Lillie, as queen in her own parlor, was all grace and indulgence.  Hers was now to be the sisterly role, or, as she laughingly styled it, the maternal.  With a ravishing morning-dress, and with a killing little cap of about three inches in extent on her head, she enacted the young matron, and gave full permission to Tom, Dick, and Harry to make themselves at home in her room, and smoke their cigars there in peace.  She “adored the smell;” in fact, she accepted the present of a fancy box of cigarettes from Danforth with graciousness, and would sometimes smoke one purely for good company.  She also encouraged her followers to unveil the tender secrets of their souls confidentially to her, and offered gracious mediations on their behalf with any of the flitting Newport fair ones.  When they, as in duty bound, said that they saw nobody whom they cared about now she was married, that she was the only woman on earth for them,—­she rapped their knuckles briskly with her fan, and bid them mind their manners.  All this mode of proceeding gave her an immense success.

[Illustration:  “And would sometimes smoke one purely for good company.”]

But, as we said before, all this was talked about; and ladies in their letters, chronicling the events of the passing hour, sent the tidings up and down the country; and so Miss Letitia Ferguson got a letter from Mrs. Wilcox with full pictures and comments; and she brought the same to Grace Seymour.

“I dare say,” said Letitia, “these things have been exaggerated; they always are:  still it does seem desirable that your brother should go there, and be with her.”

“He can’t go and be with her,” said Grace, “without neglecting his business, already too much neglected.  Then the house is all in confusion under the hands of painters; and there is that young artist up there,—­very elegant gentleman,—­giving orders to right and left, every one of which involves further confusion and deeper expense; for my part, I see no end to it.  Poor John has got ’the Old Man of the Sea’ on his back in the shape of this woman; and I expect she’ll be the ruin of him yet.  I can’t want to break up his illusion about her; because, what good will it do?  He has married her, and must live with her; and, for Heaven’s sake, let the illusion last while it can!  I’m going to draw off, and leave them to each other; there’s no other way.”

“You are, Gracie?”

“Yes; you see John came to me, all stammering and embarrassment, about this making over of the old place; but I put him at ease at once.  ’The most natural thing in the world, John,’ said I.  ’Of course Lillie has her taste; and it’s her right to have the house arranged to suit it.’  And then I proposed to take all the old family things, and furnish the house that I own on Elm Street, and live there, and let John and Lillie keep house by themselves.  You see there is no helping the thing.  Married people must be left to themselves; nobody can help them.  They must make their own discoveries, fight their own battles, sink or swim, together; and I have determined that not by the winking of an eye will I interfere between them.”