"The new beauty! Mrs. Lacy's guest!" reflected Hobart, as he walked along, keeping his eyes upon the carriage which was lessening in the distance. "At least there is no access of self-consciousness about her,—not so much as a look to the right or the left, to see who was near by, to observe her sumptuous beauty! If she had seen me, would she have looked glad, I wonder? For she didn't look glad: a change would have had to come. Oh, Una, dear old fellow, I fear we're a couple of fools; and I had better have borne my loneliness, as you have done!"
"Why, Mr. Hobart! Where on earth did you come from? How awfully nice to see you! How awfully well you look!"
These enthusiastic exclamations were uttered by a pair of trim-looking, stylish young ladies, who broke in suddenly upon Mr. Hobart's reflections and showed such genuine-pleasure in meeting him that it made an appeal to his kindness of heart which he could not resist. So he turned and walked with them half a square or so, to the door of a house where they were going to call. Even in that short distance the all-important topic of the ball was introduced, supplemented by a mention of the beautiful Miss Gray, whose name seemed to be on everybody's lips. Somehow it made the young man seem very lonely, as he turned and retraced his steps, and the thought that Stella could possibly care for him seemed every moment more presumptuous. He was marvellously humbled by the discipline of his recent experiences, and he questioned himself wonderingly as to where his old self-confidence was gone.
Perhaps it might have been to some degree restored if he could have seen the effect produced by the announcement made by the two young ladies with whom he had just parted upon the group of ladies assembled informally at afternoon tea.
"Charles Hobart! Dear me! what a piece of luck!" said the hostess. "A man worth taking the trouble to talk to is such a rarity in society now. And has he come to stay? and will he be at Mrs. Tremaine's? Did you ask him?"
The speaker was one of the leaders of the literary society of the city, and had been recognized as the author of the most admired verses contributed by the ladies of her circle to a volume of anonymous poems published not long since. She made no ineffectual attempts at being considered young, but affected instead the maturer charm of developed intelligence and taste, which she honestly deemed to be infinitely the more potent. She had always shown a great appreciation of Hobart, and no one doubted the sincerity of her present expressions of delight at his return. Others besides herself of the ladies assembled in her drawing-room that afternoon felt an added interest in the ball by reason
