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The guests of the Colonial Hotel arose briskly eachand untroubled sleep they dressed and hurried to breakfast after theclose connections Then each repaired to his favourite chair placed in the same spot on the wide veranda to wait for luncheon The etic sometimes took a wheel-chair for an hour and were pushed on the Boardwalk or attended an auction sale of antiques and curios, but mostly their lives were as placid and as eventful as those of the inuests of The Colonial had retired fros, the manufacture of woolens The families were all perfectly fa and histories, and although they came from diverse sections of the country they were for two e, supremely contented family In truth, they called themselves facetiously "The Happy Family," and in this way Mr Cone, who took an immense pride in them and in the fact that they returned to his hospitable roof sum, there were two branches of the "Family": those whose first season antedated 1900, and the "newcoht, or ten, or twelve summers at The Colonial They were all on the nized the distinction The original "Happy Faht-hand side of the wide veranda, while the "newcoood and there was a trifle less breeze than on the other

The less said of the "transients" the better The feho stumbled in did not stay unless by chance they were favourably known to one of the "permanents" Of course there was no rudeness ever--ular occupants when they find a stranger in the pew on SundaySometimes the transient stayed out his or her vacation, but usually he confided to the chauests were "doodledums" and "fossils" and found another hotel where the patrons, if less solid financially, were ed in the group of older patrons, as his aunt, Miss Mary Macpherson, had been co since 1897, and he himself from the time he wore curls and ruffled collars, or after his aunt had taken him upon the death of his parents

"Wallie," as he was called by everybody, as the one eligible man under sixty, was, in his way, as much of an asset to the hotel as the notoriously wealthy Mr Penrose Of an a disposition, he could always be relied upon to escort married women with mutinous husbands, and ladies who had none, mutinous or otherwise He enty-four, and, in appearance, a credit to any wo of the two hundred thousand it was known he would inherit from Aunt Mary, who now supported him