shington, a Federalist, smiled grimly at the notion of kingship, and
the creature of no party, with his usual desire for peace, had made up,
of both parties, a cabinet sure to disagree.

To hear the clamor of the Jacobin clubs, a stranger coming among us in
'92 might have believed us ruined. Nevertheless, Hamilton had rescued
our finance, assured a revenue not as yet quite sufficient, founded the
bank, and assumed the State debts. The country was in peril only from
disorders due to excess of prosperity, the podagra of the state. There
was gambling in the new script, lotteries innumerable, and the very
madness of speculation in all manner of enterprises--canals, toll-pike
roads, purchases of whole counties.

Cool heads like Schmidt looked on and profited. The Quaker merchants, no
wise perturbed by the rashness of speculation, accumulated irredeemable
ground rents, and thriving, took far too little interest in the general
party issues, but quietly created the great schools which are of our
best to-day, endowed charities, and were to be heard of later as
fearless Christian gentlemen in a time of death and despair, when men
unafraid in battle shrank from the foe which struck and was never seen.

In the early August days, madame had driven now and then with Mistress
Wynne, and at present was gone, not quite willingly, to stay a while at
the Hill. Mrs. Wynne had called, and her husband, more than once, with a
guarded word or two from his wife as to the manner of usefulness of his
young clerk. "Mind you, Hugh, let it be secretary. Do not hurt the poor
lady's pride." So counseled Darthea, kindly wise, and he obeyed, having
come in time to accept his wife's wisdom in many matters social and
other.

To the Hill farm came to call, on the vicomtesse, the Vicomte de
Noailles, the prosperous partner of William Bingham; and, asked by the
Wynnes, Mrs. Bingham, to be at a later day the acclaimed beauty of
London; her kin, the Willings, with the gift of hereditary good looks;
and the Shippens. The vicomtesse received them all with a certain
surprise at their ceremonious good manners and their tranquil sense of
unquestioned position. She would return no visits as yet, and her son
was busy and, too, like herself, in mourning. In fact, she shrank from
general contact with the prosperous, and dreaded for Rene this gay world
of pretty young women. _Ciel!_ What might not happen?

On their part, they were curious and kind. Emigrant ladies w