Mrs.Passford and Florry received him very kindly, but following the example of the head of the family, they spoke only of domestic affairs, and of the relations of the two families as they had been before the war.
Between the brothers Homer and Horatio Passford, even from their early boyhood, a remarkably strong fraternal affection had subsisted.

Both of them were high-toned men, and both of them had always been faithful in the discharge of every duty to God and man.

Each of them had a wife, a son and a daughter, and two happier families could not have been found on the face of the earth.

They were not only devoted to each other, each within its own circle, but the two families were as nearly one as it was possible to be.
Captain Horatio had formerly been a shipmaster, and had accumulated an immense fortune.

Homer was less fortunate in this respect, and his tastes were somewhat different from those of his brother.