d her, that he was attracted to her, that he
should be proud of her as his wife, that he should value himself
always as the proprietor of so rare a person, that no appendage to his
existence would take so high a place in his thoughts. This implied also,
what is of great consequence to a young woman's happiness in the
married state, that she would be treated with uniform politeness, with
satisfactory evidences of affection, and with a degree of confidence
quite equal to what a reasonable woman should expect from a very
superior man, her husband.

If Myrtle could have looked through the window in the breast against
which only authors are privileged to flatten their features, it is for
the reader to judge how far the programme would have satisfied her.

Less than this, a great deal less, does appear to satisfy many young
women; and it may be that the interior just drawn, fairly judged,
belongs to a model lover and husband. Whether it does or not, Myrtle did
not see this picture. There was a beautifully embroidered shirt-bosom in
front of that window through which we have just looked, that intercepted
all sight of what was going on within. She only saw a man, young,
handsome, courtly, with a winning tongue, with an ambitious spirit,
whose every look and tone implied his admiration of herself, and who
was associated with her past life in such a way that they alone appeared
like old friends in the midst of that cold alien throng. It seemed as if
he could not have chosen a more auspicious hour than this; for she never
looked so captivating, and her presence must inspire his lips with the
eloquence of love. And she--was not this delirious atmosphere of light
and music just the influence to which he would wish to subject her
before trying the last experiment of all which can stir the soul of a
woman? He knew the mechanism of that impressionable state which served
Coleridge so excellently well,--

"All impulses of soul and sense
Had thrilled my guileless Genevieve
The music, and the doleful tale,
The rich and balmy eve,"--

though he hardly expected such startling results as happened in that
case,--which might be taken as an awful warning not to sing moving
ballads to young ladies of susceptible feelings, unless one is prepared
for very serious consequences. Without expecting that Myrtle would rush
into his arms, he did think that she could not help listening to him in
the intervals of the delicious music,