ne, and
regardless of his wealth; she alone had never evinced towards him any
show of preference above others less endowed by Fate. Nay, he fancied
he could trace something of reserve in her manner whenever he stepped by
chance out of his character of careless, buoyant youth, and dwelt upon
the plans mere money accomplishes. In these she showed no interest,
and took no pleasure; while, to the adventures of his former life, she
listened with eager attention. It was easy to see she thought more of
the _caballero_ than the _millionnaire_.

What a happiness had it been to have befriended her grandfather and
herself; how different had been his reflections at this hour; what
lessons in the true wisdom of life might he not have learned from one
who had seen the world, not as the play-table for the rolling dice
of fortune, but as the battle-ground where good and evil strive for
victory, where a higher philosophy is taught than the lifeless, soulless
dictates of mere fashionable existence!

CHAPTER XI. SCANDAL, AND GENERAL ILL-HUMOR.

But where are they alle, I do not see,
One half of our goodlie companie!

Hone.

That day was destined to be one of contrarieties to the household of
Tubbermore. Of the Kennyfeck family, none appeared at dinner. Lady
Kilgoff, angry at Roland's breach of engagement,--for, although he rode
at top speed in every direction, he never overtook her,--also kept her
room. The carriage sent for Miss Leicester had returned without her,
a somewhat formal note of apology stating that Mr. Corrigan was
indisposed, and his granddaughter unwilling to leave him; while Linton,
usually a main feature in all the social success of a dinner, was still
absent.

Of the assembled guests, too, few were in their wonted spirits. Sir
Andrew and Lady Janet had quarrelled in the morning about the mode of
preparing dandelion tea, and kept up the dispute all the day; Upton
was sulky, dark, and reserved; Meek more than usually lachrymose;
Fro-bisher's best mare had been staked in taking a leap, and Miss Meek
had never discovered it till half an hour after, so that the lameness
was greatly aggravated; Mrs. White had had a "tiff" with the author, for
his not believing the Irish to be of Phoenician origin, and would n't
speak to him at dinner; so that Cashel himself, constrained, absent, and
ill at ease, found his company anything rather than a relief to his own
distracted thoughts.

Among his other gue