idn't know who I
was. They stood together by the fireplace and carried on a
conversation in low tones.

How shall I describe them? The elder of the two, the one who seemed to
possess all the authority, could not have been more than twenty. Her
figure was rather matured, yet it was delicate. Her hair was tawny,
her skin olive in shade and richly tinted at the cheek-bones. Her
eyes, half framed by thick, black-arching brows, reminded me of
woodland pools in the dusk of evening,--depths unknown, cool,
refreshing in repose. The chin was resolute, the mouth was large but
shapely and brilliant, the nose possessed the delicate nostrils
characteristic of all sensitive beings--that is to say, thoroughbreds;
altogether a confusing, bewildering beauty. At one moment I believed
her to be Latin, at the next I was positive that she was Teutonic. I
could not discover a single weak point, unless impulsiveness shall be
called weakness; this sign of impulsiveness was visible in the lips.

The other--well, I couldn't help it. It was _Kismet_, fate, the turn
in the road, what you will. I fell heels over head in love with her at
once. She was charming, exquisite, one of those delicate creatures who
always appear in enchantments; a Bouguereau child grown into womanhood,
made to fit the protecting frame of a man's arms. Love steals into the
heart when we least expect him; and before we are aware, the sly little
god has unpacked his trunk and taken possession!

Eyes she had as blue as the Aegean Sea on windy days, blue as the
cloud-winnowed sky of a winter's twilight, blue as sapphires--Irish
eyes! Her hair was as dark and silken as a plume from the wings of
night. (Did I not say that I had some poetry in my system?) The shape
of her mouth--Never mind; I can recall only the mad desire to kiss it.
A graceful figure, a proud head, a slender hand, a foot so small that I
wondered if it really poised, balanced or supported her young body.
Tender she must be, and loving, enclitical rather than erect like her
authoritative companion. She was adorable.

All this inventory of feminine charms was taken by furtive glances,
sometimes caught--or were they taking an inventory of myself?
Presently my appetite became singularly submissive. Hunger often is
satisfied by the feeding of the eyes. I dropped my napkin on the table
and pushed back my chair. My hostesses ceased conversing.

"Ladies," said I courteously, "I offer you my sincere