s an
impressible man--and what man is not impressible?--these ladies were so
far beyond all others in Quebec, that no comparison could be made. The
Burton girls were nowhere.

The elder of the two might have been--no matter--not over twenty-three
or four at any rate; while the younger was certainly not over eighteen
or nineteen. There was a good deal of similarity in their styles; both
were brunettes; both had abundance of dark, lustrous hair; both had
those dark, hazel eyes which can send such a thrill to the soul of the
impressible. For my part I thrilled, I glowed, I exulted, I rejoiced
and triumphed in the adventure which had led to such a discovery as
this. Were there any other women in Canada, in America, or in the
world, equal to them? I did not believe there were. And then their
voices--low--sweet--musical--voices which spoke of the exquisite
refinement of perfect breeding; those voices would have been enough to
make a man do or dare any thing.

Between them, however, there were some differences. The elder had an
expression of good-natured content, and there was in her a vein of fun
which was manifest, while the younger seemed to have a nature which was
more intense and more earnest, and there was around her a certain
indefinable reserve and _hauteur_.

Which did I admire most?

I declare it's simply impossible to say. I was overwhelmed. I was
crushed with equal admiration. My whole soul became instinct with the
immortal sentiment--How happy could I be with either! while the
cordiality of my reception, which made me at once a friend of this
jewel of a family, caused my situation to assume so delicious an aspect
that it was positively bewildering.

O'Halloran hadn't mentioned their names, but the names soon came out.
They were evidently his daughters. The name of the eldest I found was
Nora, and the name of the younger was Marion. The old gentleman was
lively, and gave a highly-dramatic account of the affair at the
concert, in which he represented my conduct in the most glowing light.
The ladies listened to all this with undisguised agitation,
interrupting him frequently with anxious questions, and regarding my
humble self as a sort of a hero. All this was in the highest degree
encouraging to a susceptible mind; and I soon found myself sliding off
into an easy, a frank, an eloquent, and a very delightful conversation.
Of the two ladies, the elder Miss O'Halloran took the chief share in
that lively yet inte