sts,' with very stately manners and small
fortunes. But a good house to dine at, a good salon for a lounge, a
pleasant haunt for all seasons and at all hours, what is there? Nothing,
absolutely nothing. And what a city this was once! crammed, as it used
to be, with dear, delightful 'ruined families;' that is, those who
left ruin to their creditors at home, to come out and live gloriously
abroad. And now I look down my list, and, except my little Sunday dinner
at 'Marescotte's,' and that half luncheon thing I take at the Villa
Pessarole, I really see nothing for the whole week. The Onslows, alone,
figure in strong capitals. Let me see, then, how they must be treated. I
have already housed them at the Palazzo Mazzarini, and, for some days at
least, their time will be filled up with upholsterers, decorators,
and such-like. Then the campaign will open, and I can but watch
eventualities, and there will be no lack of these. The young Guardsman
likes play. I must see that Prince Carini does not get hold of him. Miss
Onslow has a taste for Gothic and stained glass; that, nowadays, often
ends in a love of saints' shin-bones and other relics. My lady is
disposed to be a 'fast one;' and, in fact, except the gruff old doctor,
who is a confounded bore, the whole craft is deficient in ballast. But
I was forgetting 'the Dalton,' shame on me, for she is very pretty,
indeed!" He seemed to ruminate and reflect for some minutes, and then
said aloud, "Yes, ma belle Catharine, with the aid of Albert Jekyl, with
his counsel to guide, and his head to direct you, there 's no saying
what your destiny might not be! It would be, I know well, very hard to
convince you of the fact, and, possibly, were I to try it, you 'd be
silly enough to fancy me in love with you!" Albert Jekyl in love! The
idea was so excellent that he lay back and laughed heartily at it. "And
yet," said he, after a pause, "you 'll see this fact aright one of
these days. You 'll learn the immense benefit my knowledge would be when
joined to your own beauty. Ay, Kate! but it will be too late, just so,
too late; then, like every one else, you 'll have played all your trumps
before you begin to learn the game. A girl who has caught up every trick
of manner, every little tactic of society within a month, and who, at
this hour, would stand the scrutiny of the most fastidious eye, is a
great prize in the wheel. This aptitude might lead to great things,
though, in all probability, it wil