ance music in a florid manner,
resembling her taste in dress. The younger children had gone home, and
the hall was filled with spinning couples.

"I hope we are to have some national dances," said Miss Temperley. "My
brother and I are both looking forward to seeing a true reel danced by
natives of the country."

"Oh, certainly!" said Mr. Fullerton. "My daughters are rather celebrated
for their reels, especially Hadria." Mr. Fullerton executed a step or
two with great agility.

"The girl gets quite out of herself when she is dancing," said Mrs.
Fullerton. "She won't be scolded about it, for she says she takes after
her father!"

"That's the time to get round her," observed Fred. "If we want to set
her up to some real fun, we always play a reel and wait till she's well
into the spirit of the thing, and then, I'll wager, she would stick at
nothing."

"It's a fact," added Ernest. "It really seems to half mesmerise her."

"How very curious!" cried Miss Temperley.

She and her brother found themselves watching the dancing a little apart
from the others.

"I would try again to-night, Hubert," she said in a low voice.

He was silent for a moment, twirling the tassel of the curtain.

"There is nothing to be really alarmed at in her ideas, regrettable as
they are. She is young. That sort of thing will soon wear off after she
is married."

Temperley flung away the tassel.

"She doesn't know what she is talking about. These high-flown lectures
and discussions have filled all their heads with nonsense. It will have
to be rooted out when they come to face the world. No use to oppose her
now. Nothing but experience will teach her. She must just be humoured
for the present. They have all run a little wild in their notions. Time
will cure that."

"I am sure of it," said Hubert tolerantly. "They don't know the real
import of what they say." He hugged this sentence with satisfaction.

"They are like the young Russians one reads about in Turgenieff's
novels," said Henriette--"all ideas, no common-sense."

"And you really believe----?"

Henriette's hand was laid comfortingly on her brother's arm.

"Dear Hubert, I know something of my sex. After a year of married life,
a woman has too many cares and responsibilities to trouble about ideas
of this kind, or of any other."

"She strikes me as being somewhat persistent by nature," said Hubert,
choosing a gentler word than _obstinate_ to describe the quality in the
lady of