face on his
shoulder.

"Poor child, it is a shame to tease her," said her father, raising up
her face; "I only wanted to know which of them you would wish to put on
the ring again. I see. You need not be afraid, you shall have the ruby
one. But as for the little gold one, wait for that till it is put on in
church, my dear. Ah! and there's the flutter of his wings, or rather the
rattle of his spurs. Now then, young people, you shall not be hindered
from a full view of each others lineaments. It is the first time you
ever had a real sight of each other, neither of you being in a swoon, is
it not? I trust you do not repent upon further acquaintance. Aurelia got
as far as the shoe-buckles once, I believe."

"She will get no farther this time, sir, if you annihilate her with your
pleasantry," said Betty, fully convinced by this time.

"Ah! young Love has made himself more dazzling than ever," continued
the Major, too delighted to be stopped. "The fullest dress uniform, I
declare; M. le Capitaine is bent on doing honour to the occasion."

"Would that it were on for no other reason, sir," said Sir Amyas; "but
the King and Queen have taken it into their heads to go off to Kew and
here am I under orders to command the escort. I verily believe it is all
spite on the Colonel's part, for Russell would have exchanged the turn
with me, but he sent down special orders for me. I have but half an hour
to spend here, and when I shall be able to get back again Heaven only
knows."

However, he and Aurelia were permitted to improve that half hour to the
utmost in their own way, while the Major and Betty were reading a long
and characteristic letter from Mrs. Arden, inquiring certainly for
her sister's fate, but showing far more solicitude in proving that she
(Harriet Arden) had acted a wise, prudent, and sisterly part, and that
it was most unreasonable and cruel to treat her as accountable for her
sister's disappearance. It was really making her quite ill, and Mr.
Arden was like a man--so disagreeable about it.

Betty was very glad this epistle had not come till it was possible to
laugh at it. She would have sat down to reply to it at once, had not a
billet been brought in from the widow of one of her father's old brother
officers who had heard of his being in town, and begged him to bring his
daughter to see her, excusing herself for not waiting on Miss Delavie,
as she was very feeble and infirm.

It was a request that could not be