operly, and talking a lot of nonsense sometimes. I thought, last
Sunday, it was time to make a short turn somewhere and bring myself up.
I could not, or did not get out of the pleasant talks as Laura does, so
I thought giving up this ball would punish me at once, and set me on a
new tack of behaving like a reasonable creature.'

'Don't call yourself too many names, or you won't be civil to us. We
all, except Laura, have been quite as bad.'

'Yes; but you had not so much to do.'

'We ought,' said Amy; 'but I meant to be reasonable when Eveleen is
gone.'

Perhaps I ought to have waited till then, but I don't know. Lady Eveleen
is so amusing that it leads to farther dawdling, and it would not do to
wait to resist the temptation till it is out of the way.'

As he spoke, they saw Mrs. Edmonstone coming out, and went to meet her.
Guy told her his trouble, detailing it more calmly than before he
had found out his mistake. She agreed with him that this had been in
forgetting that his attending the ball did not concern only himself, but
he then returned to say that he could not see what difference it made,
except to their own immediate circle.

'If it was not you, Guy, who made that speech, I should call it fishing
for a compliment. You forget that rank and station make people sought
after.'

'I suppose there is something in that,' said Guy, thoughtfully; 'at any
rate, it is no bad thing to think so, it is so humiliating.'

'That is not the way most people would take it.'

'No? Does not it prevent one from taking any attention as paid to one's
real self? The real flattering thing would be to be made as much of as
Philip is, for one's own merits, and not for the handle to one's name.'

'Yes, I think so,' said Amy.

'Well, then,' as if he wished to gather the whole conversation into
one resolve, the point is to consider whether abstaining from innocent
things that may be dangerous to oneself mortifies other people. If so,
the vexing them is a certain wrong, whereas the mischief of taking the
pleasure is only a possible contingency. But then one must take it out
of oneself some other way, or it becomes an excuse for self-indulgence.'

'Hardly with you,' said Mrs. Edmonstone, smiling.

'Because I had rather go at it at once, and forget all about other
people. You must teach me consideration, Mrs. Edmonstone, and in the
meantime will you tell me what you think I had better do about this
scrape?'

'Let it alone,' said