I could not have believed that a rag carpet could feast me so, and so content me; or that there could be such solace to the soul in wall-paper and framed lithographs, and bright-colored tidies and lamp-mats, and Windsor chairs, and varnished what-nots, with sea-shells and books and china vases on them, and the score of little unclassifiable tricks and touches that a woman's hand distributes about a home, which one sees without knowing he sees them, yet would miss in a moment if they were taken away.

The delight that was in my heart showed in my face, and the man saw it and was pleased; saw it so plainly that he answered it as if it had been spoken.
"All her work," he said, caressingly; "she did it all herself--every bit," and he took the room in with a glance which was full of affectionate worship.

One of those soft Japanese fabrics with which women drape with careful negligence the upper part of a picture-frame was out of adjustment.

He noticed it, and rearranged it with cautious pains, stepping back several times to gauge the effect before he got it to suit him.

Then he gave it a light finishing pat or two with his hand, and said: "She always does that.