by her aunt's
marriage, and yet, as she said, she had always heard more of the
Marrables than of the Brownlows.

[Illustration: Sunday Morning at Dunripple.]

"You never saw Mary Lowther?" Walter asked.

"Never."

"But you have heard of her?"

"I just know her name,--hardly more. The last time your uncle was
here,--Parson John, we were talking of her. He made her out to be
wonderfully beautiful."

"That was as long ago as last summer," said the Captain, reflecting
that his uncle's account had been given before he and Mary Lowther
had seen each other.

"Oh, yes;--ever so long ago."

"She is wonderfully beautiful."

"You know her, then, Captain Marrable?"

"I know her very well. In the first place, she is my cousin."

"But ever so distant?"

"We are not first cousins. Her mother was a daughter of General
Marrable, who was a brother of Sir Gregory's father."

"It is so hard to understand, is it not? She is wonderfully
beautiful, is she?"

"Indeed, she is."

"And she is your cousin--in the first place. What is she in the
second place?"

He was not quite sure whether he wished to tell the story or not.
The engagement was broken, and it might be a question whether, as
regarded Mary, he had a right to tell it; and, then, if he did
tell it, would not his reason for doing so be apparent? Was it not
palpable that he was expected to marry this girl, and that she would
understand that he was explaining to her that he did not intend to
carry out the general expectation of the family? And, then, was he
sure that it might not be possible for him at some future time to do
as he was desired?

"I meant to say that, as I was staying at Loring, of course I met her
frequently. She is living with a certain old Miss Marrable, whom you
will meet some day."

"I have heard of her, but I don't suppose I ever shall meet her. I
never go anywhere. I don't suppose there are such stay-at-home people
in the world as we are."

"Why don't you get Sir Gregory to ask them here?"

"Both he and my cousin are so afraid of having strange women in
the house; you know, we never have anybody here; your coming has
been quite an event. Old Mrs. Potter seems to think that an era of
dissipation is to be commenced because she has been called upon to
open so many pots of jam to make pies for you."

"I'm afraid I have been very troublesome."

"Awfully troublesome. You can't think of all that had to be said and
done about the stables