Gradfield's office to enter upon his duties, and his
sister was left in their lodgings alone for the first time.

Despite the sad occurrences of the preceding autumn, an unwonted
cheerfulness pervaded her spirit throughout the day. Change of
scene--and that to untravelled eyes--conjoined with the sensation of
freedom from supervision, revived the sparkle of a warm young nature
ready enough to take advantage of any adventitious restoratives.
Point-blank grief tends rather to seal up happiness for a time than to
produce that attrition which results from griefs of anticipation that
move onward with the days: these may be said to furrow away the capacity
for pleasure.

Her expectations from the advertisement began to be extravagant. A
thriving family, who had always sadly needed her, was already definitely
pictured in her fancy, which, in its exuberance, led her on to picturing
its individual members, their possible peculiarities, virtues, and
vices, and obliterated for a time the recollection that she would be
separated from her brother.

Thus musing, as she waited for his return in the evening, her eyes fell
on her left hand. The contemplation of her own left fourth finger by
symbol-loving girlhood of this age is, it seems, very frequently, if
not always, followed by a peculiar train of romantic ideas. Cytherea's
thoughts, still playing about her future, became directed into this
romantic groove. She leant back in her chair, and taking hold of the
fourth finger, which had attracted her attention, she lifted it with the
tips of the others, and looked at the smooth and tapering member for a
long time.

She whispered idly, 'I wonder who and what he will be?

'If he's a gentleman of fashion, he will take my finger so, just with
the tips of his own, and with some fluttering of the heart, and the
least trembling of his lip, slip the ring so lightly on that I shall
hardly know it is there--looking delightfully into my eyes all the time.

'If he's a bold, dashing soldier, I expect he will proudly turn round,
take the ring as if it equalled her Majesty's crown in value, and
desperately set it on my finger thus. He will fix his eyes unflinchingly
upon what he is doing--just as if he stood in battle before the enemy
(though, in reality, very fond of me, of course), and blush as much as I
shall.

'If he's a sailor, he will take my finger and the ring in this way,
and deck it out with a housewifely touch and a tenderness of e