have never thought you stupid, Mr. Hendrickson."

"I am dull at times," he said, hesitating, and slightly confused.
"Good morning!" he added, abruptly, and turned off without another
look into the eyes that were upon him; and in which he would have
read more than his heart had dared to hope for.

"What a boor!" exclaimed Dexter as Miss Loring returned to the
parlor.

"Oh, no, not a boor, sir. Far, very far from that," answered the
young lady promptly.

"Well, you don't call him a gentleman, do you?"

"I have seen nothing that would rob him of the title," said Miss
Loring.

"A true gentleman will put on a gentlemanly exterior; for he is
courteous by instinct--and especially when ladies are present. A
true gentleman, moreover, is always at his ease. Self-possession is
one of the signs of a well bred man. Hendrickson is not well bred.
Any one who has been at all in society, can perceive this at a
glance. Did you notice how he played with his watch chain; crossed
his legs in sitting; took out his pencil case, and moved the slide
noisily backwards and forwards; ran his fingers through his hair;
exhibited his pocket-handkerchief half-a-dozen times in as many
minutes, and went through sundry other performances of which no well
bred man is guilty? I marvel, that a young lady of your refinement
can offer a word of apology for such things. I see in it only
kindness of heart; and this shall be your excuse."

So gaily were the closing sentences uttered; yet with so manifest a
regard softening the final words, that Miss Loring's rising anger
against the young man, went down and was extinguished in a pleasing
consciousness of being an object of marked favor by one whose
external attractions, at least, were of the highest order.

"But the subject is not agreeable to either of us, Miss Loring,"
said Dexter in a voice pitched to a lower tone, and with a softer
modulation. "I did not expect to find a visitor here at so early an
hour; and I fear that I have permitted myself to experience just a
shade of annoyance. If I have seemed ill-natured, pardon me. It is
not my nature to find fault, or to criticise. I rather prefer
looking upon the bright side. Like Sir Joshua Reynolds, 'I am a wide
liker.' There are times, you know, in which we are all tempted to
act in a way that gives to others a false impression of our real
characters."

"No one is more conscious of that than I am," replied Miss Loring.
"Indeed, it seems often, as i