And the first of these,' quoth he, looking at his watch, 'will be to step through to my dining-room and share a bachelor's luncheon.' Over the meal, which was good, Mr.Robbie continued to develop the same theme.

'You're, no doubt, what they call a dancing-man ?' said he.
'Well, on Thursday night there is the Assembly Ball.

You must certainly go there, and you must permit me besides to do the honours of the ceety and send you a ticket.

I am a thorough believer in a young man being a young man--but no more drovers or rovers, if you love me! Talking of which puts me in mind that you may be short of partners at the Assembly--oh, I have been young myself!--and if ye care to come to anything so portentiously tedious as a tea-party at the house of a bachelor lawyer, consisting mainly of his nieces and nephews, and his grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and his wards, and generally the whole clan of the descendants of his clients, you might drop in to-night towards seven o'clock.

I think I can show you one or two that are worth looking at, and you can dance with them later on at the Assembly.' He proceeded to give me a sketch of one or two eligible young ladies' whom I might expect to meet.