ur which most
touches some women. In Gloria's opinion, he even had much of their
appearance, being tall, thin, and dark. Accustomed as she was to living
with her father, who was gloomy and morose, and to seeing much of Paul
Griggs, whose powers of silence were phenomenal at that time, Reanda's
easy grace of conversation charmed and flattered her. He was, by many
degrees, the superior in talent, in charm, in learning, to any one she
had ever met, and it must not be forgotten that although he was twenty
years older than she, he was not yet forty, and that, as he had not a
grey hair in his head, he could still pass for a young man, though his
grave disposition made him feel older than he was. Of the three
melancholic men in whose society she chiefly lived, her father was
selfish and morose; Griggs was gentle, but silent and incomprehensible,
though he exerted an undoubted influence over her; Reanda alone, though
naturally melancholy, was at once gentle, companionable, and talkative
with her.

Dalrymple accepted the intimacy with indifference and even with a
certain satisfaction. In his reflexions, he characterized Reanda as a
rare combination of the great artist and the gentleman. Since Gloria had
known him she had grown more quiet. She admired him and imitated his
manner. It was a good thing. He was glad, too, that Reanda was not
married, for it would have been a nuisance, thought Dalrymple, to have
the man's wife always about and expecting to be amused.

It began to occur to him that Reanda might be falling in love with
Gloria, and he did not resent the idea. In fact, though at first sight
it should have seemed strange to an Englishman, he looked upon the idea
with favour. He wished to live out his life in Italy, for he had got
that fierce affection for the country which has overcome and bound many
northern men, from Sir John Hawkwood to Landor and Browning. Though he
did not love Gloria, he was attached to her in his own way, and did not
wish to lose sight of her altogether. But, in consequence of his own
irregular marriage, he could not marry her to a man of his own rank in
Rome, who would not fail to make inquiries about her mother. It was most
natural that he should look upon such a man as Reanda with favour.
Reanda had many good qualities. Dalrymple's judgment was generally keen
enough about people, and he had understood that such a woman as Donna
Francesca Campodonico would certainly not make a personal friend of