ce
without waiting for me to introduce him, which I was so counting upon
doing to-morrow morning. Already he groans and totters under the
weight of obligations I 've heaped upon him. I wanted to add one
more--and now he 's gone and circumvented me."

"You will add one more if you 'll be so good as to introduce me to Miss
Sandus," said Anthony.

And when the introduction was accomplished, he proceeded to make
himself as agreeable to that lady as he possibly could. In the first
place, he liked her appearance, he liked her brisk, frank manner; and
then, is n't it always well to have a friend near the rose?

The result was that when she and Susanna were alone, Miss Sandus
succinctly remarked, "My dear, your cousin is a trump."

X

The shadows were long, as he and Adrian strolled back to Craford Old
Manor.

"Well, now, Truepenny," Adrian began, "now that you 've met her, speak
out, and tell me on your heart and conscience how she impresses you."

"She seems all right," was Anthony's temperate reply.

"_All right_?" cried Adrian, looking scorn and pity. "My dear
Malaprop, she 's just simply the nicest person of her sex within the
confines of the Solar System. She is to other women what--well, I 'll
name no names--what somebody I _could_ name is to other men. And with
such eyes--hey? Are they bright? Are they sharp? Are they trusty?
Are they knowing?"

"I expect she can see with them," said Anthony.

"_See_ with them," Adrian sniffed. "I 'll tell you what she can
do--she can see round a corner with them. And then such pretty little
ears, besides. Did you notice her ears?"

"I noticed she was n't earless," Anthony admitted.

"_Earless_," cried Adrian. "Her ears are like roses and white lilies.
Earless, says he. I 'll bet three-halfpence you 'll presently be
denying that she 's witty."

"She seems witty enough," assented Anthony.

"_Witty_," Adrian scoffed, cutting a caper to signify his disdain for
the weak expression. "Witty is n't the word for it. And then, with
all her years, she 's so _young_, is n't she? She breathes the fresh,
refreshing savour of an unspoiled soul."

"Yes, she's young--for the time being," Anthony agreed. "By the bye,
do you know where she comes from?"

"_Do_ I know? I should rather think I know," said Adrian, swaggering.
"She has n't a secret from me. She comes from Westmoreland. They 're
an old Westmoreland family. But she lives in Kensington. She has o