care for them, but it's a matter of taste, of
course, like everything else, and I once knew a dear sweet girl who had
been named Ogeechee, after our Southern river, you remember;
Ogeechee--do you like that, Katrina?"

"Heavens! no," said Mrs. Rutherford, lifting her beautiful hands in
protest against such barbarism.

"Yet why, after all, is it not as melodious as Beatrice?" remarked Mr.
Moore, meditatively, his eyes on the ceiling.

Gracias society was proud of Mr. Moore; his linguistic accomplishments
it regarded with admiration. Mrs. Carew, divining the Italian
pronunciation of Beatrice, glanced at Katrina to see if she were
properly impressed.

Garda, upon leaving Evert Winthrop, had joined Mrs. Harold, at whose
feet Manuel still remained, guitar in hand. "Do you sing, Mrs. Harold?"
the young girl said, seating herself beside the northern lady, and
looking at her with her usual interest--an interest which appeared to
consist, in part, of a sort of expectancy that she would do or say
something before long which would be a surprise. Nothing could be more
quiet, more unsurprising, so most persons would have said, than Margaret
Harold's words and manner. But Garda had her own stand-point; to her,
Mrs. Harold was a perpetual novelty. She admired her extremely, but even
more than she admired, she wondered.

"No," Mrs. Harold had answered, "I do not sing; I know something of
instrumental music."

"I am afraid we have no good pianos here," pursued Garda; "that is, none
that you would call good.--I wish you would go and talk to Mr. Torres,"
she continued, turning to Manuel.

The young Cuban occupied a solitary chair on the other side of the room,
his method apparently having allowed him to seat himself for a while; he
had not even his ivory puzzle, but sat with his hands folded, his eyes
downcast.

"You ask impossibilities," said Manuel. "What! leave this heavenly place
at Mrs. Harold's feet--and yours--for the purpose of going to talk to
that tiresome Adolfo? Never!"

"But I wish to talk to Mrs. Harold myself; you have already had that
pleasure quite too long. Besides, if you are very good, I will tell you
what you can do; cards will be brought out presently, and then it will
be seen that there are ten persons present, and as but eight are
required for the two tables, I shall be the one left out to talk to
Adolfo, as he can neither play nor speak English; in this state of
things you can, if you are watchful, arra