And every stranger finds a ready chair;
Blest be those feasts, with joyous plenty crowned,
Where all the blooming family around,
Laugh at the jests or pranks that never fail,
Or sigh with pity at some mournful tale,
Or press the weary traveler to his food,
And feel the luxury of doing good.
—Goldsmith.
Alice was almost in solitary confinement in the cold, stern prison of her home, for General Garnet discouraged association with old friends, who at least suggested the past, if they did not openly refer to it.
But there was one family, and that family the very warmest and most steadfast among the few friends of Sinclair, from whom General Garnet had not the will to separate his young wife—the Wylies of Yocomoco, or Point Pleasant, as their seat was more frequently called by their delighted visitors. Who, indeed, had the will or the power to do aught to annoy the delightful host of Point Pleasant?