Excerpt: "Oh, Jo, such news! I don't know whether I'm pleased or not; but I do hope it will be for the best!" And so saying, the speaker, Mrs. Dennis, laid down the letter she had been reading and glanced at her husband, with a smile upon her lips and tears in her eyes. It was half-past eight on a fine September morning, and the Dennis family—comprised of Dr. Dennis, his wife, and three children, Edwin and Claude, aged eleven and nine respectively, and Poppy, a bright little maiden of eight—were seated at the breakfast-table. Four pairs of eyes turned curiously upon Mrs. Dennis as she spoke, and her husband hastened to inquire: "What is it, my dear? What is it you hope will be for the best? That is a letter from your brother, is it not?" "Yes, in which he informs me that he is going to be married again; and he wants us to have Freddy to stay with us for a few months whilst he and his bride are away on their wedding trip. Here, Jo—" and as she spoke Mrs. Dennis handed the letter to her husband— "read what he says for yourself."
