th. Of all the young ladies
Paul could at that moment remember having seen, she was the most
exquisitely clad; the folds of her gown fell about her form like the
drapery of a statue; he was fascinated from the first moment of their
meeting. He noticed that nothing about her was ever disarranged; neither
was there anything superfluous or artificial, in manner or dress. She
was in his opinion an entirely artistic creation. She met him with a
perfectly frank smile, as if she were an old friend suddenly discovering
herself to him, and when Harry English had placed the hand of this
delightful person in one of Paul's she at once withdrew the other, which
Mrs. English fondly held, and struck it in a hearty half-boyish manner
upon their clasped hands, saying, "Awfully glad to see you, Paul!" and
she evidently meant it.

This was Miss. Juno, an American girl bred in Europe, now, after years
of absence, passing a season in her native land. Her parents, who had
taken a country home in one of the California valleys, found in their
only child all that was desirable in life. This was not to be wondered
at; it may be said of her in the theatrical parlance that she "filled
the stage." When Miss. Juno dawned upon the scene the children grew
grave, and, after a little delay, having taken formal leave of the
company, they entered their carriage and were rapidly driven homeward.

If Paul and Miss. Juno had been formed for one another and were now, at
the right moment and under the most favorable auspices, brought
together for the first time, they could not have mated more naturally.
If Miss. Juno had been a young man, instead of a very charming woman,
she would of course have been Paul's chum. If Paul had been a young
woman--some of his friends thought he had narrowly escaped it and did
not hesitate to say so--he would instinctively have become her
confidante. As it was, they promptly entered into a sympathetic
friendship which seemed to have been without beginning and was
apparently to be without end.

They began to talk of the same things at the same moment, often uttering
the very same words and then turned to one another with little shouts of
unembarrassed laughter. They agreed upon all points, and aroused each
other to a ridiculous pitch of enthusiasm over nothing in particular.

Harry English beamed; there was evidently nothing wanted to complete his
happiness. Mrs. English, her eyes fairly dancing with delight, could
only exclai