then, by all means; there is at least one topic we can talk
over together."

Too happy to risk the success he had obtained by any further discussion,
Temple hurried away to give orders for the great man's reception. There
was a small suite of rooms which had been furnished with unusual care
and elegance when it was believed that Lady Augusta would have honored
Castello with her presence. Indeed, she had so far favored the belief as
to design some of the decorations herself, and had photographs taken
of the rooms and the furniture, as well as of the views which presented
themselves from the windows.

Though these rooms were on the second floor, they were accessible from
without by a carriage-drive, which wound gradually up among the terraced
gardens to a sort of plateau where a marble fountain stood, with a group
of Naiads in the midst, over whom a perpetual spray fell like a veil;
the whole surrounded with flowery shrubs and rare plants, sheltered from
east and north by a strong belt of trees, and actually imparting to the
favored spot the character of a southern climate and country.

As the gardener was careful to replace the exhausted or faded flowers
by others in full bloom, and as on every available day he displayed
here the richest treasures of his conservatory, there was something
singularly beautiful in the contrast of this foreground, glowing in
tropical luxuriance, with the massive forest-trees down below, and
farther in the distance the stern and rugged lines of the Mourne
Mountains, as they frowned on the sea.

Within doors, everything that wealth could contribute to comfort was
present, and though there was magnificence in the costly silk of
the hangings and the velvety richness of the carpets, the prevailing
impression was that it was enjoyment, not splendor, was sought
for. There were few pictures,--a Ruysdael over the fireplace in the
drawing-room, and two or three Cuyps,--placid scenes of low-lying
landscapes, bathed in soft sunsets. The doors were all hidden by heavy
curtains, and a sense of voluptuous snugness seemed the spirit of the
place.

The keys of this precious suite were in Marion's keeping, and as she
walked through the rooms with Temple, and expatiated on the reckless
expenditure bestowed on them, she owned that for any less distinguished
guest than the great diplomatist she would never have consented to their
being opened. Temple, however, was loud in his praises, went over his
high co