he consent
of your parents."

"Dost know, too, that my mother favored the match from the start? In
truth she gave me every encouragement, perhaps awakened my soul to the
flame."

"No matter. We are in the morning of our bliss; its sun is about to
remain fixed. Wish for a cloudless sky."

They were now in the great drawing-room which ran the full depth of the
building, with windows looking both east and west. In the middle of the
great side wall lodged a full-throated fireplace above which rose
imposingly an elaborately wrought overmantel, whose central panel was
devoid of any ornamentation. The door frames with their heavily molded
pediments, the cornices, pilasters, doortrims and woodwork rich in
elaboration of detail were all distinctive Georgian, tempered, however,
with much dignified restraint and consummate good taste.

"We can thank the privateer for this. Still it was a fair profit and
wisely expended, wiser to my mind than the methods of Robert Morris. At
any rate it is the more satisfactory."

"He has made excellent profits."

"Nevertheless, he has lost as many as an hundred and fifty vessels.
These have affected his earnings greatly. Were he not so generous to an
ungrateful people, a great part of his loss might now have been
retrieved."

"I have heard it said, too, that he alone has provided the sinews of the
revolt," said Peggy.

"Unquestionably. On one occasion, at a time of great want, I remember
one of his vessels arrived with a cargo of stores and clothing, whose
whole contents were given to Washington without any remuneration
whatsoever. And you, yourself, remember that during the winter at Valley
Forge, just about the time Howe was evacuating the city, when there
were no cartridges in the army but those in the men's boxes, it was he
who rose to the emergency by giving all the lead ballast of his favorite
privateer. He has made money, but he has lost a vast amount. I made
money, too, just before I bought this house. And I have lost money."

"And have been cheated of more."

"Yes. Cheated. More generosity from my people! I paid the sailors their
share of the prize money of the British sloop that they as members of
the crew had captured, that is, with the help of two other privateers
which came to their assistance. The court allowed the claims of the
rival vessels but denied mine. I had counted upon that money but found
myself suddenly deprived of it. Now they are charging me with having
ill