am fifteen?"

"Isn't there some way that girls can be set back?" he asked with feigned
anxiety.

"I've heard of their being set back after they reached thirty or forty,"
said Miss Recompense.

"I don't want to wait so long," returned Uncle Winthrop with a smile.

"There were some beautiful old ladies there last night," said Doris.
"The one with black velvet and diamonds--Madam Bowdoin. Is that Aunt
Priscilla's friend?"

"I suppose so. Mr. Perkins was held in high esteem, and Aunt Priscilla
used to go about in her carriage then."

"And Madam Scott! Uncle Win, to think she was John Hancock's wife, and
he signed the Declaration of Independence!"

"And after that I wouldn't have married anybody," declared Miss
Recompense with haughty stiffness.

The enthusiasm did not die out at once. When men or women met they had
to talk over the good news. Warren Leverett declared that business was
reviving. Mercy told Uncle Winthrop that she had never expected to see
so many famous people under such grand conditions as a Peace Ball, and
that it would be something to talk about when she was an old lady. Aunt
Priscilla listened to the accounts with deep interest.

"And I looked like a real young lady," said Doris. "I was frightened
when I came to think about it. I would like to stay a little girl for
years and years. But I would not have missed the ball for anything. I do
not believe there will ever be such a grand occasion again."

CHAPTER XXII

CARY ADAMS

It took a good while in those days for the news of peace to go around
the world. But there was a general reign of peace. The European
countries had mostly settled their difficulties; there was royalty
proper again on the throne of France. Napoleon swept through his hundred
brilliant days, and was banished for life to the rocky isle of St.
Helena; the young King of Rome was a virtual prisoner to Austria, and
Russia and Prussia began to breathe freely once more.

The United States had won a standing among the nations. Her indomitable
courage, her successes against tremendous odds, had impressed Europe
with her vitality and determination.

One by one the ships came back to home ports. Mr. Adams and Doris
watched and listened to every bit of news eagerly.

The old apothecary's shop on Washington Street, to begin a famous
history a decade later as "The Old Corner Bookstore," was even then a
rendezvous for the news of the day. People paused going up and down, and