tone, would not have
seemed out of place. "I think you proved that at Trenton Falls," he
rejoined; "but will you grant me the pleasure of another test during
the next quadrille?"

"No further test is necessary, Sir. I presume you have patients enough
already!" And having uttered these words as coolly as her indignation
allowed, Bertha moved away from the window.

"Patience?" said Mr. Bartlett to himself, wholly misapprehending her
meaning; "yes, I shall have patience while there is a chance to hope.
But why did she speak of patience? Women, I have heard, are natural
diplomatists, and have a thousand indirect ways of saying things which
they do not wish to speak outright. Could she mean to test the
sincerity of my wish to know her. It is not to be expected that a
stranger, so awkwardly introduced, should be received without
hesitation--mistrust, perhaps. No, no, I must persevere; she would
despise me if I did not understand her meaning."

The following days were cold and rainy. There was an end of the gay
out-door life which offered him so many chances of meeting Miss Morris,
and the fleeting glimpses he caught of her in the great dining-hall or
the passage leading to the ladies' parlor were simply tantalizing. I
have no doubt there was a mute appeal in his eyes which must have
troubled the young lady's conscience; for she avoided meeting his gaze.
The knowledge of his presence made her uneasy; there was an atmosphere
about the hotel which she would willingly have escaped. She walked
with the consciousness of an eye every where following her, and, in
spite of herself, furtively sought for it. We, who are aware of her
mystification, may be amused at it; but imagine yourselves in the same
situation, ladies, and you will appreciate its horrors!

No, this was not longer to be endured, and so, after five or six days
at Saratoga, the party suddenly left for Niagara. Bertha, an only
daughter, was a petted child, and might have had her own way much
oftener than was really the case. The principal use she made of her
privilege was to follow the bent of a remarkably free, joyous, and
confiding nature. She was just unconventional enough to preserve an
individuality, and thereby distinguish herself from thousands of girls
who seem to have been cut out by a single pattern. The sphere within
which true womanhood moves is much wider than most women suspect. To
the frank, honest, and pure nature, what are called "the