her slightest gesture, the way she moves about the room,
with a sort of swinging grace, which I thought affected at first, but now I
see is quite natural--is only another of her many fascinations.

'I fancied for a while that her features were almost too beautifully
regular for expression, and that even when she smiled and showed her lovely
teeth, her eyes got no increase of brightness; but, as I talked more with
her, and learned to know her better, I saw that those eyes have meanings of
softness and depths in them of wonderful power, and, stranger than all, an
archness that shows she has plenty of humour.

'Her English is charming, but slightly foreign; and when she is at a loss
for a word, there is just that much of difficulty in finding it which gives
a heightened expression to her beautifully calm face, and makes it lovely.
You may see how she has fascinated me, for I could go on raving about her
for hours.

'She is very anxious to see you, and asks me over and over again, Shall you
like her? I was almost candid enough to say "too well." I mean that you
could not help falling in love with her, my dear Dick, and she is so much
above us in style, in habit, and doubtless in ambition, that such would
be only madness. When she saw your photo she smiled, and said, "Is he not
superb?--I mean proud?" I owned you were, and then she added, "I hope he
will like me." I am not perhaps discreet if I tell you she does not like
the portrait of your chum, Atlee. She says "he is very good-looking, very
clever, very witty, but isn't he false?" and this she says over and over
again. I told her I believed not; that I had never seen him myself, but
that I knew that you liked him greatly, and felt to him as a brother. She
only shook her head, and said, "_Badate bene a quel che dico_. I mean,"
said she, "_I'm right,_ but he's very nice for all that!" If I tell you
this, Dick, it is just because I cannot get it out of my head, and I will
keep saying over and over to myself--"If Joe Atlee be what she suspects,
why does she call him very nice for all that?" I said you intended to ask
him down here next vacation, and she gave the drollest little laugh in
the world--and does she not look lovely when she shows those small pearly
teeth? Heaven help you, poor Dick, when you see her! but, if I were you,
I should leave Master Joe behind me, for she smiles as she looks at his
likeness in a way that would certainly make me jealous, if I were only
Jo