As Celestina's nephew
and Willie's guest he had credentials enough to assure him of a
welcome, and for an interval these sufficed to give him an enviable
entree; but after a few calls, his winning personality secured for him
a place of his own. He inspected Captain Phineas Taylor's broken
compass and set it right; he discussed rheumatism and its woes with
Captain Benjamin Todd; he lent an attentive ear to the nautical
adventures of Captain Jonas Baker. Abbie, who was a systematic
housekeeper, approved of his habit of wiping his feet before he entered
the door and the careful fashion he had of replacing any chair he
moved; most men, she averred, were so thoughtless and untidy. But it
was with Zenas Henry that the young man won his greatest triumph, the
two immediately coming into harmony on the common ground of
motor-boating. Most of the male visitors who dropped in at the white
cottage came only to see Delight, but here was one who came to call on
the entire family. How charming it was! They liked him one and all;
how could they help it? And soon, so eagerly did they anticipate his
coming, any lapse in his visits caused keen disappointment.
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