s
ear,--but that simply came from the position in which chance had
placed her. Her hand was still in his,--but that, too, was the
accident of the situation. But there is, I think, an involuntary
tendency among women to make more than necessary use of assistance
when the person tendering it has made himself really welcome. Marion
had certainly no such intention. Had the idea come to her at the
moment she would have shrank from his touch. It was only when his
fingers were withdrawn, when the feeling of the warmth of this
proximity had passed away, that she became aware that he had been so
close to her, and that now they were separated.

Then her father entered the carriage, and Roden.

"Good-night, my lord," said the Quaker. "I have passed my evening
very pleasantly. I doubt whether I may not feel the less disposed for
my day's work to-morrow."

"Not at all, Mr. Fay; not at all. You will be like a giant refreshed.
There is nothing like a little friendly conversation for bracing
up the mind. I hope it will not be long before you come and try it
again." Then the carriage was driven off, and Lord Hampstead went in
to warm himself before the fire which Marion Fay had poked.

He had not intended to fall in love with her. Was there ever a young
man who, when he first found a girl to be pleasant to him, has
intended to fall in love with her? Girls will intend to fall in love,
or, more frequently perhaps, to avoid it; but men in such matters
rarely have a purpose. Lord Hampstead had found her, as he thought,
to be an admirable specimen of excellence in that class of mankind
which his convictions and theories induced him to extol. He thought
that good could be done by mixing the racers and plough-horses,--and
as regarded the present experiment, Marion Fay was a plough-horse. No
doubt he would not have made this special attempt had she not pleased
his eye, and his ear, and his senses generally. He certainly was not
a philosopher to whom in his search after wisdom an old man such as
Zachary Fay could make himself as acceptable as his daughter. It may
be acknowledged of him that he was susceptible to female influences.
But it had not at first occurred to him that it would be a good thing
to fall in love with Marion Fay. Why should he not be on friendly
terms with an excellent and lovely girl without loving her? Such
had been his ideas after first meeting Marion at Mrs. Roden's house.
Then he had determined that friends could not