"O war!--what, what art thou?
At once the proof and scourge of man's fallen state."
--HANNAH MORE.
Richard Allison had gone to Lansdale for his bride a fortnight ago; they
were now taking their bridal trip and expected to reach Elmgrove a day or
two before the wedding of May and Harry Duncan. The latter would bring
Aunt Wealthy with him, and leave her for a short visit among her friends.
Sophie's mother and sister-in-law, Mrs. Carrington, and Lucy Ross, came
earlier, arriving only two days after our party from Europe.
There was great pleasure, yet mingled with profound sadness, in the
meeting of these old and dear friends. Lucy and her mother were in deep
mourning, and in Mrs. Carrington's countenance Christian resignation
blended with heart-breaking sorrow; grief and anxiety had done the work of
a score of years, silvering her hair and ploughing deep furrows in the
face that five years ago was still fresh and fair.
Mr. Travilla had taken wife and children for a morning drive, and on their
return, Adelaide, meeting them at the door, said to her niece, "They have
come, they are in Mrs. Carrington's dressing-room; and she begs that you
will go and meet her there. She has always loved you so dearly, and I
know is longing for your sympathy.
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