storm. No woman could receive his admiring glances
without that slight thrill and flutter of the heart which proves the
presence of a fascinating man. On the other hand the master--I liked to
think of him as such--was, as I have already intimated, commonplace in
appearance at the first glance, and save for his marvellous voice
distinguished for none of those graces which attract my sex. Perhaps it
would be more just to say that he sought to repress them rather than
that they did not exist, for when under the influence of enthusiasm for
his science his face was inspiring to look upon.

Such were the conclusions at which I arrived after sifting my
impressions. But never did my incapacity and dearth of knowledge appear
to me in a less complimentary light than at this time. I vowed again and
again to give myself up unreservedly to study, and first of all to
choose some special branch that would prevent my efforts from resulting
in merely desultory work. If so, what better field could I choose than
that in which there were fellow-workers already whom I knew, and with
whom I could sympathize? The more I thought about the subject the
stronger did the argument in favor of this selection appear. At last one
morning in an access of enthusiasm I sat down and wrote a note to Mr.
Spence, asking if he would be kind enough to call on me at his
leisure,--"on a matter of business," I added, so as to preclude any
possible misinterpretation on his part.

This was about a week after Miss Kingsley's tea. In the mean time I had
been to see Aunt Agnes twice, but had not found her at home. I was
curious to hear what Miss Kingsley would say concerning me, for I felt
by no means sure that her remarks would be wholly complimentary. Freely
as I blamed myself for my conceited notions at the time, regarding the
attentions of the two philosophers, I was not ready to absolve her from
the imputation of jealousy. It was difficult to explain her conduct on
any other ground, and I remembered what Mrs. Marsh had said as to tender
relations between her and Mr. Spence. Indeed, I felt some irritation
against her and a conviction that she was not likely to be altogether my
friend when we were not face to face. However, she had chosen to insert
my name in the next issue of the "Mercury" as having been present at a
small gathering at her "parlors" to meet "the distinguished scientist
and poet, Charles Liversage Spence,"--a notice which she doubtless
considered