ea-shell crept to her cheek. Again she raised her eyes to his, and a
haughty, dazzling smile flashed over her face as she inclined her head.

"Thank you, sir."

There was a brief silence, broken by Eric, when the sound of the carriage
had died away.

"Irene is the only perfectly beautiful woman I ever saw; and yet, Aubrey,
it makes me sad to watch her countenance."

"Whenever I see her I cannot avoid recalling an old Scandinavian myth; she
realizes so fully my ideal Iduna, standing at the portals of Valhalla,
offering apples of immortality."

He returned at once to his book and read several pages, occasionally
pausing to call attention to some special passage; finally he rose, and
took his hat.

"It is early yet, Aubrey; don't go."

"Thank you; I must fulfil another engagement."

"A word before you leave; will you be a candidate for the legislature?"

"Yes; I was waited upon by a committee to-day, and my name will be
announced to-morrow. Good night."

Slowly he walked back to town, and once upon the main street, took a new
pair of gloves from his pocket, fitted them carefully, and directed his
steps to the elegant residence, whose approach was well-nigh blocked up
with carriages. This was the second time that he had been invited by the
Hendersons, and he had almost determined to decline as formerly, but
something in Irene's chill manner changed his resolution. He knew, from
various circumstances, that the social edict against him was being revoked
in fashionable circles; that because he had risen without its permission,
aid, or countenance, and in defiance of its sneers, the world was beginning
to court him. A gloomy scowl sat on his stern lips as he mounted the steps
of the mansion from which his meek and suffering mother had borne bundles
of plain work, or delicate masses of embroidery, for the mother and
daughter who passed her in the street with a supercilious stare.
_Beau-monde_ suddenly awoke to the recollection that, "after all, Mrs.
Aubrey belonged to one of the wealthiest and first families in the state."
At first Russell had proudly repelled all overtures, but gradually he was
possessed by a desire to rule in the very circle which had so long excluded
his family. Most fully he appreciated his position and the motives which
actuated the social autocrats of W----; he was no longer the poor disgraced
clerk, but the talented young lawyer, and prospective heir of Mr.
Campbell's wealth. Bitterly, bitterly