"No one ever just knew, sir--it had to do with Miss Borden,--the sister of Major Borden, sir, who lives on the next place. They were sweethearts once, but something or somebody came between them--and thereafter, the Colonel never seemed to think of love. Perhaps, old Mose knows it, and if he comes to like you, sir, he may tell you the story. You understand, sir, that Colonel Duval is Mose's old master, and that every one stands or falls, in his opinion, according as they measure up to him. I hope you intend to keep him, sir--he has been a faithful caretaker, and there is still good service in him--and his wife was the Colonel's cook, so she must have been competent. She would never cook for anyone, after he died. She thought she belonged to Clarendon, sort of went with the place, you understand. Just stayed and helped Mose take care of it. She doubtless will resume charge of the kitchen again, without a word. It's the way of the old negroes, sir. The young ones are pretty worthless--they've got impudent, and independent and won't work, except when they're out of money. Excuse me, I ramble on----" "I'm much interested," said Croyden; "as I expect to live here, I must learn the ways of the people." "Well, let Mose boss the niggers for you, at first; he understands them, he'll make them stand around. Come over to the drawing-room, sir, I want you to see the furniture, and the family portraits.... There, sir, is a set of twelve genuine Hepplewhite chairs--no doubt about it, for the invoice is among the Colonel's papers. I don't know much about such things, but a man was through here, about a year ago, and, would you believe it, when he saw the original invoice and looked at the chairs, he offered me two thousand dollars for them. Of course, as I had been directed by your father to keep everything as the Colonel had it, I just laughed at him. You see, sir, they have the three feathers, and are beautifully carved, otherwise. And, here, is a lowboy, with the shell and the fluted columns, and the cabriole legs, carved on the knees, and the claw and ball feet. He offered two hundred dollars for it. And this sofa, with the lion's claw and the eagle's wing, he wanted to buy it, too. In fact, sir, he wanted to buy about everything in the house--including the portraits. There are two by Peale and one by Stuart--here are the Peales, sir--the lady in white, and the young officer in Continental uniform; and this is the Stuart--the gentleman in knee breeches and velvet coat. I think he is the same as the one in uniform, only later in life. They are the Colonel's grandparents, sir: Major Daniel Duval, of the Tenth Maryland Line, and his wife; she was a Miss Paca--you know the family, of course, sir. The Major's commission, sir, hangs in the hall, between the Colonel's own and his father's--he was an officer in the Mexican war, sir. It was a fighting family, sir, a fighting family--and a gentle one as well. 'The bravest are the