ckening clusters of houses, a momentary
glimpse of distant steeples, a general commotion and hunting-up of
tickets, packages, and bandboxes, betokened, even to Lucy's
inexperienced eyes, that the city was nearly reached.

She had made no acquaintances on the way; but a polite elderly
gentleman, who had been sitting beside her, and had occasionally
exchanged a kind word with her, seeing that she was alone, stopped to
hand her out with great courtesy.

"Any one to meet you?" he asked, seeing that she seemed at a loss what
to do next.

"Yes--that is--I expect"--faltered Lucy, looking round to see if
Stella was not to be seen among the hurrying crowd. But no familiar
face was to be seen; and the gentleman, who had caught only the first
word of her answer, hurried off with a friend he met, forgetting all
about Lucy.

It seemed to her a long time that she stood there, wistfully watching
the people who were meeting their friends, or hurrying away alone; and
her spirits, temporarily excited by the journey, began to sink fast.
It seemed so strange that no one should be there to meet her, as her
uncle had promised; and if no one should appear, what was she to do?

At last, after about five minutes had elapsed, a slight,
delicate-looking young man, very fashionably dressed, with an eyeglass
at one eye and a cigar in his mouth, sauntered along, lightly swinging
his cane and looking leisurely around him. Presently he came up to
Lucy, and, after a scrutinizing glance, he said, touching his hat:

"My cousin Lucy Raymond, I presume?" and seeing he was right, he
added, with a nonchalant air, "Glad to see you; been waiting long?"

"About a quarter of an hour," Lucy replied, thinking she was speaking
the exact truth.

"Hardly that," he replied. "I expected to have been here in time, but
these trains are never to be depended on."

Then he motioned to a cabman, who advanced and asked for the checks
for the luggage.

Lucy had forgotten all about them, and her cousin mentally set her
down as "green," while she nervously searched for them.

"Take your time," he said good-humouredly.

They were found at last, and everything being collected, Lucy and her
cousin were soon driving away from the station.

"You are cousin Edwin, I suppose?" Lucy ventured to say timidly.

"The same, at your service. I suppose Stella posted you up about us
all? You've never been in a place as big as this, have you?" he said,
observing her eager, watc