y be so." There was a modification in Hendrickson's manner. "I
was excited. How could I help being so?"

"There existed no cause for it, Paul. Mr. Dexter had an equal right
with yourself to visit Miss Loring."

"True."

"And an equal right to choose his own time."

"I will not deny it."

"Therefore, there was no reason in the abstract, why his
complimentary call upon the lady should create in your mind
unpleasant feelings towards the man. You had no more right to
complain of his presence there, than he had to complain of yours."

"I confess it."

"There is one thing," pursued Mrs. Denison, "in which you disappoint
me, Paul. You seem to lack a manly confidence in yourself. You are
as good as Leon Dexter--aye, a better, truer man in every sense of
the word--a man to please a woman at all worth pleasing, far better
than he. And yet you permit him to elbow you aside, as it were, and
to thrust you into a false position, if not into obscurity. If Miss
Loring is the woman God has created for you, in the name of all that
is holy, do not let another man usurp your rights. Do not let one
like Dexter bear her off to gild a heartless home. Remember that
Jessie is young, inexperienced, and unskilled in the ways of the
world. She is not schooled in the lore of love; cannot understand
all its signs; and, above all, can no more look into your heart,
than you can look into hers. How is she to know that you love her,
if you stand coldly--I might say cynically--observant at a far
distance. Paul! Paul! Women are not won in this way, as many a man
has found to his sorrow, and as you will find in the present case,
unless you act with more self-confidence and decision. Go to Miss
Loring then, and show her, by signs not to be mistaken, that she has
found favor in your eyes. Give her a chance to show you what her
real feelings are; and my word for it, you will not find her as
indifferent as you fear. If you gain any encouragement, make farther
advances; and let her comprehend fully that you are an admirer. She
will not play you false. Don't fear for a moment. She is above
guile."

Mrs. Denison ceased. Her words had inspired Hendrickson with new
feelings.

"As I parted from her to-day," he remarked, "she said, 'I shall be
pleased to see you again.' I I felt that there was meaning in the
words beyond a graceful speech. 'Not if I show myself as stupid as I
have been this morning,' was my answer. Very quickly, and with some
earnestnes