is this? Come here and kiss me, my
girl. I am proud of you; I am delighted to think a daughter of mine is
going to make such a splendid match. Why don't you speak to her, my
dear?" addressing his wife, with some excitement. "Bless my
soul,--Lady Challoner, my plain little Mattie Lady Challoner! Is it
possible? Why, you were telling us, Archie, what a Croesus this Sir
Henry was, and how he had just bought quite a fine place for
himself."

"Mattie, come here." Her children could hardly recognize their
mother's voice, it was so broken, and the tears were running down her
cheeks, though not one of them remembered seeing her cry before.
Mattie never felt her triumph greater, never understood the
magnificence of her own success, until she saw those tears, and felt
the presence of her mother's arms round her. Never since the child
Mattie had had to make way for the new-born brother, and had toddled
away with the never-forgotten words, "Mammy's arms are full; no room
for Mattie now," had she laid her head upon that mother's shoulder to
indulge in the good cry that was needed to relieve her. Isabel looked
almost affronted as she twirled her diamond rings round her plump
fingers. When she and Ellis had been engaged, her mother had not made
all this fuss. And Mattie was such an old thing; and it was so
ridiculous; and her father seemed on the verge of crying too. "But
then," as Susie said afterwards, "Belle did not like her consequence
to be set aside; and she and Ellis were just nobodies at all."

No one enjoyed the scene so much as Archie: that was how his mother
ought to be with her girls. Nevertheless, he interrupted them
ruthlessly:

"Don't make your eyes too red, Mattie: remember who will be in by and
by." And as she started up at this and began to smooth her rumpled
hair, he explained to them generally that they had not travelled
alone; Sir Harry had accompanied them to Leeds, and was at present
dining, he believed at the Star Hotel, where he had bespoken a room.
"He thought it best to make himself known personally to you; and, as
Mattie raised no objection, he announced his intention of calling this
evening----" but before Archie could finish his sentence, or the
awe-struck domestic announce him properly, Sir Harry himself was among
them all, shaking hands with everybody, down to Dottie.

And, really, for a shy man he did his part very well: he seemed to
take his welcome for granted, and beamed on them all most genia