r--if any
fault there be--lies nearly always with the individual, and not with his
fellow-Christians. So, or not; religion is no matter of hand-shaking
and social smirks. The truth is that Henry had at last been touched by
that dread complaint of Self-importance, from which before he had
appeared to be immune.

A swelling head, from the contemplation of one's importance in the great
drama of life, and a heart swelling with thoughts of one young woman,
are two phenomena which make the bachelor days of all men remarkably
alike at one stage or another.

If "the youngest editor of any daily newspaper in England" (_vide_ the
_Fourth Estate_) let the church slide that Sunday morning, he devoted as
much care to his personal appearance as the least devout of ladies to
her Easter Sunday toilet. When he arrived at the Wintons, arrayed in a
well-fitting frock-coat and glossy silk hat, there was no least
lingering trace of the outward Henry we knew of old.

The dinner was very daintily served indeed; there was a touch of
pleasant luxury about the meal which contrasted most favourably with the
homely cuisine of Hampton Bagot, to say nothing of his lonely bachelor
dinners. He knew that the hand which had set this table and
superintended that meal was Flo's, and assured himself he was on the
right tack. What a charming hostess she would make! How well she would
entertain his friends, and do the honours of his house! It was in pure
innocence of heart, and merely with a desire to agreeably tease the
visitor, that Mr. Winton remarked during the meal:

"Well, Henry, you are quite an important personage now; the next thing
we shall hear is that you have blossomed out with a fine villa in Park
Road, and--a wife!"

From the mother--any mother--such an observation would, in all
likelihood, have been prompted by thoughts of a daughter; but not from
the father--not from any father.

Flo tried not to look conscious; though under cover of her apparent
indifference she stole an anxious glance at Henry, who only laughed. The
laugh was not convincing of the indifference which his speech suggested:

"Plenty of time for that, Mr. Winton. I have a lot to do before I turn
my thoughts to the domestic side of life. Besides, it means a year or
two of saving."

Flo imagined that for one brief second the eye of their interesting
visitor rested upon her as he delivered himself so to her father.

It was the first occasion since the old days at Wheel