Perhaps it was the instinct of hospitality
alone that made her smile so brightly upon the brother of her friend,
as they walked up to the house together. The grounds about "Bellevue,"
not so ample as those surrounding the home of the old Commodore, gave
equal evidence of wealth and taste, and reminded one of a little park
set in the midst of the wilderness. The garden borders were bright
with crocuses and snowdrops and rich in promises of future bloom,
while from the orchard slopes on the left came a fair vision of
wall-like masses of foliage, frescoed with blossoms and the perfumed
touch of the blithe breezes at play among them. Entering the quaint,
dimly-lighted hall, they passed under long plumes of peacock feathers,
o'erhanging the arched doorway leading into the drawing-room. The
floors were waxed and polished, the apartments spacious and lofty with
elaborate cornices and panels. Leaving her guest in mute contemplation
of a tiny wood fire in a great fire-place, the young girl ran lightly
up the broad, low stairway, pausing at the half-way landing to gaze
dreamily from a casemated window out upon the sparkling waters of the
lake.
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