him? Then he began to consider
what style of girl his mother would choose; and while he was thus
musing there came a missive which plainly showed Mrs. Purling's hand.

"I have been at Compton Revel for a week--"

"I wonder," thought Harold, when he had read thus far, "why they asked
her there? My dear old mother must have been in the seventh heaven of
delight. She always longed to be on more intimate terms with Lady
Calverly."

"I have been at Compton Revel for a week," his mother said, "and met
there a Miss Fanshawe, one of Lord Fanshawe's daughters, who seemed to
me quite the nicest girl I have ever known. I took to her directly;
and without conceit I may be permitted to say that I think she took
quite as readily to me. We became immense friends. She was at such
pains to be agreeable to an uninteresting old woman like myself that I
feel convinced she has a good heart. I confess I was charmed with her.
It is not only that she is strikingly handsome, but her whole bearing
and her style are so distinguished that she might be descended from a
long line of kings--as I make no doubt she is.

"Of course she has moved only in the best circles; her mother being
dead, she has been introduced by the Countess of Gayfeather, and goes
with her ladyship everywhere. Just imagine, she has been to
State-balls at the Palace; the Prince has danced with her, and she has
been spoken to by the Princess! You know how I enjoy hearing all the
news of the great world, and Miss Fanshawe has been so obliging as to
amuse me for hours with descriptions of all she has seen and
heard--not a little, I assure you; she is not one of those flighty
girls who have no ears but for flattery, no eyes but for young men;
she is observant, critical perhaps, but strikingly just in her
strictures on what goes on around. I find she has thought out several
of the complex problems of our modern high-pressure life; and really
she gave me very valuable ideas upon my favourite theory of
'lady-helps,' to which I am devoting now so much of my spare time.

"Miss Fanshawe has promised to pay me a long visit at Purlington some
day soon--a real act of kindness which I fully appreciate. It will
indeed be a treat to a lonely old woman to find so entertaining a
guest and companion.

"When do you think of returning? Gollop tells me there are plenty of
pheasants this year. Surely, you have had enough of those dry German
_savants_ and that dull university-town?"

The hook