ich
all the young friends and acquaintances of Miss Cavendish assisted,
which the Rev. Dr. Jones and the Rev. Mr. Lyle endorsed by their
presence, and in which even Victor Hartman forgot, for the time being,
his own dark antecedents.

Next Mr. Lyle himself opened his bachelor heart and bachelor home to the
young folks by giving them a tea-party, which delighted the hearts of
Aunt Nancy and Uncle Ned, who both declared that this looked something
_like_ life.

But the third and greatest event of the week took place on Friday
evening, when Dr. Beresford Jones gave a great house-warming party, on
the occasion of his carrying home his granddaughter and sole heiress,
Electra Coroni.

Not only all our own young friends, including the reverend clergy and
the California miner, but all the neighborhood and all the county were
there.

And they kept up the festivities all day and well into the night.

Emma Cavendish and Laura Lytton remained with Electra for a few days
only, for Alden Lytton was to leave the neighborhood for Richmond on the
Monday morning following the party at Beresford Manors.

And during all this time no word was heard of Mary Grey.

That baleful woman had heard all that had passed at Charlottesville and
at Wendover, and her vain and jealous spirit was filled with such
mortification and rage that she was now hiding herself and deeply
plotting the ruin of those who had been her best friends and
benefactors.

CHAPTER XXII.

MORE MANEUVERS OF MRS. GREY.

She, under fair pretense of saintly ends,
And well-placed words of sweetest courtesy
Baited with reason, not unplausible,
Glides into the easy hearts of men,
And draws them into snares.
--MILTON'S _Comus_.

When Mary Grey reached Richmond she went first to a quiet family hotel,
where she engaged a room for a few days.

Then she took a carriage and drove to the rectory of old St. John's
Church and presented her letter to the rector.

The reverend gentleman received her very kindly and cordially, and
glanced over her letter, saying, as he returned it to her:

"But this was not at all necessary, my dear madam. I remember you
perfectly, as a regular attendant and communicant of this church, while
you were on a visit to the family of the late lamented Governor of this
State."

"Yes, sir; but then I was only a visitor at the church, just as I was a
guest at the Government House. Now I wish t