he realized then the
genuineness of her aunt's interest in her material welfare and the love
she bore her.

When Stella returned to the room where the company was she went to her
aunt, and put her arms round her and kissed her affectionately, and
said: "How good you have been to me." Her aunt looked at the beautiful
girl with pride, and seemed delighted to see her so happy. She said:
"Stella, dear, I have only you to love, and you deserve all I can do for
you."

Mr. and Mrs. Wheelwright were very much gratified by the handsome gift
Stella received from her aunt, and Penloe, whose face was always the
picture of repose, had now an unusual bright smile as he saw Stella's
delight. He went and sat beside Mrs. Marston, and entertained her with
his brilliant conversation, much to that lady's pleasure, for she
enjoyed receiving attention from Penloe.

In course of conversation with Mrs. Marston (while Stella was absent
from the room), in a very becoming and graceful way, he paid a glowing
tribute to Stella's nobility of character and her intrinsic worth, which
pleased Mrs. Marston greatly. Stella's aunt could not think of sitting
down to a very plain meal on such an occasion as her niece's marriage,
neither did she wish to see her sister or Stella with flushed faces
through being over a hot cook-stove. So she had her caterer come from
Roseland, with everything necessary, and take charge of the wedding
dinner. They all had a very sociable time at the table, the topics of
conversation being general, such as Mrs. Marston would be interested in.

After dinner, Stella had a few words in private with her aunt before
leaving for Roseland. The gist of the talk was that she, when speaking
of them, was not to say, "'Mr. Penloe Lenair' or 'Mrs. Penloe Lenair,'
or have inserted in the newspapers 'Penloe Lenair, Esq., and wife, are
visiting you, but always speak of us as 'Penloe and Stella,' because we
wish to live in the realization that we are all members of one family,
and to say Mr. or Mrs. is cold, formal and distant; but in being called
by our given names we come near to those who are talking to us, and they
come near to and in touch with us."

After the minister and Mrs. Marston had left, Stella said to Penloe: "I
may just as well begin to initiate you into the new order of things now
as any other time, for you are my husband. So I am going to tell you
that we are living in a new age, and instead of the wife obeying her
husband