“Yes. Monstrously so,” replied Peggy, surprised that he was doing so well. “He won’t need any help if this continues,” was her mental comment. Then, “Mrs. Washington gave me some of Lady Washington’s daughter’s clothes to wear. They just fit me. Was she not kind?” “Very,” he answered briefly. “If—if getting wet always makes you look like you do to-night you had better get wet every day,” he blurted out abruptly, and then turned from her decidedly, blushing furiously. Peggy caught her breath at the suddenness of the thing, and colored also. “Peggy, Peggy,” she chided herself reproachfully. “Thee should not have spoke about thy frock. No doubt the lad deemed it duty to say something of the kind to thee. ’Twas not seemly in thee. And how shall I answer him?” She was saved the necessity of a reply, however, by Mr. Washington, who said: “You are quite well acquainted with the general and his wife, Hannah tells me, Miss Peggy. If ’twould please you to see something of the estate I will take you about a little in the morning before you start. You should see something of the place while you are in these parts.” “Oh, I should be pleased,” cried Peggy her animation returning at this. “Thee is very kind, sir.” “The pleasure will be mine,” was the courteous reply. And so it happened that Peggy rose betimes the next morning, but early as she deemed it Mr. Washington was awaiting her. He had a little pony saddled and bridled ready for her to mount. “We will have time for a short look about before breakfast,” he said kindly. “’Tis my custom to ride to all the farms through the day, as the general does when he is home. ’Twould take too long for us to do that, but you can form an idea of the extent of the plantation by this détour.” Thanking him Peggy mounted, and they set off at a brisk pace. All trace of the storm had passed save a dewy freshness of the air, and the wetness of the grass. The sun was shining with all the warmth and brightness of an April day in Virginia. The birds were twittering amid the new-born leaves, and the hyacinths and tulips were coming to their glory in the gardens. The smiles of cultivation were on every hand, and the air was heavy with the perfume of growing things after a rain. The grounds in the immediate vicinity of the mansion were laid out in the English taste, Mr. Washington told her. The estate itself consisted of ten thousand acres which were apportioned into farms, devoted to different kinds of culture, each having its allotted laborers. Much, however, was still wild woodland, seamed with deep dells and runs of water, and indentured with inlets; haunts of deer and lurking places of foxes. The whole woody region along the Potomac with its forest and range of hills afforded sports of various kinds, and was a noble hunting ground.