as no ring
on her hand to forbid his ardent glances.

Never before had she appeared so alluringly attractive. He was a
thorough American, and had not been fascinated by foreign types of
beauty. In his fair countrywoman he believed that he saw his ideal.
Her beauty was remarkable for a fullness, a perfection of outline,
combined with a fairness and delicacy which suggested that she was not
made of ordinary clay. Miss Wildmere prided herself upon giving the
impression that she was remote from all that was common or homely in
life. She cultivated the characteristic of daintiness. In her dress,
gloves, jewelry, and complexion she would be immaculate at any cost.
Graydon's fastidious taste could never find a flaw in her, as regarded
externals, and she knew the immense advantage of pleasing his eye with
a delicacy that even approached fragility in its exquisite fairness,
while at the same time her elastic step in the dance or promenade
proved that she had abundance of vitality.

Nothing could have been more auspicious than his coming to-night--the
very first evening after his arrival. It assured her of the place she
still held in his thoughts; it gave her the chance to renew, in the
glad hours of his return, the impression she had made; and she saw in
his admiring eyes how favorable that impression was. She exulted that
he found her so well prepared. Her clinging summer costume revealed
not a little of her beauty, and suggested more, while she permitted
her eyes to give a welcome more cordial even than her words.

He talked easily and vivaciously, complimented her openly, yet with
sincerity, and rallied her on the wonder of wonders that she was still
Miss Wildmere.

"Not so great a marvel as that you return a bachelor. Why did you not
marry a German princess or some reduced English countess?"

"I was not driven to that necessity, since there were American queens
at home. I am delighted that you are still in town. What are your
plans for the summer?"

"We have not fully decided as yet."

"Then go to the Catskills. Our ladies are there at the Under-Cliff
House, and I am told that it is a charming place."

"I will speak to mamma of it. She must come to some decision soon.
Papa says that he will be too busy to go out of town much."

"Why, then, the Catskills is just the place--accessible to the city,
you know. That is the reason we have chosen it. I propose to take
something of a vacation, but find that I must go back