his part in the bringing about of such events.
Novelty had a charm for him. He was not bound by precedence and tradition,
and if he had found himself at a dinner which began with coffee and ended
with oysters on the half-shell, he would have given the unusual meal a
most animated consideration, although he might have utterly withheld any
subsequent approbation. As a general thing, he revolved in an orbit where
one might always be able to find him, were the proper calculations made.
But if any one drew a tangent for him, and its direction seemed suitable
and interesting, he was perfectly willing to fly off on it.

The disposition of Mrs. Hector Archibald was different. She was born to be
guided by customs, fashions, and forms. She believed it was the duty of a
married woman to make her home happy, and she did it. But she also
believed that in the best domestic circles there were rules and usages for
domestic happiness which would apply to every domestic condition and
contingency. It frequently troubled her, however, to find that certain
customs, forms, or usages of domestic society had changed, and being of a
conservative turn of mind, it was difficult for her to adapt herself to
these changes. But, thoroughly loyal to the idea that what was done by
people she loved and people she respected ought also to be done by her,
she earnestly strove to fit herself to new conditions, especially when she
saw that by not doing so she would be out of touch with her family and her
friends.

Now of course the wedding of their daughter was the only thing in the
world that seemed of real importance to Mr. and Mrs. Archibald, and for
this all preparations and plans had been agreed upon and made with great
good-will and harmony, excepting one thing, and that was the wedding-trip.
Strange to say, the young people did not wish to take a wedding-trip. They
believed that this old-fashioned custom was unnecessary, troublesome,
commonplace, and stupid. In the gardens and grounds of the Archibald
mansion, and in the beautiful surrounding country, they had loved each
other as lovers, and among these scenes they wished to begin to love each
other as a married couple. Why should such distasteful and unpleasant
ingredients as railroad-cars, steamboats, and hotels be dashed into the
pleasing mixture of their new lives? It had been arranged that for a year
or two, at least, they should live in Kate's dear old home, and why should
they not immediately