t away a brown wave of hair. "Come
on, missie, dat-ah young Yankee gen'leman frien' up an' out."

Barbara bit her lip in mock dismay. "Has he de-part-ed?" She had a droll
liking for long words, and often deployed their syllables as skirmishers
in the rear for her sentences.

Johanna tittered. "Humph! you know mawnstus well he ain't gone. Miss
Barb, dass de onyess maan I even see wear a baang. Wha' fuh he do dat?"

"I must ask him," said Barbara, sipping her coffee. "It's probably in
fulfillment of a vow."

The maid tittered again. "You cay n't ast as much as he kin. But dass my
notice 'twix Yankees an' ow folks; Dixie man say, Fine daay, seh! Yankee
say, You think it a-gwine fo' to raain? Dixie man--Oh, no, seh! hit jiss
cayn't rain to-day, seh! Den if it jiss po' down Yankee say, Don't
dis-yeh look somepm like raain? An' Dixie man--Yass, seh, hit do; hit
look like raain, but Law'! hit ain't raain. You Yankees cayn't un'stan'
ow Southe'n weatheh, seh!"

Only Johanna laughed. Presently Barbara asked, "Have you seen pop-a?"

"Yo' paw? Oh, yass'm, he in de wes' grove, oveh whah we 'llowin' to
buil' de new dawmontory. He jiss a-po'in' info'mations into de Yankee."
Barbara laughed this time--at the Yankee--and Johanna mimicked: "Mr.
Fair, yo' come to see a beautiful an' thrivin' town, seh. Suez is
change' dat much yo' fatheh wouldn' know it ag'in!"

"Pop-a's right about that, Johanna."

"Oh, yass'm." Johanna was rebuked; but Barbara smiled. By and by--"Miss
Barb, kin I ax you a favo'?--Yass'm. Make yo' paw put me som'ers in de
crowd to-day whah I ken see you when you draps de hammeh on de golden
spike--Law'! dass de dress o' dresses! You looks highly fitt'n' to eat!"

Young Fair had come to see the last spike driven in the Pulaski City,
Suez and Great South Railroad.

At breakfast Mrs. Garnet poured the coffee. Garnet told the New
Englander much about New England, touching extenuatingly on the blueness
of its laws, the decay of its religion, and the inevitable decline of
its industries. The visitor, with only an occasional "Don't you think,
however"--seemed edified. It pleased Barbara to see how often,
nevertheless, his eye wandered from the speaker to the head of the board
to rest on one so lovely it scarce signified that she was pale and
wasted; one whose genial dignity perfected the firmness with which she
declined her daughter's offer to take her place and task, and smiled her
down while Johanna smoothed away