former friends and acquaintances. "You surely do not mean to run away
from us so soon?"

A quick glance from Mrs. Morris telegraphed his reply, and he said,
"I am most unfortunately limited for time. I shall be obliged to leave
immediately."

"A day or two you could surely spare us?" said Heathcote.

Stocmar shook his head with a deploring smile, for another glance, quick
as the former, had given him his instructions.

"I have told you, Sir William, how inexorable he is about Clara; and
although at first I stoutly opposed his reasonings, I am free to own
that he has convinced me his plan is the true one; and as he has made
all the necessary arrangements,--have you not, Mr. Stocmar?--and they
are charming people she will be with,--he raves about them," said
she, in a sort of whisper, while she added, still lower, "and I partly
explained to him my own projected change,--and, in fact, it is better
as it is,--don't you think so?" and thus hurrying Sir William along,--a
process not unlike that by which an energetic rider hustles a lazy horse
through heavy ground,--she at least made him feel grateful that he was
not called upon for any increased exercise of his judgment. And
then Stocmar followed, like another counsel in the same brief,--half
jocularly, to be sure, and like one not required to supply more than
some illustrative arguments. He remarked that young ladies nowadays
were expected to be models of erudition,--downright professors; no
smatterings of French and Italian, no water-color sketches touched up
by the master,--"they must be regular linguists, able to write like
De Sevigne, and interpret Dante." In a word, so much did he improve the
theme, that he made Sir William shudder at the bare thought of being
domesticated with so much loose learning, and thank his stars that he
had been born in a generation before it. Not but the worthy Baronet had
his own secret suspicions that Clara wanted little aid from all their
teachings; his firm belief being that she was the most quick-witted,
gifted creature ever existed, and it was in a sort of triumphant voice
he asked Mrs. Morris, "Has Mr. Stocmar seen her?"

"Not yet," said she, dryly. "Clara is in my room. Mr. Stocmar shall
see her presently; for, as he insists on leaving this to-morrow--"

"To-morrow---to-morrow!" cried Sir William, in amazement.

And then Stocmar, drawing close to Sir William, began confidentially to
impart to him how, partly from over-persuasi