or possibly to-night," he added. "Marian, I am sure, will feel very
much as I do about it," he went on presently, "but just now the burden
would fall more upon Sister Mary; so that I think I must not give the
invitation unless she is entirely willing."

"Which I feel almost certain she will be," said Rosie. "But I will wait
to hear from you, Cousin Arthur, before answering my letters."

"You shall hear at an early hour," he returned.

"Mary is hoping to have her parents here for the wedding and for a long
visit afterward," remarked Grandma Elsie, "but you have room enough to
accommodate both them and the Crolys, I think."

"Oh, yes!" replied Arthur, "there need be no difficulty about that. Our
house is large and the regular dwellers in it are far less numerous than
they were in my young days. Ah, how widely scattered they are," he
continued half musingly--"my sisters Isadore and Virginia in
Louisiana--Molly and Dick Percival there too, with Betty and Bob
Johnson; my brothers Walter and Ralph--the one in the army, the other
in California. Sister Ella, the only one near at hand, living at
Beechwood; Cal and I the only ones left in the old home."

"Where you are very happy; are you not?" asked his cousin Elsie in a
cheery tone and with an affectionate smile into his eyes.

"Yes," he answered, returning the smile; "Cal with his charming wife and
two dear little children, I with my sweet Marian and a baby boy of whom
any father might well be proud and fond. And I must be going back to
them," he added, rising, and with a hasty good-night to all, he took his
departure.

He was scarcely out of sight when the Beechwood and Woodburn carriages
turned in at the gates, the one bringing Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Lilburn,
the other Captain Raymond, his wife, and his daughters Lucilla and
Grace.

All were received with warm and joyous greetings. They had started out
for a drive, met and exchanged salutations, had then decided to call
together upon their Ion relatives; a not very unusual proceeding.

And scarcely were they seated when Mr. and Mrs. Leland and Evelyn were
seen coming up the drive, having walked over from Fairview, tempted to
do so by the beauty of the evening and the prospect of the pleasure of a
chat with the very near and dear dwellers in the old home at Ion, who
never seemed weary of their companionship, though scarcely a day passed
in which they had not more or less of it.

Nor was the communication with Woodburn