divine naturalness, waiting until some Quaker Cupid twangs his bow.
Then the kiss-defying bonnet will suffer. By the way, Mrs. Swanwick is a
fair French scholar, but a bit shy with you as yet.

"Soon thou wilt see Josiah Langstroth, uncle of Mrs. Swanwick. Ah,
there's a man that mocks conjecture; for, being a Quaker by pride of
ancestral damnation, he goes to meeting twice a year, swears a little to
ease his soul, toasts George the Third of Sundays, and will surely tell
you how, driven out of the country, he went to London and was presented
to the king and triumphantly kept his hat on his head. He is rich and
would provide for his niece, who will take help from no one. He does at
times offer money, but is ever well pleased when she refuses. As for
Hugh Wynne, I will go with you to see him, a Welsh squire to this day,
like the best of them here. I shall leave you to make him out. He is a
far-away cousin of Margaret's mother.

"It is a fine menagerie. Very soon you will hear of Aunt Gainor
Wynne,--every one calls her aunt; I should not dare to do so,--a sturdy
Federalist lady, with a passion for old china, horses, and matchmaking,
the godmother of Mrs. Swanwick. Take care; she will hate or love you at
sight, and as great a maker of mischief as ever perplexed good sense; as
tender an old woman at times as ever lacked need of onions to fetch
tears; a fine lady when she chooses.

"There, I have done you a service and saved your wits industry. You
listen well. There is a savor of grace in that. It is a virtue of the
smoker. Question me if you like."

Nothing could better have pleased the young man.

"I would know more of this town, sir," and he told of his quest of a
tavern. The German laughed.

"A good lesson--Federalists and ape democrats--wild politics of a nation
in its childhood. Three great men,--Washington, Hamilton, James Wilson,
and perhaps John Adams; well--great merchants, Willings, Bingham, and
Girard; and besides these, Quakers, many of them nobler for a creed
unworkable in a naughty world, with offshoots of 'world's people,' which
saved some fortunes in the war; and, ah, a sect that will die
away,--Free Quakers, high-minded gentlemen who made up for a century of
peace when they elected to draw the sword. I fear I have been tedious."

"No, not at all; you are most kind, sir, and most interesting. I am sure
to like it all. I hope my mother will be contented. We have never of
late years been used to luxurie