“Ah yes, thank you—so it was Tredegar. Well, I saw a young fellow of the name of Tredegar, who told me where to find you; and so I drove back to Mivart’s as fast as ever I could—and how those Hansom cabs can fly over the ground!—and I changed my Hansom for a four wheeler, and just giving Nan time to put on her finery, I took her and her mother in and drove here!” exclaimed the visitor, eagerly talking himself out of breath, and briskly wiping his face with his pocket-handkerchief. “And we are all so charmed to see you. We never had a more complete surprise, or a more delightful one,” said Anna. And all her party cordially assented to her words. “I hope you did not have to wait for us long,” said Dick, anxiously. “Two mortal hours, I tell you, at the risk of being turned out every minute, too.” “How was that?” quickly inquired the General. “Why, you see, first of all, that fellow in the white neckcloth and napkin told me somewhat shortly that neither General Lyon nor any of his party were at home.” “‘I know that, because they are here,’ I answered. “‘But they are not in, sir,’ he replied. “‘Then we will wait till they are,’ I rejoined. “‘They’ll not be here, till five o’clock,’ he added. “‘All right. We will sit down and make ourselves comfortable until that hour,’ I remarked. “‘That’s the General’s dinner hour,’ growled the fellow. “‘Which is extremely lucky, as we can dine with him,’ concluded I. “The fellow looked as if he suspected me of being the confidence man, and meditated calling in the police. However he contented himself with beckoning to an under waiter, jerking his thumb over his shoulder in my direction, and muttering something very like an order to the other one not to lose sight of me. And so he or the other fellow kept an eye on me all the while.” “The insolent scoundrel!” exclaimed General Lyon, indignantly. “Not at all. He was an honest fellow—had your interest at heart and looked after it. How did he know but I might have walked off with the piano?” answered the visitor, patting his host on the shoulder to soothe down his anger, and adding, “I know I, for one, looked like a suspicious party, in my weather-beaten sea-suit. And just see what an old-fashioned bonnet my wife wears; and as for Nanny, I have a painful impression that she is overdressed,” he sighed, glancing from the rich, light-blue taffeta gown, and white silk mantle and bonnet of Miss Seymour’s costume to the plain grays that formed the street dress of the other ladies. “Miss Nanny is charming in any style,” said the General, gallantly, bowing to the mortified girl. “However,” continued Colonel Seymour, “I was anxious to see you all, so I waited. I suppose if we had been fashionable folks we should have left our cards and gone away; but being plain people, we preferred to wait for your return. So here we are, and here you are! We expected to see you, but you didn’t expect to see us, did you now?”