alking? what a nice face
she has;" and Erle had reluctantly owned that it was Miss Selby.

"Go back to her by all means," Crystal had replied, with a touch of
sarcasm in her voice; "she is looking round and wondering whom you
have picked up. Oh, yes, I like the look of her very much. I think you
are to be congratulated, Mr. Huntingdon;" and then Erle had marched
off rather sulkily.

"She looks absurdly happy, and I suppose she is in love with him; just
see how she smiles at him. What fools we girls are," and Crystal had
turned away, feeling very sorry for Fern in her heart, but all the
same she knew better than to say a word of sympathy to Fern.

"He has made himself very pleasant to her, but it can not have gone
very deep. I do not believe Fern knows what love is," she said, very
bitterly to herself, and then she changed the subject.

"Oh, do you know, I had such a surprise," she continued, cheerfully,
as Fern averted her face and seemed much engrossed with a Savoyard and
his monkey on the opposite side of the way. "When I got to Upton House
this morning I found Miss Campion had arrived unexpectedly, and of
course she went with us."

"Do you mean Mrs. Norton's sister?" asked Fern, with languid
curiosity.

"Yes, Aunt Addie, as the children call her; she is staying at some
private hotel, and she drove over to see them. I was so pleased to see
her, for you know how kind she was to me at Hastings. I do believe
that she has taken a decided fancy to me, and it does seem so
strange."

"It is not strange at all," exclaimed Fern, rather roused by this;
"many people take a fancy to you, Crystal. I did directly mother
brought you in that evening."

"Oh you,"--smoothing the fair hair caressingly--"you are a darling,
and you love every one, but Miss Campion--well, she is quite
different. One would never expect a clever woman of the world who has
friends and acquaintances in all quarters of the globe to be guilty of
this sort of sentimentality; but all the same," with a little laugh,
"she seemed to be delighted to see me, and of course the American
scheme was revived."

"Oh, Crystal," with a very long face, "I thought you had given up that
idea."

"Not at all; but I wanted to hear more about it, and I could not quite
make up my mind."

"You talk as though you were thinking seriously of it. Mrs. Norton
would never consent to part with you."

"Mrs. Norton would do exactly what her sister wished her to do, my
dear. Au