ITHE MESCHIANZA -AND LOVE-MAKINGIT is a bright day of May, in the year of grace 1778,' and in the year of American independence 2. Yet no one who is abroad this sunny morning in the tree-lined streets of Philadelphia sees much sign of an independence which defies the power of Great Britain, the former mistress and mother of all the thirteen colonies. For the sober town, once the stronghold of the drab-coated Quaker, is filled with gayly-dressed English officers, resplendent in red cloth and gold lace, while burly privates and lusty sailors, all wearing the uniforms of His Majesty, King George, strut proudly here and there, as they hail some passing tradesman or turn an admiring glance upon a demure maiden who watches them from the vantage of her father's door-step. Surely there are no indications in this display of royal power that America is free to govern herself.Every one in Philadelphia knows, indeed, that Washington and his half-starved, half-naked troops have been having Table of Contents CONTENTS; PAGE; I THE MESCHIANZA - AND LOVE-MAK-; ING: A STORY OF OLD PHILADELPHIA ii; II PEASANT AND PATRICIAN : IN COLO-; NIAL BOSTON - 35; III WAR AND FLIRTATION : MISS WISTER; AT PENLLYN - - - - 55; IV A BELLE OF DELAWARE : MISS VINING,; OF WILMINGTON AND DOVER - 85; V A DISAPPOINTMENT IN LOVE: LEG-; ENDS FROM VIRGINIA - - 101; VI CONSPIRACIES AND CUPID: NEW; YORK AND HER ROYAL GOVERNORS 119; VII BORN TO BE A REBEL: A PRETTY; BOSTONIAN - - - - 147; 7; CONTENTS; VIII EDWIN FORREST'S FIRST LOVE : NEW; ORLEANS IN THE "TWENTIES" - 163; IX AN UNCOMPROMISING TORY : NORTH; CAROLINA AND LOYALISM - 183; X THE GHOSTS OF GRAEME PARK : A; PENNSYLVANIA ROMANCE - - 201; XI WASHINGTON AS A WOOER : SWEET-; HEARTS IN VIRGINIA AND NEW YORK219; XII A QUAKER TRANSFORMED : THE LEAD-; ER OF WASHINGTON SOCIETY awAbout the Publisher Forgotten Books i