approved of this blaze of social success for his young cousin. It is
one thing to receive, languidly, the adulation of those in whom such
adulation may be regarded as an indication of a widening horizon; but
when an equal veneration is lavished upon the junior and disdained
play-fellow of earlier years, the result is often a reconsideration of
values. The May madness that rose like a mist from the bluebells in
the woods of the Ownashee, and culminated in the magical light of the
full moon, began to lift from the spirit of young Mr. Coppinger,
leaving him, as he formulated it to himself (and found much
satisfaction in the formula) bereft, bored, and benignant. He was
quite prepared to retire gracefully in favour of Georgy, and was
pleased with the thought that his interest in Tishy had been merely
the outcome of a mood--_l'apres-midi d'un faune_--so to speak.
There was something artistic in these transient emotions, and his
future, as at present determined, was to be devoted to art; certainly
not to Tishy Mangan. Yes, he would leave Tishy to Georgy; all but her
voice; in that, as an artist, he still retained an interest, the
interest of the _impresario_, whose search for stars is as
absorbing as is that of the astronomer in pursuits of new worlds.

The passion and energy of the promoter are, it may be supposed, born
in human beings in a certain proportion to those who are to become
their victims. In Larry, both qualities were highly developed, and in
no way did he prove the genuineness of his heaven-given _flair_
more surely than in his discovery and annexation of Christian, as that
rare and precious thing, a sympathetic and capable accompanist.

But although the thought of dwelling upon this and other of the
details of the Cluhir concert, is appealing, it must be dismissed. So
much has already been said in the hope that some further indications
as to the character and conduct of some of our young friends may have
been deduced; but now, certain glossings upon the household of Mount
Music must be inflicted, since it is with it, rather than with the
capabilities of young Mr. Coppinger's troupe, that we are mainly
occupied.

It is not easy to say whether the process of emergence from the sheath
of childhood, a condition that has characteristics more or less common
to us all, is more interesting to feel than to observe. In Christian's
case, the interest was felt exclusively by herself, her family being
healthily absorbed