e to spend his summer vacation with them, and received an answer
saying he looked forward with pleasure to the time of keeping it, which
would be about the 20th of July.

The first week in July, John, passing the Neal home, was surprised to
see Dorothy Durrett standing on the porch. She had arrived the day
before. He was glad to learn that she expected to spend the summer with
her aunt. They had a pleasant chat, for the most part, about their
parties of the summer of two years before. Dorothy was now nearly
twenty-one and in appearance even more attractive than when he had first
known her. He told her of Howard Bradford's contemplated visit, and they
began formulating plans for the summer.

"You have not seen our house since it was remodeled according to Mr.
Bradford's suggestion, nor have you seen my mother; come with me now. I
am thinking of giving a dance in honor of our guest. Three rooms of the
lower floor are so arranged that they can be made into one, giving us
plenty of room to dance. Will you please help me out?"

"Certainly I will, John. You used to say we were meant to help each
other. Let me get a hat and tell Aunt Anna where I am going."

"How the place is improved! The grounds were always delightful; now the
whole is toned and in concord; a very delightful picture. There is your
mother at the door waiting for her John. The woman who takes you off her
hands gets an armload of responsibility. A man always compares his wife
with his mother and you, John, will expect your wife to love and mother
you as she has done."

"Oh, Dorothy! I am glad to see you! I did not know you in the start, or
John, either. I do not see so well and I did not expect to see John with
a woman. When did you come? You are even more attractive than when you
were here two years ago. John has acted like an old man since then. I
wish some nice girl would marry him."

"Oh, John and I understand each other; we could be the best of friends,
but never lovers. I will have to find him a good wife, else in his
inexperience, with his head buried in a book, he may make a mistake. I
know the very girl--Rosamond Clay, of Madison County; she visited me
last winter. I shall have my aunt ask her to visit us while I am with
her. Then I shall assign John to her and depend on Mr. Bradford or Mr.
Duffield to entertain me. Watch what a match-maker I am, Mrs. Cornwall.
Let us go through the house and then into the garden. My aunt insisted
that I hurry ba