“And pray what do you know of her—is she an old acquaintance?” asked Mrs. Graham, throwing into her manner as much of insolence as possible. “I know,” returned Mr. Graham, “that ’Lena’s mother could be nothing else than respectable.” “Undoubtedly; but of this be assured—the daughter shall never, by my permission, darken my doors,” said Mrs. Graham, growing more and more excited, and continuing—“I know you of old, Harry Graham; and I know now that your great desire to secure Woodlawn was so as to be near her, but it shan’t be.” In her excitement, Mrs. Graham forgot that it was herself who had first suggested Woodlawn as a residence, and that until within a day or two her husband and ’Lena were entire strangers. But this made no difference. She was bent upon being unreasonable, and for nearly an hour she fretted and cried, declaring herself the most abused of her sex, and wishing she had never seen her husband, who, in his heart, warmly seconded that wish, wisely resolving not to mention the offending ’Lena again in the presence of his wife. The next day the bargain for Woodlawn was completed; after which, Mr. and Mrs. Graham, together with Durward, returned to Louisville, intending to take possession of their new home about the first of October. CHAPTER XII. MRS. GRAHAM AT HOME. As the summer advanced, extensive preparations were commenced for repairing Woodlawn, which was to be fitted up in a style suited to the luxurious taste of its rightful owner, which, as report said, was in reality Durward. He had conceived a fancy for the place five years before, when visiting in the neighborhood, and on learning that it was for sale, he had purchased it, at the suggestion of his mother, proposing to his father that for a time, at least, he should be its nominal possessor. What reason he had for this he hardly knew himself, unless it was that he disliked being flattered as a man of great wealth, choosing rather to be esteemed for what he really was. And, indeed, few of his age were more generally beloved than was he. Courteous, kind-hearted, and generous almost to a fault, he gained friends wherever he went, and it was with some reason that Mrs. Graham thought herself blessed above mothers, in the possession of such a son. “He is so like me,” she would say, in speaking of his many virtues, when, in fact, there was scarcely anything in common between them, for nearly all of Durward’s sterling qualities were either inherited from his own father, or the result of many years’ companionship with his stepfather. Possessed of the most exquisite taste, he exercised it in the arrangement of Woodlawn, which, under his skillful management, began in a few weeks to assume a more beautiful appearance than it had ever before worn.