When the Colonel made his appearance, which he did very shortly, he too was "taken off his feet," as the saying is, by Zara's loveliness, and the same effect was produced on the Challoners, who soon afterwards joined us in a body.

Mrs.Challoner, in particular, seemed incapable of moving her eyes from the contemplation of my darling's sweet face, and I glowed with pride and pleasure as I noted how greatly she was admired.

Miss Effie Challoner alone, who was, by a certain class of young men, considered "doocid pretty, with go in her," opposed her stock of physical charms to those of Zara, with a certain air of feminine opposition; but she was only able to keep this barrier up for a little time.

Zara's winning power of attraction was too much for her, and she, like all present, fell a willing captive to the enticing gentleness, the intellectual superiority, and the sympathetic influence exercised by the evenly balanced temperament and character of the beautiful woman I loved so well.
After some desultory and pleasant chat, Zara, in the name of her brother and herself, invited Colonel and Mrs.Everard and the Challoner family to dine at the Hotel Mars next day--an invitation which was accepted by all with eagerness.

I perceived at once that every one of them was anxious to know more of Zara and her surroundings--a curiosity which I could not very well condemn.