Her face is long and utterly devoid of colour; her nose is too large; her mouth a trifle too firm for beauty; her eyes, dark and earnest, have, however, a singular fascination of their own, and when she smiles one feels that one _must_ love her.

She is a very tall woman, and slight, and gracious in her ways.

She is, too, a great heiress, and a woman of business, having been left to manage a huge property at the age of twenty-two.

Her management up to this has been faultless.
"Now, how can I help you ?" asks she, looking at Lady Rylton.

"What is distressing you ?" "Oh! you know," says Mrs.Bethune, breaking impatiently into the conversation.