she had neither called, nor invited them. She wished she had
followed her first impulse, which had been to refuse at once without
referring to her brothers. Now, however, she must go with a good grace.

So they all went, and enjoyed it very much, one and all, as they found
on comparing notes around the bright little fire, which Nelly had kept
burning, against their return.

"Only," said Rosie, with a little shamefacedness, "I am not sure that
Graeme liked me to dance quite so much."

Graeme was not sure either, but she did not think this the best time to
speak about it. So she did not.

"But how you ever learned to dance is a mystery to me," said Arthur,
"and Harry too, I saw him carrying off Miss Elphinstone, with all the
coolness imaginable. Really, the young people of the present day amaze
me."

"Oh! one can dance without learning," said Rose, laughing. "The music
inspires it."

"And I have danced many a time before," said Harry. "You are not sorry
you went, are you Graeme?"

"Sorry! no indeed! I have had a very pleasant evening."

And so had they all. Mrs Grove had made a great effort to get a great
many nice and clever people together, and she had succeeded. It had
required an effort, for it was only lately, since his second marriage,
that Mr Grove had affected the society of clever people, or indeed, any
society at all. There were people who fancied that he did not affect it
yet, and who pitied him, as he wandered about, or lingered in corners
among the guests, that his more aspiring wife managed to bring together.
He did not enjoy society much, but that was a small matter in the
opinion of his wife. He was as little of a drawback to the general
enjoyment, as could be expected in the circumstances. If he was not
quite at his ease, at least he was seldom in anybody's way, and Mrs
Grove was quite able to do the honours for both. Mr Grove was a man
whom it was not difficult to ignore, even in his own dining-room.
Indeed, the greatest kindness that could be shown to the poor little man
in the circumstances, was to ignore him, and a great deal of this sort
of kind feeling was manifested towards him by his guests.

On the first entrance of Arthur and Graeme, their host fastened on the
former, renewing with great earnestness a conversation commenced in the
morning in the young man's office. This did not last long, however.
The hostess had too high an opinion of Mr Elliott's powers of pleasing,
to