se
it was not in her nature to be false. Besides, what right has a man with
a hundred a year to bind any woman to the prospect of the life of narrow
economies and privations such an income would necessarily entail?
And forthwith his admiration of Dolly became touched with pity,
and increased fourfold. _She_ was unselfish, at least, whatever her
affianced might be. Poor little soul! (It is a circumstance worthy of
note, because illustrative of the blindness of human nature, that
at this very moment Miss Dorothea Crewe was enjoying her quiet
_tete-a-tete_ with her lover wondrously, and would not have changed
places with any young lady in the kingdom upon any consideration
whatever.)

It is not at all to be wondered at that, in the absence of other
entertainment, Gowan drifted into a confidential chat with Mollie. She
was the sort of girl few people could have remained entirely indifferent
to. Her _naivete_ was as novel as her beauty, and her weakness, so to
speak, was her strength. Gowan found it so at least, but still it must
be confessed that Dolly was the chief subject of their conversation.

"You are very fond of your sister?" he said to the child.

Mollie nodded.

"Yes," she said, "I am very fond of her. We are all very fond of her.
Dolly 's the clever one of the family, next to Phil. She is n't afraid
of anybody, and things don't upset her. I wish I was like her. You ought
to see her talk to Lady Augusta, I believe she is the only person in the
world Lady Augusta can't patronize, and she is always trying to snub her
just because she is so cool. But it never troubles Dolly. I have seen
her sit and smile and talk in her quiet way until Lady Augusta could do
nothing but sit still and stare at her as if she was choked, with her
bonnet strings actually trembling."

Gowan laughed. He could imagine the effect produced so well, and it was
so easy to picture Dolly smiling up in the face of her gaunt patroness,
and all the time favoring her with a shower of beautiful little stabs,
rendered pointed by the very essence of artfulness. He decided that upon
the whole Lady Augusta was somewhat to be pitied.

"Dolly says," proceeded Mollie, "that she would like to be a beauty; but
if I was like her I should n't care about being a beauty."

"Ah!" said Gowan, unable to resist the temptation to try with a fine
speech,--"ah! it is all very well for _you_ to talk about not caring to
be a beauty."

It did not occur to him for an