g with the
paper-knife he had taken out of the book Anna had been reading, and
making himself pleasant. He had his mother's large black eyes, and very
long thick black eyelashes of which he was proud, conscious that they
rested becomingly on his cheeks when he looked down at the paper-knife.
Letty was greatly struck by them, and inquired of Miss Leech in a
whisper whether she had ever seen their like.

"Mr. Jessup had silken eyelashes too," replied Miss Leech dreamily.

"These aren't silk--they're cotton eyelashes," said Letty scornfully.

"My dear Letty," murmured Miss Leech.

Anna was at a disadvantage because of her imperfect German. She could
not repress Karlchen when he was unduly kind as she would have done in
English, and with his mother presiding, as it were, at their opening
friendship, she did not like to begin by looking lofty. Luckily the
princess was unusually chatty that evening. She sat next to Karlchen,
and continually joined in the talk. She was cheerful amiability itself,
and insisted upon being told all about those sons of her acquaintances
who were in his regiment. When he half turned his back on her and
dropped his voice to a rapid undertone, thereby making himself
completely incomprehensible to Anna, the princess pleasantly advised him
to speak very slowly and distinctly, for unless he did Miss Estcourt
would certainly not understand. In a word, she took him under her wing
whether he would or no, and persisted in her friendliness in spite of
his mother's increasingly desperate efforts to draw her into
conversation.

"Why do we not go out, dear Anna?" cried Frau von Treumann at last,
unable to endure Princess Ludwig's behaviour any longer. "Look what a
fine evening it is--and quite warm." And she who till then had gone
about shutting windows, and had been unable to bear the least breath of
air, herself opened the glass doors leading into the garden and went
out.

But although they all followed her, nothing was gained by it. She
could have stamped her foot with rage at the princess's conduct.
Here was everything needful for the beginning of a successful
courtship--starlight, a murmuring sea, warm air, fragrant bushes, a girl
who looked like Love itself in the dusk in her pale beauty, a young man
desiring nothing better than to be allowed to love her, and a mother
only waiting to bless. But here too, unfortunately, was the princess.

She was quite appallingly sociable--"The spite of the woman!