"'You remember Fanny,' he said to them; and then left me, and devoted
himself to the courteous duties of the hour. While I was indulging in
a quiet chat with a very kind old friend, she proposed to go with me
to look at the dancers, as the music was remarkably fine, and it was
thought the collected beauty and fashion of the evening would make
a very brilliant show. We left our seats, accordingly, but were soon
engaged in the crowd, and while waiting for an opportunity to move on, I
heard one of my young men ask another,

"'How do you like _la cousine_?'

"I lost a part of the answer, but heard the closing words
distinctly--'_et un peu passee._' '_Oui, decidement!_' was the prompt
response, and a light laugh followed, while, shrinking close to my kind
friend, I rejoiced that my short stature concealed me from observation.
I was not very well taught, but, like most school-girls, I had a
smattering of French, and I knew the meaning of the very ordinary
phrases that had been used with regard to me. Before the supper-hour, my
headache became so severe that I was glad to take refuge in my own room.
There I consulted my mirror, and felt disposed to forgive, the young
critics for their disparaging remarks. _Passee!_ I looked twenty-five at
least, and yet I was not eighteen, and six months before I had fancied
myself a beauty and an heiress!

"But I will not weary you with details. Suffice it to say; that I
spent only three months of this kind of life, and then relinquished
the protection of Mr. and Mrs. Somers, and removed to a second-rate
boarding-house, where I attempted to maintain myself by giving lessons
in music. Every day, however, convinced me of my unfitness for this
task, and, as I soon felt an interest in the sweet little girls who
looked up to me for instruction, my position with regard to them became
truly embarrassing. One day I had been wearying myself by attempting
the impossible task of making clear to another mind, ideas that lay
confusedly in my own, and at last I said to my pupil,

"'You may go home now, Clara, dear, and practise the lesson of
yesterday. I am really ill to-day, but to-morrow I shall feel better,
and I hope I shall then be able to make you understand me.'

"The child glided out, but a shadow still fell across the carpet. I
looked up, and saw in the doorway a young man, whose eccentricities
sometimes excited a smile among his fellow-boarders, but who was much
respected for his sense an