ape; conscious
also of the passionate joy which often thrills the nerves of Italy's
lovers when they find them selves, after long years of waiting, upon
that classic ground, she had for the time put away the thoughts that
caused her perplexity, and abandoned herself to the sweet influences of
the time and place.

The Daltons had been in Italy since May, and she had seen a great deal
of Edith. Brooke Dalton had sometimes gone off on an expedition by
himself, but more frequently he danced attendance on the women; and
Lettice had found out that when he was absent she had a great deal more
of him than when he was present. So much had Edith and Mrs. Hartley to
say about him, so warmly did they praise his manners, his appearance,
his manly and domestic virtues, and his enviable position in the world,
that in course of time she knew all his good points by heart. She had
actually found herself the day before, more as a humorous exercise of
memory than for any other reason, jotting them down in her diary.

"B. D.--_testibus_ E. D. et M. H.

"He is handsome, has a manly figure, a noble head, blue eyes, chestnut
hair (it is turning grey--L. C.), a dignified presence, a look that
shows he respects others as much as himself.

"He is truthful, simple in tastes, easily contented, lavishly generous
(that I know--L. C.), knows his own mind (that I doubt--L. C.), is fond
of reading (?), a scholar (??), with a keen appreciation of literature
(???).

"He has one of the most delightful mansions in England (as I know--L.
C.), with gardens, conservatories, a park, eight thousand a year.

"He is altogether an enviable man, and the woman who marries him will be
an enviable woman (a matter of opinion--L. C.), and he is on the
look-out for a wife (how would he like to have that said of him?--L.
C.)."

Lettice had sportively written this in her diary, and had scribbled it
out again; but it represented fairly enough the kind of ideas which
Brooke Dalton's sister and cousin had busily instilled into her mind.
The natural consequence was that she had grown somewhat weary of
listening to the praises of their hero, and felt disposed to consider
him as either much too superior to be thoroughly nice, or much too nice
to be all that his womenfolk described him.

Of some of his estimable qualities, however, she had had personal
experience; and, notably of his lavish generosity. A few days ago he had
taken them all to the shop of a dealer of old-f