welcomed him.

"Charming!" said Mrs. Reverdy; "now you will go home with us."

"I don't see just on what you found your conclusion."

"O, you will have made your visit to Mrs. Starling, you know; and then
you will have nothing else to do."

"There spoke a woman of business!" said the minister.

"Yes, why not?" said the lady. "I was just telling Mrs. Starling how I
should delight to do as she does, without servants, and how pleasant I
should find it; only, you know, I shouldn't know how to do anything if
I tried." Mrs. Reverdy seemed to find the idea very entertaining.

"You wouldn't like to get up in the morning to make your biscuits,"
said Gertrude.

"O yes, I would! I needn't have breakfast very early, you know."

"The good butter wouldn't be on the table if you didn't," said Mrs.
Starling.

"Wouldn't it? Why? Does it matter when butter is made, if it is only
made right?"

"No; but the trouble is, it cannot be made right after the sun is an
hour or two high."

"An hour or two!" Mrs. Reverdy uttered a little scream.

"Not at this time of year, mother," interposed Diana.

"Do you get up at these fearful times?" inquired Miss Masters
languidly, turning her eyes full upon the latter speaker.

Diana scarce answered. Would all the minutes of their visit pass in
these platitudes? could nothing else be talked of? The next instant she
blessed Mr. Masters.

"Have you heard from the soldier lately?" he asked.

"O yes! we hear frequently," Mrs. Reverdy said.

"He likes his post?"

"I really don't know," said her sister, laughing; "a soldier can't
choose, you know; I fancy they have some rough times out there; but
they manage to get a good deal of fun too. Evan's last letter told of
buffalo hunting, and said they had some very good society too. You
wouldn't expect it, on the outskirts of everything; but the officers'
families are very pleasant. There are young ladies, sometimes; and
every one is made a great deal of."

"Where is Mr. Knowlton?" Diana asked. She had been working up her
courage to dare the question; it was hazardous; she was afraid to trust
her voice; but the daring of desperation was on her, and the words came
out with sufficiently cool utterance. A keen observer might note a
change in Mrs. Reverdy's look and tone.

"O, he's in one of those dreadful posts out on the frontier; too near
the Indians; but I suppose if there weren't Indians there wouldn't be
forts, and they wouldn't want officer