y to him, and might peradventure not be a
good one to her.

'Oh, the ancient name of Gryll!; sighed the squire to himself. 'What if
it should pass away in the nineteenth century, after having lived from
the time of Circe!'

Often, indeed, when he looked at her at the head of his table, the star
of his little circle, joyous herself, and the source of joy in others,
he thought the actual state of things admitted no change for the better,
and the perpetuity of the old name became a secondary consideration; but
though the purpose was dimmed in the evening, it usually brightened in
the morning. In the meantime, the young lady had many suitors, who
were permitted to plead their cause, though they made little apparent
progress.

Several young gentlemen of fair promise, seemingly on the point of being
accepted, had been, each in his turn, suddenly and summarily dismissed.
Why, was the young lady's secret. If it were known, it would be easy,
she said, in these days of artificial manners, to counterfeit the
presence of the qualities she liked, and, still more easy, the absence
of the qualities she disliked. There was sufficient diversity in the
characters of the rejected to place conjecture at fault, and Mr. Gryll
began to despair.

The uncle and niece had come to a clear understanding on this subject.
He might present to her attention any one whom he might deem worthy
to be her suitor, and she might reject the suitor without assigning a
reason for so doing. In this way several had appeared and passed away,
like bubbles on a stream.

[Illustration: Was the young lady too fastidious. 043-12]

Was the young lady over fastidious, or were none among the presented
worthy, or had that which was to touch her heart not yet appeared?

Mr. Gryll was the godfather of his niece, and to please him, she had
been called Morgana. He had had some thoughts of calling her Circe, but
acquiesced in the name of a sister enchantress, who had worked out her
own idea of a beautiful garden, and exercised similar power over the
minds and forms of men.

CHAPTER III

THE DUKE'S FOLLY

Moisten your lungs with wine. The dog-star's sway
Returns, and all things thirst beneath his ray.
Alcaeus

Falernum. Opimianum. Annorum. Centum.
Heu! Heu! inquit Trimalchio, ergo diutius vivit vinum quam
homuncio! Quare reyye reviovas faciamus. Vita vinum est.--
Petronius Arbiter.

Falernian Opimian Wine an