ho had much intercourse with her. She was an
ardent hero-worshipper; and while Miss Tippet was her heroine, Frank
Willders was, at that time, her _beau ideal_ of a hero, although she
only knew him from description.

Willie was still in the middle of a glowing account of a fire, in which
Frank and his friends Dale and Baxmore were the chief actors; and Emma
was listening with heightened colour, parted lips, and sparkling eyes,
when Matty Merryon opened the door and announced Mr Tippet.

That gentleman was still in the act of shaking his sister's hands with
both of his, and kissing her on both cheeks heartily, when Matty
announced Miss Deemas.

Matty, being Irish, allowed her soul to gush out too obviously in her
tones; so that her feelings towards the Eagle, though unexpressed, were
discernible.

Miss Deemas strode up to Miss Tippet, and pecked her on the right cheek,
much as an eagle might peck a tender rabbit, which it could slay and
devour if it chose, but which it preferred to spare for a time. She was
immediately introduced to Mr Tippet, whom she favoured with a stiff
bow, intended to express armed neutrality in the meantime; with a
possibility, if not a probability, of war in the future. The eccentric
gentleman felt chilled, but ventured to express an opinion in regard to
the weather, glancing for confirmation of the same towards the window,
through which he naturally enough expected to see the sky; but was
baffled by only seeing the green venetian blinds, which ruled off the
opposite houses in narrow stripes. Before he had recovered himself to
make any further observation, Miss Deemas had attempted, in a
condescending way, to peck the cheek of Emma Ward; but that young lady,
feeling disinclined, so managed that she received the peck on her
forehead.

On Willie, Miss Deemas bestowed a glance of utter indifference, which
Willie replied to with a gaze of desperate defiance.

Then Miss Deemas seated herself on the sofa, and asked her "dear friend"
how she did, and how she felt, and whether things in general were much
as usual; from which elevated region of generalities she gradually
descended into the more particular sphere of gossip and scandal.

It is only just to Miss Tippet to say that the Eagle did not find her a
congenial bird of prey in this region. On the contrary, she had to drag
her unwilling friend down into it; and as Miss Tippet was too
conscientious and kind-hearted to agree with her in her