ent on to tell him
that Lady Conway had called and taken her to a rehearsal of a concert
of ancient music, and that Isabel had taken her for one or two drives
into the country.

'This must conduce to make school endurable,' said Louis.

'I think I hate it more because I hate it less.'

'Translate, if you please.'

'The first half-year, I scorned them all, and they scorned me; and that
was comfortable--'

'And consistent. Well?'

'The next, you had disturbed me; I could not go on being savage with
the same satisfaction, and their tuft-hunting temper began to discharge
itself in such civility to me, that I could not give myself airs with
any peace.'

'Have you made no friends?'

One and a half. The whole one is a good, rough, stupid girl, who comes
to school because she can't learn, and is worth all the rest put
together. The half is Caroline Salter, who is openly and honestly
purse-proud, has no toad-eating in her nature, and straight-forwardly
contemns high-blood and no money. We fought ourselves into respect for
one another; and now, I verily believe, we are fighting ourselves into
friendship. She is the only one that is proud, not vain; so we
understand each other. As to the rest, they adore Caroline Halter's
enamelled watch one day; and the next, I should be their 'dearest' if I
would but tell them what we have for dinner at Ormersfield, and what
colour your eyes are!'

'The encounters have made you so epigrammatic and satirical, that there
is no coming near you.'

'Oh, Louis! if you knew all, you would despise me as I do myself! I do
sometimes get drawn into talking grandly about Ormersfield; and though
I always say what I am to be, I know that I am as vain and proud as any
of them: I am proud of being poor, and of the Pendragons, and of not
being silly! I don't know which is self-respect, and which is pride!'

'I have always had my doubts about that quality of self-respect. I
never could make out what one was to respect.'

'Oh, dear! les voila!' cried Clara, as, entering Hanover Square, they
beheld about twenty damsels coming out of the garden in couples. 'I
would not have had it happen for the whole world!' she added, abruptly
withdrawing the arm that had clung to him so trustfully across many a
perilous crossing.

She seemed to intend to slip into the ranks without any farewells, but
the Earl, with politeness that almost confounded the little elderly
governess, returned thanks for having