bag with instructions to take it to his room and to
tell Mrs. Allan that he was there.

The venerable darkey's face fell. The "new Mistis" had "changed the
house around some," he explained, apologetically, and "Marse's Eddie's"
things had been moved to one of the servants' rooms, but "Marse Eddie's"
old room was a guest chamber, and he "reckoned" that would be the place
to take the bag.

The visitor's whole manner changed at once--_froze_. The flush of
pleasure died out of his face and left it pale, cold and stern. A fierce
and unreasonable rage possessed him. _She had dismantled the room that
his little mother had arranged for him and sent his things to a
servant's room!_ Was this insult intentional, he wondered?

To his mind, his "little Mother" was so entirely the presiding genius of
the place--he could not realize the right of anyone, not even a "new
mistis," to come in and "change the house around."

Cut to the quick, he directed the old butler to leave the bag where it
was and to let Mrs. Allan know that he was in the drawing-room.

No announcement could have given that lady greater surprise. She
regarded Edgar's leaving West Point after her husband's letter, as
direct disobedience, and his presenting himself at her door as the
height of impertinence. Something of this was in the frigid dignity with
which she received him--standing, and drawn up to the full height of her
imposing figure.

She had never been within speaking distance of anyone drunk to the point
of intoxication, but, somehow, she had received an impression that this
was pretty generally the case with the young man now before her, and
when he began somewh