ord, but this time without any dislike. She leaned over to him
and said rapidly in German, "I had unright when I said the Colonel was
the only man of the family. Thou canst, if thou willest, Eugene." To
which remark my lord only bowed.

"If you do not wish an old woman to go out at this hour of the night,
let William, at least, go and fetch his cousin," said the Baroness.

"The very thing I proposed to him."

"And so did we--and so did we!" cried the daughters in a breath.

"I am sure, I only wanted the dear Baroness's consent!" said their
mother, "and shall be charmed for my part to welcome our young
relative."

"Will! Put on thy pattens and get a lantern, and go fetch the
Virginian," said my lord.

"And we will have another bowl of punch when he comes," says William,
who by this time had already had too much. And he went forth--how we
have seen; and how he had more punch; and how ill he succeeded in his
embassy.

The worthy lady of Castlewood, as she caught sight of young Harry
Warrington by the river-side, must have seen a very handsome and
interesting youth, and very likely had reasons of her own for not
desiring his presence in her family. All mothers are not eager to
encourage the visits of interesting youths of nineteen in families where
there are virgins of twenty. If Harry's acres had been in Norfolk or
Devon, in place of Virginia, no doubt the good Countess would have been
rather more eager in her welcome. Had she wanted him she would have
given him her hand readily enough. If our people of ton are selfish, at
any rate they show they are selfish; and, being cold-hearted, at least
have no hypocrisy of affection.

Why should Lady Castlewood put herself out of the way to welcome the
young stranger? Because he was friendless? Only a simpleton could ever
imagine such a reason as that. People of fashion, like her ladyship, are
friendly to those who have plenty of friends. A poor lad, alone, from a
distant country, with only very moderate means, and those not as yet in
his own power, with uncouth manners very likely, and coarse provincial
habits; was a great lady called upon to put herself out of the way for
such a youth? Allons donc! He was quite as well at the alehouse as at
the castle.

This, no doubt, was her ladyship's opinion, which her kinswoman, the
Baroness Bernstein, who knew her perfectly well, entirely understood.
The Baroness, too, was a woman of the world, and, possibly, on occasion,
could b