ked
the air of the Island, and he liked being petted. "A nice little woman!
a very nice little woman!" Tom Bakewell heard him murmur to himself
according to a habit he had; and his air of rather succulent patronage
as he walked or sat beside the innocent Beauty, with his head thrown
back and a smile that seemed always to be in secret communion with his
marked abdominal prominence, showed that she was gaining part of what
she played for. Wise youths who buy their loves, are not unwilling,
when opportunity offers, to try and obtain the commodity for nothing.
Examinations of her hand, as for some occult purpose, and unctuous
pattings of the same, were not infrequent. Adrian waxed now and then
Anacreontic in his compliments. Lucy would say: "That's worse than Lord
Mountfalcon."

"Better English than the noble lord deigns to employ--allow that?" quoth
Adrian.

"He is very kind," said Lucy.

"To all, save to our noble vernacular," added Adrian. "He seems to scent
a rival to his dignity there."

It may be that Adrian scented a rival to his lymphatic emotions.

"We are at our ease here in excellent society," he wrote to Lady
Blandish. "I am bound to confess that the Huron has a happy fortune, or
a superlative instinct. Blindfold he has seized upon a suitable mate.
She can look at a lord, and cook for an epicure. Besides Dr. Kitchener,
she reads and comments on The Pilgrim's Scrip. The `Love' chapter, of
course, takes her fancy. That picture of Woman, `Drawn by Reverence
and coloured by Love,' she thinks beautiful, and repeats it, tossing up
pretty eyes. Also the lover's petition: 'Give me purity to be worthy the
good in her, and grant her patience to reach the good in me.' 'Tis quite
taking to hear her lisp it. Be sure that I am repeating the petition! I
make her read me her choice passages. She has not a bad voice.

"The Lady Judith I spoke of is Austin's Miss Menteith, married to the
incapable old Lord Felle, or Fellow, as the wits here call him. Lord
Mountfalcon is his cousin, and her--what? She has been trying to find
out, but they have both got over their perplexity, and act respectively
the bad man reproved and the chaste counsellor; a position in which our
young couple found them, and haply diverted its perils. They had quite
taken them in hand. Lady Judith undertakes to cure the fair Papist of
a pretty, modest trick of frowning and blushing when addressed, and his
lordship directs the exuberant energies of the or