ton was the last to
enter.

Edmund had not erred in saying she was a pretty girl. Even beneath the
cumbrous load of cloaks and furs in which she was now enveloped, you
could detect the exquisite proportions of her _petite_ figure, and the
sprightly grace of her carriage; while a pretty winter bonnet set off to
advantage a face remarkable for the intelligence and vivacity of its
expression. Her features, though not regular, were small, while the
brilliancy of her colour, though her complexion was that of a brunette,
lent a yet brighter glow to her sparkling dark eyes, and contrasted well
with the glossy black ringlets which shaded her animated countenance. At
this moment, however, her little head was carried somewhat haughtily,
and there was a sort of something not unlike bashfulness or awkwardness
in her manner which seemed hardly natural to it. The truth was, Miss
Dalton had come very unwillingly to share in the festivities of
Woodthorpe Hall. She was not acquainted with Mrs. Beauchamp, and report
said she was a very dignified lady, which Fanny Dalton interpreted to
mean a very proud one; and from her change of circumstances, rendered
unduly sensitive, she dreaded in her hostess the haughty neglect or
still haughtier condescension by which vulgar and shallow minds mark out
their sense of another's social inferiority. And therefore it was that
she held her head so high, and exhibited the constraint of manner to
which I have alluded. But all her pride and shyness quickly melted
before the benign presence and true heart-politeness of Mrs. Beauchamp.
Dignified the latter certainly was; but her dignity was tempered with
the utmost benevolence of expression, and the most winning sweetness of
manner; and when she took the hand of her little stranger-guest between
both of hers, and holding it kindly, said, "You are the only stranger
here, Miss Dalton; but for my sake you must try to feel at home," an
affection for Mrs. Beauchamp entered into the heart of the young girl,
which has continued ever since steadily to increase. That she should
conceive such an affection was not unnatural, for there was something in
the appearance and manners of Mrs. Beauchamp, combined with her position
in life, calculated to strike the imagination and touch the feelings of
a warm-hearted and romantic girl such as Fanny Dalton, more especially
one circumstanced as she was. Even her previous prejudice, with the
reaction natural to a generous mind, wa