“Thank Goodness, here we are at our own gate! And now we will drop the subject of music for the rest of the evening—Kitty, was the missing turkey-gobbler found?” inquired Mrs. Seymour of the girl who came to open the door. “Yes’m.” “And did the maids finish their task of carding?” “Yes’m.” “And did you keep the fire up in my room?” “Yes’m.” “That is right. The evenings are real chilly and damp for the time of year. Come in.” And the careful wife and mother led the way into the house. Richard Hammond was the first of the absentees to return to Old Lyon Hall. He came one afternoon, bringing with him a large packet of handsomely engraved wedding cards and a bundle of documents, all of which he placed in Drusilla’s charge to be delivered to General Lyon on the General’s arrival. Then he took leave of Drusilla, and went over to Hammond House to wait there until the return of his uncle and his betrothed. Two days afterwards, General Lyon and Anna came home. Anna was attended by a pair of dressmakers, and enriched with no end of finery. General Lyon was followed by a French cook and his apprentices. Richard Hammond came over to meet them, and consult over the latest improvements of the bridal programme. And now the business of preparation was accelerated. First, the wedding cards were sent out far and near. And the neighborhood, which was not prepared for the surprise, was electrified. Next the dressmakers, with every skilful needle-woman among the housemaids to help them, were set to work on the trousseau. Of the many dresses that had been made up for Anna’s marriage, the last November, most had never been worn and were now in their newest gloss; but they were not trimmed in the newest fashion, nor were they all suitable for summer wear; so those first dresses, had to be altered and newly trimmed, and many new dresses suitable for the season had to be made up. This kept all the feminine hands in the house very busy for a week. Drusilla’s skill, and taste, and willingness to help made her an invaluable assistant. Only a few days before the one set for the wedding was the new trousseau finished and packed up, and the new wedding dress and traveling dress completed and laid out. And now carpenters and upholsterers were brought down from town, and the house and grounds were fitted up and decorated for the happy occasion. The French cook and his assistants had the kitchen, the pantry, the cellar, the plate-closet, and the long dining-room, to themselves, and were up to their linen caps in business. “Well, it is a notable blessing that one cannot be bothered with this sort of thing very often, as one is not likely to be married more than half a dozen times in one’s life,” said Anna, who was, or affected to be, very much bored by all this bustle.