made that splendid speech."

"I thought," she said, "when I received the message, that I was going to
be buried under a bathos of thanks, or else have my gift declined with
the expectation that I would gush over the disinterestedness of the
refusal. Since I couldn't well avoid seeing him, I was quite prepared to
snub him, or to take back the money without a word. But he wasn't a bit
that kind of creature. He isn't self-assured nor tonguey--rather the
reverse. I liked him so, that I forced him to stay to luncheon, and made
him tell me a good deal about himself, without his knowing I was doing
so. He leads a very unusual life, without seeming conscious that he
does, and he tells about it very well. Uses just the right word every
time, so that you know exactly what he means, without taxing your own
brain to fill up blanks. He has such a nice voice too. One that makes
you certain of the absolute truth underneath. No. He isn't good looking,
though he has fine eyes, and hair. His face and figure are both too
heavy."

"Is he a gentleman, cousin Anneke?" asked one of the party.

"He is a little awkward, and over-blunt at moments, but nothing to which
one would give a second thought. I was so pleased with him that I asked
him to call on me."

"It seems to me," said another, "that you are over-paying him."

"That was the most curious part," replied Miss De Voe. "I'm not at all
sure that he means to come. It was really refreshing not to be truckled
to, but it is rather startling to meet the first man who does not want
to win his way to my visiting list. I don't think he even knows who Miss
De Voe is."

"He will find out quick enough," laughed a girl, "and then he will do
what they all do."

"No," said Miss De Voe. "I suspect it will make no difference. He isn't
that kind, I think. I really am curious to see if I have to ask him a
second time. It will be the only case I can remember. I'm afraid, my
dears, your cousin is getting to be an old woman."

Peter, had in truth, met, and spent over four hours in the company of a
woman whom every one wished to know. A woman equally famous for her
lineage, her social position, her wealth and her philanthropy. It would
not have made any difference, probably, had he known it, though it might
have increased his awkwardness a little. That he was not quite as
unconscious as Miss De Voe seemed to think, is shown by a passage in a
letter he wrote to his mother:

"She was very much int