" And Harry,
after this brief greeting, jumped out of the carriage, and left us to
meet our mother alone.

Since I parted from her I had seen a great deal of fine company, and
Theo and I had paid our respects to the King and Queen at St. James's;
but we had seen no more stately person than this who welcomed us, and
raising my wife from her knee, embraced her and led her into the house.
'Twas a plain, wood-built place, with a gallery round, as our Virginian
houses are; but if it had been a palace, with a little empress inside,
our reception could not have been more courteous. There was old Nathan,
still the major-domo, a score of kind black faces of blacks, grinning
welcome. Some whose names I remembered as children were grown out of
remembrance, to be sure, to be buxom lads and lasses; and some I had
left with black pates were grizzling now with snowy polls: and some who
were born since my time were peering at doorways with their great eyes
and little naked feet. It was, "I'm little Sip, Master George!" and "I'm
Dinah, Sir George!" and "I'm Master Miles's boy!" says a little chap in
a new livery and boots of nature's blacking. Ere the day was over the
whole household had found a pretext for passing before us, and grinning
and bowing and making us welcome. I don't know how many repasts were
served to us. In the evening my Lady Warrington had to receive all
the gentry of the little town, which she did with perfect grace and
good-humour, and I had to shake hands with a few old acquaintances--old
enemies I was going to say; but I had come into a fortune and was no
longer a naughty prodigal. Why, a drove of fatted calves was killed
in my honour! My poor Hal was of the entertainment, but gloomy and
crestfallen. His mother spoke to him, but it was as a queen to a
rebellious prince, her son who was not yet forgiven. We two slipped away
from the company, and went up to the rooms assigned to me: but there, as
we began a free conversation, our mother, taper in hand, appeared with
her pale face. Did I want anything? Was everything quite as I wished
it? She had peeped in at the dearest children, who were sleeping like
cherubs. How she did caress them, and delight over them! How she was
charmed with Miles's dominating airs, and the little Theo's smiles and
dimples! "Supper is just coming on the table, Sir George. If you like
our cookery better than the tavern, Henry, I beg you to stay." What a
different welcome there was in the words