as a simple, plaintive,
old melody, well suited to their expression, and Miss Saville sang with
much taste and feeling. When she reached the last four lines of the
second verse, her eyes met mine for an instant, with a sad, reproachful
glance, as if upbraiding me for having misunderstood her; and there was
a touching sweetness in her voice, as she almost whispered the refrain,
"Ah! well-a-day!" which seemed to breathe the very soul of melancholy.

"Strange, incomprehensible girl!" thought I, as I gazed with a feeling
of interest I could not restrain, upon her beautiful features, which
were now marked by an expression of the most touching sadness--"who
could believe that she was the same person who, but five minutes since,
seemed possessed by the spirit of frolic and merriment, and appeared to
have eyes and ears for nothing beyond the jokes and drolleries of Freddy
Coleman?"

"That's a very pretty song, my dear," said Mrs. Coleman; "and I'm very
much obliged to you for singing it, only it has made me cry so, it has
given me quite a cold in my head, I declare;" and, suiting the action
to the word, the tender-hearted old lady began to wipe her eyes, and
execute sundry other manoeuvres incidental to the malady she had named.
At this moment Freddy returned, laden with music-books. Miss Saville
immediately fixed upon a lively duet which would suit their voices,
and song followed song, till Mrs. Coleman, waking suddenly in a fright,
after a tremendous attempt to break her neck, which was very near
proving successful, found out that it was past eleven o'clock, and
consequently bed-time.

It can scarcely be doubted that my thoughts, as I fell asleep (for,
unromantic as it may appear, truth compels me to state that I never
slept better in my life), turned upon my unexpected meeting with Clara
Saville. The year and a half which had elapsed since the night of the
ball had altered her from a beautiful girl into a lovely woman. Without
in the slightest degree diminishing its grace and elegance, the outline
of her figure had become more rounded, while her features had acquired
a depth of expression which was not before observable, and which was the
only thing wanting to render them (I had almost said) perfect. In her
manner there was also a great alteration; the quiet reserve she had
maintained when in the presence of Mr. Vernor, and the calm frankness
displayed during our accidental meeting in Barstone ~264~~ Park, had
alike given