evening of the morrow. Her
visit was an era in the life of poor Mrs. Hudson, who did nothing but
make sudden desultory allusions to her, for the next thirty-six hours.
"To think of her being a foreigner!" she would exclaim, after much
intent reflection, over her knitting; "she speaks so beautifully!"
Then in a little while, "She was n't so much dressed as you might have
expected. Did you notice how easy it was in the waist? I wonder if that
's the fashion?" Or, "She 's very old to wear a hat; I should never dare
to wear a hat!" Or, "Did you notice her hands?--very pretty hands for
such a stout person. A great many rings, but nothing very handsome. I
suppose they are hereditary." Or, "She 's certainly not handsome, but
she 's very sweet-looking. I wonder why she does n't have something
done to her teeth." Rowland also received a summons to Madame Grandoni's
tea-drinking, and went betimes, as he had been requested. He was eagerly
desirous to lend his mute applause to Mary Garland's debut in the Roman
social world. The two ladies had arrived, with Roderick, silent and
careless, in attendance. Miss Blanchard was also present, escorted by
Mr. Leavenworth, and the party was completed by a dozen artists of both
sexes and various nationalities. It was a friendly and easy assembly,
like all Madame Grandoni's parties, and in the course of the evening
there was some excellent music. People played and sang for Madame
Grandoni, on easy terms, who, elsewhere, were not to be heard for the
asking. She was herself a superior musician, and singers found it a
privilege to perform to her accompaniment. Rowland talked to various
persons, but for the first time in his life his attention visibly
wandered; he could not keep his eyes off Mary Garland. Madame Grandoni
had said that he sometimes spoke of her as pretty and sometimes as
plain; to-night, if he had had occasion to describe her appearance, he
would have called her beautiful. She was dressed more than he had ever
seen her; it was becoming, and gave her a deeper color and an ampler
presence. Two or three persons were introduced to her who were
apparently witty people, for she sat listening to them with her
brilliant natural smile. Rowland, from an opposite corner, reflected
that he had never varied in his appreciation of Miss Blanchard's classic
contour, but that somehow, to-night, it impressed him hardly more
than an effigy stamped upon a coin of low value. Roderick could not be
accuse