er; which being done, he turned
gravely round and said, 'Are ye ready, now, gentlemen?'

The priest nodded, and forward we went. Passing through a suite of rooms
whose furniture, however handsome once, was now worm-eaten and injured
by time, we at length reached the door of the drawing-room, when the
butler, after throwing one more glance at us to assure himself that we
were in presentable array, flung the door wide open, and announced, with
the voice of a king-at-arms--

'The Reverend Father Loftus, and Mr. Hinton.'

'Serve!' said Sir Simon, with a wave of his hand. While, advancing
towards us, he received us with most polished courtesy. 'You are most
welcome to Kilmorran, Mr. Hinton. I need not present my daughter.'

He turned towards the priest, and the same moment I held Miss Bellow's
hand in mine. Dressed in white, and with her hair plainly braided on her
cheek, I thought she looked handsomer than I had ever seen her. There
was an air of assured calmness in her manner that sat well upon her
lovely features, as, with a tone of winning sweetness, she seconded the
words of her father, and welcomed me to Kilmorran.

The first step in the knowledge of the female heart is to know how to
interpret any constraint or reserve of manner on the part of the woman
you are in love with. Your mere novice is never more tempted to despair
than at the precise moment his hopes should grow stronger; nor is he
ever so sanguine as when the prospect is gloomy before him. The quick
perceptions of even a very young girl enable her to perceive when she
is loved; and however disposed she may feel towards the individual, a
certain mixture of womanly pride and coquetry will teach her a kind of
reserve towards him. Now, there was a slight dash of this constrained
tone through Miss Bellow's manner to me; and little experience as I had
had in such matters, I knew enough to augur favourably from it. While
doing the honours of her house, a passing timidity would seem every now
and then to check her advances, and I could remark how carefully she
avoided any allusion, however slight, to our past acquaintance.

The austerity of Sir Simon's manner at his first visit, as well as
the remarks of my friend the priest, had led me to suspect that our
dinner-party would prove cold, formal, and uncomfortable; indeed, the
baronet's constrained and measured courtesy in the drawing-room gave
me but little encouragement to expect anything better. Most agreeabl