but to no purpose. The poet was seized with an unaccountable fit of shyness, and after gazing a few moments walked away. His poem on Chalkley Hall appeared not long after, alluding to the missionary labours and good deeds of its first builder and breathing his spirit of inward peace, especially in the lines:

Beneath the arms

Of this embracing wood, a good man made
His home, like Abraham resting in the shade
Of Mamre's lonely plains.

Here, from his voyages on the stormy seas,
Weary and worn,

He came to meet his children and to bless
The Giver of all good in thankfulness
And praise for his return.

And hence this scene, in sunset glory warm,
Its woods around,

Its still stream winding on in light and shade,

Its soft, green meadows and its upland glade,
To me is holy ground.

Chalkley, though still owned by the Wetherill family, is no longer used by them as a place of residence because of the railroad encroachments. For some years it was turned over to the Country Week Association.

FRANKFORD

WALN

N the brighter days of Frankford, before the advent of a wave of industrialism cast its barren blight of ugliness over all the country roundabout, Waln Grove was one of the most beautiful seats of that district much favoured of old Philadelphians. Now the passenger in the trains for New York, as he speeds by Frankford station, can see the house to the east of the tracks, standing gaunt and dilapidated amid the stumps of mighty trees that once formed the grove from which the estate took its name.

Set on a rise in the midst of the surrounding green, the east windows of Waln Grove looked over a gently sloping level stretch of farming country to the Delaware, in the distance. The house itself consists of a square central part of three storeys with a hip roof and lower wings with octagon ends to the north and south. The west door, adorned with pilasters and pediment, opens into a great square hall that occupies the whole front of the house and is in reality an enormous living-room. A door in the back part communicates with what was the breakfast-room, and at one side of that, in no way connected with the entrance, is a little square hallway containing the staircase.

It is worth noting that in many of the old houses in the Philadelphia neighbourhood no stairway is visible from the principal entrance and frequently it is put in an

insignificant position shut off by doors from connexion with other parts of the first floor. It is possible that this arrangement may have been adopted to prevent all the heat in winter from going up the stair-well.

To one side of the great hall is the library occupying the entire lower part of the south wing-a most spacious apartment whose amply furnished shelves contained an unusually well-selected stock of books. At the north end there is a mantel of intricately carved white marble. In the corresponding wing on the north is the diningroom of the same size as the library. All along the east front runs a porch with a balcony on top, much in the fashion of some of the old southern houses. The square part of the house was built about 1772 and, like Cedar Grove, was used only as a shelter during the day when it suited the owner and his family to visit the plantation. As a matter of fact, that was almost daily during a part of the year. Later, when the curious prejudice that many city people entertained against sleeping in the country had ceased, the wings were built, and the family spent their entire time there during the summer months.

Here lived Robert Waln, a cousin of the volatile Nicholas, not gifted with the same sparkling sense of humour that always made that worthy a marked person, but possessed of sterling qualities of character buttressed by eminent ability, so that he wielded a wide influence in the community. In partnership with his cousin, Jesse Waln, he carried on an extensive business as merchant and importer, and in later life he also entered the manufacturing field, becoming deeply interested in cotton mills in Trenton and iron foundries at Phoenixville. His

shipping enterprises and his mills brought him a handsome income in addition to the substantial estate he had inherited from his father.

The mode of life and the extent of hospitality at Waln Grove were in keeping with the affluence of the family, and the estate invariably maintained contributed appreciably to the general social atmosphere of the city. It was truly an impressive sight to see the great family coach lumbering along the Frankford Road on its way to town. A coachman in purple livery in front of the long body, swinging on its leather straps, and two purple footmen standing on the post-board at the back presented a striking appearance indeed. Long after Robert Waln's death the wonted state and ceremony were maintained unchanged.

There are not a few people still living who well remember an old-fashioned bit of hospitality that was always practised at Waln Grove, but is nowadays, unfortunately, too rarely observed. When any one came to call, the butler was sure to appear in due season, resplendent in purple velvet livery, bearing a silver tray in solemn pomp on which were glasses of Madeira and a platter of cakes. The rite of wine and cakes has been largely supplanted by tea, which is all very delightful, but still one must admit that there are plenty of occasions when the ancient custom could be suitably followed.

But passing on from the courtly memories of resplendent butlers with trays of Madeira and cakes to refresh the afternoon caller, let us glance, for a moment, at the Sunday afternoon gatherings in summer when a large family connexion and a larger circle of friends made it

a frequent practice to visit Waln Grove, and their carriages and saddle horses might be seen tied to the trees at a distance from the house. This Sunday gathering was customary not only during Robert Waln's lifetime but as long as his descendants lived in the house. Nicholas, we may be sure, was often among the number, for in summer he had a little place not far away from his cousin's.

Whether it was on the occasion of some social affair at Waln Grove or elsewhere, it is impossible to say, but at all events Nicholas once met his match for repartee. A woman of fashion, whom he knew very well, was present-she was not a member of the Society of Friendsgorgeously arrayed in a new satin gown. Looking severely at her apparel, he remarked, "Humph! Satan within and satin without!" The lady addressed as promptly retorted, "And how can you help it, when old Nick's about?" to the great amusement of her auditors.

Robert Waln was, for several years, a member of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, and it has been said of him that "no man was more active in his day in all that related to civic or national progress." During the stirring period between 1790 and 1820, embracing the first years under the Federal Constitution and the War of 1812, he was frequently called upon to be present at various conferences in the State House, the old London Coffee House, and elsewhere, held to advance the interests of Philadelphia and the nation at large.

Apropos of the allusion to the Coffee House, a word should be said in regard to that picturesque institution of life in Colonial Philadelphia. What did not centre