Moreover, for Mrs.
Lansing had many friends, the figures scattered about the lawn--young men and women in light summer attire--enhanced the attractiveness of the surroundings.

They were nice people, with pleasant English ways; and George contrasted them with the rather grim, aggressive plainsmen among whom he would presently have to live: men who toiled in the heat, half naked, and who would sit down to meals with him in dusty, unwashed clothes.

He was not a sybarite, but he preferred the society of Mrs.
Lansing's guests.
After a while she beckoned him, and they leaned upon the terrace wall side by side.

She was a good-natured, simple woman, with strongly domestic habits and conventional views.
"I'm glad Herbert has got away from business for a few days," she began.

"He works too hard, and it's telling on him.