I have taken a great fancy to her, and she must let me make a friend of her." "She is very plain," said Rowland, slowly, "very simple, very ignorant." "Which, being interpreted, means, 'She is very handsome, very subtle, and has read hundreds of volumes on winter evenings in the country.'" "You are a veritable sorceress," cried Rowland; "you frighten me away!" As he was turning to leave her, there rose above the hum of voices in the drawing-room the sharp, grotesque note of a barking dog.

Their eyes met in a glance of intelligence.
"There is the sorceress!" said Madame Grandoni.

"The sorceress and her necromantic poodle!" And she hastened back to the post of hospitality.
Rowland followed her, and found Christina Light standing in the middle of the drawing-room, and looking about in perplexity.

Her poodle, sitting on his haunches and gazing at the company, had apparently been expressing a sympathetic displeasure at the absence of a welcome.

But in a moment Madame Grandoni had come to the young girl's relief, and Christina had tenderly kissed her.
"I had no idea," said Christina, surveying the assembly, "that you had such a lot of grand people, or I would not have come in.