have a serious talk with you, Louis. I've taken Mrs. Ascott into
my confidence more or less and she agrees with me that I ought to
lay down a strong, rigid policy and that it is your duty to
execute it. In fact she also took me into her confidence and gave
me, at my request, a very clear idea of how she would run this
place; and to my surprise and gratification I find that her ideas
of discipline, taste, and economy are exactly mine, although I
thought of them first and perhaps have influenced her in this
matter as I have in others. That is, of course, natural, she
being a woman.

"I think I ought to be frank with you, Louis. It isn't good form
for you to leave Mrs. Malcourt the way you do every week or two
and disappear in New York and give no explanation. You haven't
been married long enough to do that. It isn't square to me,
either.

"And while I'm about it I want to add that, at Mrs. Ascott's
suggestion--which really is my own idea--I have decided not to
build all those Rhine castles, which useless notion, if I am not
mistaken, originated with you. I don't want to disfigure my
beautiful wilderness. Mrs. Ascott and I had a very plain talk
with Hamil and we forced him to agree with us that the less he
did to improve my place the better for the place. He seemed to
take it good-humouredly. He left yesterday to look over Mrs.
Ascott's place and plan for her a formal garden and Trianon at
Pride's Hall. So he being out I wired also to Virginia and to
Philip Gatewood, which will make it right--four at a table. Your
brother-in-law plays a stiff game and your sister is a
wonder!--five grand slams last night! But I played like a
dub--I'd been riding and walking and canoeing all day with Mrs.
Ascott and I was terribly sleepy.

"So come on up, Louis. I'll forgive you--but don't mind if I
growl at you before Mrs. Ascott as she thinks I ought to
discipline you. And, confound it, I ought to, and I will, too, if
you don't look out. But I'll be devilish glad to see you.

"Yours,
"W. VAN BEUREN PORTLAW."

Malcourt, in his arm-chair by the open window, lay back full length,
every fibre of him vibrating with laughter.

Dolly Wilming at the piano continued running over the pretty firework
melodies of last season's metropolitan success--a success built entirely
on a Vie