by coming here. Miss Meredith is a cousin of
our hostess, and they met first at Revelsmere when they were quite
young."

"There is always a certain amount of talk when an engagement has to
be broken off," said Robinette in a cold voice.

"They seemed quite devoted at first," Miss Smeardon began; but
Robinette interrupted her.

"The sooner such things are forgotten the better, I think," she said.
"No one, except the two people concerned, ever knows the real
truth.--Tell me, Miss Smeardon, whom we are likely to meet at
Revelsmere? Who is our hostess? What sort of parties does she give?"

Being so firmly switched off from the affairs of Mr. Lavendar and Miss
Meredith, it was impossible for Miss Smeardon to talk about them any
more, and she had to turn to a less congenial theme.

"We shall meet the neighbours," she told Robinette, "but I am afraid
they may not interest you very much. I understand that in America you
are accustomed to a great deal of the society of gentlemen. Here there
are so few, and all of them are married."

"All?" laughed Robinette.

"Well, there is Mr. Finch, the curate, but he is a celibate; and young
Mr. Tait of Strewe, but he is slightly paralysed."

"Why, Carnaby must be quite an eligible bachelor in these parts," said
Robinette; but Miss Smeardon was so deadly literal that she accepted
the remark as a serious one.

"Not quite yet; in a few years' time we shall need to be very careful,
there are so many girls here, but not all of them desirable, of
course."

"There are? What a dull time they must have with the Married Men, the
Celibate, the Paralytic, and Carnaby! I'm glad my girlhood wasn't
spent in Devonshire."

Conversation ended here, for the carriage rumbled up the avenue, and
Robinette looked about her eagerly. Revelsmere was a nice old house,
surrounded by fine sloping lawns and a background of sombre
beechwoods. The lawns to-day were dotted with groups of people, mainly
women, and elderly at that. As Robinette and Miss Smeardon alighted
at the door an elderly hostess welcomed them, and an elderly host led
them across the lawn and straightly they fell into the clutches of
more and more elderlies.

"It is fairly bewildering!" Robinette cried in her heart; then she saw
a bevy of girls approaching; such nice-looking girls, happy, well
dressed, but all unattended by their suitable complement of young
men.

"For whom do they dress, here? They've a deal of self-respect, I
think