swered, "and I have learnt
more about your real self through them than I should have done if I had
seen you a hundred times instead of four."

Augusta slowly raised her grey eyes till they met his own, and looked at
him as though she were searching out his soul, and the memory of that
long, sweet look is with him yet.

He said no more, nor had she any words; but somehow nearer and nearer
they drew one to the other, till his arms were around her, and his lips
were pressed upon her lips. Happy man and happy girl! they will live to
find that life has joys (for those who are good and are well off) but
that it has no joys so holy and so complete as that which they were now
experiencing--the first kiss of true and honest love.

A little while afterwards the butler came in in a horribly sudden manner,
and found Augusta and Eustace, the one very red and the other very pale,
standing suspiciously close to each other. But he was a very well-trained
butler and a man of experience, who had seen much and guessed more; and
he looked innocent as a babe unborn.

Just then, too, Lady Holmhurst came in again and looked at the pair of
them with an amusing twinkle in her eye. Lady Holmhurst, like her butler,
was also a person of experience.

"Won't you come into the drawing room?" she said. And they did, looking
rather sheepish.

And there Eustace made a clean breast of it, announcing that they were
engaged to be married. And although this was somewhat of an assumption,
seeing that no actual words of troth had passed between them, Augusta
stood there, never offering a word in contradiction.

"Well, Mr. Meeson," said Lady Holmhurst, "I think that you are the
luckiest man of my acquaintance, for Augusta is not only one of the
sweetest and loveliest girls that I have ever met, she is also the
bravest and the cleverest. You will have to look out, Mr. Meeson, or you
will be known as the husband of the great Augusta Meeson."

"I will take the risk," he answered humbly. "I know that Augusta has more
brains in her little finger than I have in my whole body. I don't know
how she can look at a fellow like me."

"Dear me, how humble we are!" said Lady Holmhurst. "Well, that is the way
of men before marriage. And now, as Augusta carries both your fortunes on
her back as well as in her face and brain, I venture to suggest that you
had better go and see a lawyer about the matter; that is, if you have
quite finished your little talk. I suppose