n a manner satisfactory to the owner of the house, for Miss
Dunstable answered with her kindest smiles, and in that genial, happy
tone of voice which gave its peculiar character to her good humour:
"She is quite convinced that you are a mere plagiarist in what you
are doing," said Mrs. Harold Smith, speaking of Mrs. Proudie.

"And so I am. I don't suppose there can be anything very original
nowadays about an evening party."

"But she thinks you are copying her."

"And why not? I copy everybody that I see, more or less. You did not
at first begin to wear big petticoats out of your own head? If Mrs.
Proudie has any such pride as that, pray don't rob her of it. Here's
the doctor and the Greshams. Mary, my darling, how are you?" and in
spite of all her grandeur of apparel, Miss Dunstable took hold of
Mrs. Gresham and kissed her--to the disgust of the dozen and a half
of the distinguished fashionable world who were passing up the stairs
behind. The doctor was somewhat repressed in his mode of address
by the communication which had so lately been made to him. Miss
Dunstable was now standing on the very top of the pinnacle of wealth,
and seemed to him to be not only so much above his reach, but also so
far removed from his track in life, that he could not in any way put
himself on a level with her. He could neither aspire so high nor
descend so low; and thinking of this he spoke to Miss Dunstable as
though there were some great distance between them,--as though there
had been no hours of intimate friendship down at Greshamsbury. There
had been such hours, during which Miss Dunstable and Dr. Thorne had
lived as though they belonged to the same world: and this at any rate
may be said of Miss Dunstable, that she had no idea of forgetting
them.

Dr. Thorne merely gave her his hand, and then prepared to pass on.

"Don't go, doctor," she said; "for heaven's sake, don't go yet. I
don't know when I may catch you if you get in there. I shan't be able
to follow you for the next two hours. Lady Meredith, I am so much
obliged to you for coming--your mother will be here, I hope. Oh, I am
so glad! From her you know that is quite a favour. You, Sir George,
are half a sinner yourself, so I don't think so much about it."

"Oh, quite so," said Sir George; "perhaps rather the largest half."

"The men divide the world into gods and giants," said Miss Dunstable.
"We women have our divisions also. We are saints or sinners according
to our p