"Mary is hoping to have her parents here for the wedding and for a long
visit afterward," remarked Grandma Elsie, "but you have room enough to
accommodate both them and the Crolys, I think."

"Oh, yes!" replied Arthur, "there need be no difficulty about that. Our
house is large and the regular dwellers in it are far less numerous than
they were in my young days. Ah, how widely scattered they are," he
continued half musingly--"my sisters Isadore and Virginia in
Louisiana--Molly and Dick Percival there too, with Betty and Bob
Johnson; my brothers Walter and Ralph--the one in the army, the other
in California. Sister Ella, the only one near at hand, living at
Beechwood; Cal and I the only ones left in the old home."

"Where you are very happy; are you not?" asked his cousin Elsie in a
cheery tone and with an affectionate smile into his eyes.

"Yes," he answered, returning the smile; "Cal with his charming wife and
two dear little children, I with my sweet Marian and a baby boy of whom
any father might well be proud and fond. And I must be going back to
them," he added, rising, and with a hasty good-night to all, he took his
departure.

He was scarcely out of sight when the Beechwood and Woodburn carriages
turned in at the gates, the one bringing Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Lilburn,
the other Captain Raymond, his wife, and his daughters Lucilla and
Grace.

All were received with warm and joyous greetings. They had started out
for a drive, met and exchanged salutations, had then decided to call