How it was that they came to take a fancy to each other, I cannot say.

My lady was of the old nobility,--grand, compose, gentle, and stately in her ways.

Miss Galindo must always have been hurried in her manner, and her energy must have shown itself in inquisitiveness and oddness even in her youth.

But I don't pretend to account for things: I only narrate them.

And the fact was this:--that the elegant, fastidious countess was attracted to the country girl, who on her part almost worshipped my lady.