while the children are being hugged, caressed, laughed
over, and extolled for their growth and beauty. The master and
mistress pass under the trees, whose long shadows rest upon the soft,
green grass between streams of sunshine. The old piazza, gilded into
brightness, smiles a welcome home.

MY OWN EARLY HOME

I was born at the old home in Raleigh, upon the land originally held
by my great-grandfather, Colonel Lane, from the Crown. It had been the
home of my grandfather, Harry Lane, and of his wife, Mary, and it was
there that their children and grandchildren were born. When my oldest
brother attained his majority, he took possession of this place, while
my mother settled at Wills Forest, which was also part of the Lane
land. This, Wills Forest, became our beloved summer home, which I
inherited at the death of my dear mother. At the breaking out of the
war between the states, your grandfather left to his subordinates his
plantation interests in the eastern part of the state, and Wills
Forest became our permanent home. Although you never saw this place in
its palmy days, still, you are too well acquainted with its situation
to need a description. In spite of neglect, Wills Forest is still
beautiful; to it my heart is ever turning with regret and longing for
that which can never return. It was for many years the brightest and
happiest of homes, and as such it is still remembered by many besides
its former inmates.

Hospitality has ever been a marked characteristic of the Lane blood.
Colonel Lane's doors were ever open, not only to his friends, but to
every wayfarer, and as the small settlement, originally called
Bloomsbury, became Raleigh, and the state capital, he found it
necessary to build an "ornery" for the accommodation of strangers;
this building stood upon Hillsborough Street, and was torn down only a
short time ago. These "orneries" were a very common adjunct to
gentlemen's residences in country neighborhoods, where there were no
inns for the accommodation of travelers. We once stopped at one
belonging to the Littles, near Littleton. It was kept by two servants,
a man and his wife, belonging to the family, and they made us very
comfortable.

My grandfather, Harry Lane, inherited his father's liberal and
open-hearted nature, and the old home, even since the death of my
brother, still maintains its character for genial hospitality. Nor was
Wills Forest inferior to it in that respect. My mother, accust