"And who are there here?" he asked.
"There is Mrs. Purcell,--you remember Helen Heath? Poor Mrs. Purcell, whom you knew, died, and her slippers fitted Helen. She chaperons Mary, who is single and speechless yet; and Captain, now Colonel, Purcell makes a very good silent partner. He is hunting in the West, on furlough; she is here alone. There is Mrs. Heath,--you never have forgotten her?"
"Not I."
"There is"------
"And how came you all in the country so early in the season,--anybody with your devotion to company?"
"To be made April fools, John says."
"Why, the willows are not yet so yellow as they will be."
"I know it. But we had the most fatiguing winter; and Mrs. Laudersdale and I agreed, that, the moment the snow was off the ground up here, we would fly away and be at rest."
"Mrs. Laudersdale? Can she come here?"
"Goodness! Why not? The last few summers we have always spent together."