ian, however able. He launched out into a little gayety, resumed
his quiet dinner-parties; and, after some persuasion, took his now
blooming daughter to a ball given by the officers of Chatham.

She was the belle of the ball beyond dispute, and danced with ethereal
grace and athletic endurance. She was madly fond of waltzing, and here
she encountered what she was pleased to call a divine dancer. It was
a Mr. Reginald Falcon, a gentleman who had retired to the seaside to
recruit his health and finances sore tried by London and Paris. Falcon
had run through his fortune, but had acquired, in the process, certain
talents which, as they cost the acquirer dear, so they sometimes repay
him, especially if he is not overburdened with principle, and adopts the
notion that, the world having plucked him, he has a right to pluck the
world. He could play billiards well, but never so well as when backing
himself for a heavy stake. He could shoot pigeons well, and his shooting
improved under that which makes some marksmen miss--a heavy bet against
the gun. He danced to perfection; and being a well-bred, experienced,
brazen, adroit fellow, who knew a little of everything that was going,
he had always plenty to say. Above all, he had made a particular study
of the fair sex; had met with many successes, many rebuffs; and, at
last, by keen study of their minds, and a habit he had acquired of
watching their faces, and shifting his helm accordingly, had learned
the great art of pleasing them. They admired his face; to me, the
short space between his eyes and his hair, his aquiline nose, and thin
straight lips, suggested the bird of prey a little too much: but to
fair doves, born to be clutched, this similitude perhaps was not very
alarming, even if they observed it.

Rosa danced several times with him, and told him he danced like an
angel. He informed her that was because, for once, he was dancing with
an angel. She laughed and blushed. He flattered deliciously, and it cost
him little; for he fell in love with her that night, deeper than he had
ever been in his whole life of intrigue. He asked leave to call on
her: she looked a little shy at that, and did not respond. He instantly
withdrew his proposal, with an apology and a sigh that raised her pity.
However, she was not a forward girl, even when excited by dancing and
charmed with her partner; so she left him to find his own way out of
that difficulty.

He was not long about it. At the e