e leader of
the fashionable set of the town.

The center of attraction was of course Peggy; and she carried herself
well, enduring the trying ordeal with grace and composure. And if one
were to judge by the number and the quality of the gifts which loaded
down one whole room, or by the throng which filled the house to
overflowing, or by the motley crowd which surged without, impatient for
one last look at the bride as she stepped into the splendid coach, a
more popular couple was never united in matrimony. It was a great day
for all concerned, and none was more happy nor more radiant than Peggy
as she sat back in the coach and looked into the face of her husband and
sighed with that contentment and complacency which one experiences in
the possession of a priceless gem.

Their homecoming, after the brief honeymoon, was delightful. No longer
would they live in the great slate roof house on Second Street at the
corner of Norris Alley, but in the more elegant old country seat in
Fairmount, on the Schuylkill,--Mount Pleasant. Since Arnold had
purchased this great estate and settled it immediately upon his bride,
subject of course to the mortgage, its furnishings and its appointments
were of her own choice and taste.

It rose majestically before them on a bluff overlooking the river, a
courtly pile of colonial Georgian architecture whose balustraded and
hipped roof seemed to rear itself above the neighboring woodland, so as
to command a magnificent broad view of the Schuylkill River and valley
for miles around.

"There! See, General! Isn't it heavenly?"

She could not conceal her joy. Arnold looked and smiled graciously with
evident satisfaction at the quiet homelike aspect of the place.

Peggy was on the stone landing almost as soon as she emerged from the
coach,--eager to peep inside, anxious to sit at last in her own home.
Although she had already seen all that there was to see, and had spent
many days previous to the marriage in arranging and planning the
interior so as to have all in readiness for their return on this day,
still she seemed to manifest a newer and a livelier joy, so pleasant and
so perfect did all appeal.

"Oh, General! Isn't this just delicious?" And she threw her arms around
his neck to give him a generous hug.

"Are you happy now?" he questioned.

"Perfectly. Come let us sit and enjoy it."

She went to the big chair and began to rock energetically; but only for
a minute, for she spied in t