d Mrs.
Toplady alone, and heard from her, in easy, half-confidential chat, a
great deal about Lady Ogram and Miss Tomalin, information such as he
would never himself have sought, but which, set off by his hostess's
pleasant manner, entertained and somewhat interested him. For the young
lady and her aged relative shone in no common light as Mrs. Toplady
exhibited them. The baronet's widow became one of the most remarkable
women of her time, all the more remarkable because of lowly origin;
Miss Tomalin, heiress of a great fortune, had pure colonial blood in
her veins, yet pursued with delightful zeal the finest culture of an
old civilisation. As Mrs. Toplady talked thus, the door opened to
admit--Mr. Lashmar, and there was an end of confidences for that day.

So far, Dymchurch had yielded without much reflection to the friendly
pressure which brought him among strangers and disturbed his habits of
seclusion. These dinners and afternoon calls had no importance; very
soon he would be going down into Somerset, where it might be hoped that
he would think out the problems which worried him, and arrive at some
clear decision about the future. But when he found himself,
reluctantly, yet as it seemed inevitably, setting forth to Mrs.
Toplady's "At Home," the reasonable man in him grew restive. Why was he
guilty of this weakness? Years had passed since he did anything so
foolish as to leave home towards the middle of the night for the
purpose of hustling amid a crowd of unknown people in staircases and
drawing-rooms. He saw himself as the victim of sudden fatuity, own
brother to the longest-eared of fashion's worshippers. Assuredly this
should be the last of his concessions.

Inwardly pishing and pshawing, he drifted about the rooms till brought
up beside Miss Tomalin. Then his mood changed. This girl, with her
queer mixture of naivete and conceit and examination-room pedantry,
decidedly amused him. Was she a type of the young Canadian? He knew
nothing of her life at Northampton, and thought she had come over from
Canada only a year or two ago. Yes, she amused him. By contrast with
the drawing-room young lady, of whom he had always been afraid, she
seemed to have originality of character, spontaneity of talk. Of course
her learning was not exactly profound; the quality of her mind left
something to be desired; her breeding fell short of what is demanded by
the fastidious; but there was something healthy and genuine about her,
wh