r visitor shall know my position in your town
house?'

"'Oh, no,' said I; 'as I have not told my wife, of course I shall not
tell him. I am much obliged to you for your willingness to stay. It
would be very awkward if you should go.'

"'I understand that, sir,' said Isaac, 'and I would do not one thing to
discompose madame or yourself.'

"Rounders arrived according to schedule, and I met him at the gate, and
explained that my wife insisted it would be incongruous for a carriage
to drive up to the cot. 'I like that!' exclaimed Rounders. 'I like to
walk a little.' I took up one of his valises, the good Isaac carried the
two larger ones, while Rounders, with an apologetic look from right to
left, as if there might be some person present to whom this action
should be explained, took up some canes and umbrellas wrapped in a rug,
and we all went down to the cot, where Anita was waiting to receive us.

"'Oh, I like this,' said Rounders, quite cheerfully. 'I do not know when
I have gone anywhere without some of my people. But I assure you I like
it. At the bottom of our hearts we all like this sort of thing.'

"Anita showed him everything, and probably bored him dreadfully; but our
guest was determined to be pleased, and never ceased to say how much he
liked everything. There was no foolish pride about him, he said; he
believed in coming close to nature; and although a great many of the
peaceful joys of humanity were denied the man of affairs, still, when
the opportunity came, how gladly our inward natures rose up to welcome
it! 'Your wife tells me,' said he, 'that she is cook, housekeeper,
everything. This is charming! It must be a joy to you to know she is
capable of it. But, my dear friend,' he said, putting his hand on my
shoulder, 'you must not let her overwork herself. She will be very apt
to do it; the temptation is great. I am sure if I were she the
temptation to overwork in these new spheres would be very great.'

"Rounders certainly did overwork himself, and this was in the line of
trying to make us believe that he thoroughly liked this plan of ours of
living in a cot by a rill, and that he was quite capable of forgetting
his ordinary life of affluence and luxury in the simple joys of our
rural household. He would have produced an impression on both Anita and
me if he had not said so much about it; but I knew what he was trying to
do, and made all the necessary allowances for him.

"But, say what he might, I kn