le word. It was easy to see that she was very much
frightened at finding herself, perhaps for the first time in her life,
in the company of strangers belonging to the great world. Yet there was
nothing provincial in her manners. The novelty of her position excused
her awkwardness. Miss Nevil took a liking to her at once, and, as there
was no room disengaged in the hotel, the whole of which was occupied by
the colonel and his attendants, she offered, either out of condescension
or curiosity, to have a bed prepared in her own room for Mademoiselle
della Rebbia.

Colomba stammered a few words of thanks, and hastened after Miss Nevil's
maid, to make such changes in her toilet as were rendered necessary by a
journey on horseback in the dust and heat.

When she re-entered the sitting-room, she paused in front of the
colonel's guns, which the hunters had left in a corner.

"What fine weapons," said she. "Are they yours, brother?"

"No, they are the colonel's English guns--and they are as good as they
are handsome."

"How much I wish you had one like them!" said Colomba.

"One of those three certainly does belong to della Rebbia," exclaimed
the colonel. "He really shoots almost too well! To-day he fired fourteen
shots, and brought down fourteen head of game."

A friendly dispute at once ensued, in which Orso was vanquished, to
his sister's great satisfaction, as it was easy to perceive from the
childish expression of delight which illumined her face, so serious a
moment before.

"Choose, my dear fellow," said the colonel; but Orso refused.

"Very well, then. Your sister shall choose for you."

Colomba did not wait for a second invitation. She took up the plainest
of the guns, but it was a first-rate Manton of large calibre.

"This one," she said, "must carry a ball a long distance."

Her brother was growing quite confused in his expressions of gratitude,
when dinner appeared, very opportunely, to help him out of his
embarrassment.

Miss Lydia was delighted to notice that Colomba, who had shown
considerable reluctance to sit down with them, and had yielded only at
a glance from her brother, crossed herself, like a good Catholic, before
she began to eat.

"Good!" said she to herself, "that is primitive!" and she anticipated
acquiring many interesting facts by observing this youthful
representative of ancient Corsican manners. As for Orso, he was
evidently a trifle uneasy, fearing, doubtless, that his sister might