her father, her sister, her aunt and herself. It was
Milly's subtle guess, imparted to her Susie, that the
girl had somebody else as well, as yet unnamed, to
content, it being manifest that such a creature
couldn't help having; a creature not perhaps, if one
would, exactly formed to inspire passions, since that
always implied a certain silliness, but essentially
seen, by the admiring eye of friendship, under the
clear shadow of some probably eminent male interest.
The clear shadow, from whatever source projected,
hung, at any rate, over Milly's companion the whole
week, and Kate Croy's handsome face smiled out of
it, under bland skylights, in the presence alike of old
masters passive in their glory and of thoroughly new
ones, the newest, who bristled restlessly with pins
and brandished snipping shears.

It was meanwhile a pretty part of the intercourse
of these young ladies that each thought the other
more remarkable than herself that each thought
herself, or assured the other she did, a comparatively
dusty object and the other a favourite of nature and
of fortune. Kate was amused, amazed at the way
her friend insisted on " taking " her, and Milly won
dered if Kate were sincere in finding her the most
extraordinary quite apart from her being the most
charming person she had come across. They had
talked, in long drives, and quantities of history had
not been wanting in the light of which Mrs. Low-
der's niece might superficially seem to have had the
best of the argument. Her visitor's American refer-

[[192]]

p191 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p192w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p193

v?