of the many unrecognised celebrities, was followed by a thrill of
joy, as Grizel rushed forward with friendly _empressement_.

"Grizel Dundas, by all that is charming! And who brought _you_ here,
dear person?" enquired the tall lady warmly, at which question Grizel's
eyes turned upon Katrine, with a twinkling gleam. One hand still rested
on her friend's arm, pressing upon it as with a special significance;
with the other she made a sweeping gesture of introduction.

"I drove over from Cumly. I am staying with my friends, the Martin
Beverleys. Let me introduce you... This is Miss Beverley, and she has
been lamenting all afternoon that she does not know Who's Who, and is
surrounded by celebrities, whom she can't recognise. Now she's going to
have a treat. Providence has been kind in sending you to our aid, for
you are one of her special heroines. Prepare yourself, Katrine! You
_are_ a lucky girl! If you've had to wait, you've got a big catch at
the end... Guess what is the name of this fine, this very fine, this
superfine lady whom you now behold before you."

Katrine smiled, blushed, waited, agape with curiosity; so--it would have
appeared to the eye of a beholder--did the superfine lady also. Grizel
gave another sweep of the small gloved hand, and pronounced a name in a
tone of triumph:

"Mrs--Humphrey Ward!"

"Oh-h!" an irresistible exclamation burst from Katrine's lips, her
attitude became on the moment instinct with deference, with the most
transparent and whole-hearted adulation. The lady on her part cast a
rapid glance at Grizel, from Grizel to Katrine, simpered, attitudinised,
and gently coughed.

"So pleased!" she murmured softly. "So happy; so _braced_! In the
midst of this alien throng to meet a Kindred Soul,--that is refreshment
indeed!" She held Katrine's hand between both of her own, gazing at her
with a fond affection. "Tell me, dear; I am so pining to know,--_which_
of my books do you cherish most?"

That "cherish" struck a jarring note, but Katrine's answer came none the
less promptly. She had no hesitation in pronouncing her preference for
_Eleanor_; it was her hearer who for a moment looked blank and vague.

"Ah-h!" she said thoughtfully, then with a sudden radiant smile, "I call
her Nellie! We mothers have pet names for our children. Dear little
Nell! She was a sweet thing. Hard on her, wasn't it, while still so
young? So dear of you to love her... Well, dear, I shall al