CHAPTER VI.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 224, 16 May 1872, Page 9

CHAPTER VI.

We met in society. At a The Dansante, to be particular, at which all that was elite and distingue 1 out Camden Town had assembled.

He was rather young, but noblelooking, and wore his hair dashed off his lofty brow and hooked behind his ears, from which it fell ever and again when he shook his head. There was, we agreed, something

lion-like about his head, though as regarded his legs, they were slimmer than they might have been, and he had a way of sitting on Lis hands, with his hands turnedin, which, to some extent, tcok away from the nobility of his appearance. ' We never- know how these things happen, but I picked him from the gay and giddy throng, and my heart was his ere we had exchanged half a dozen glan- c ■. He begged the honor of my hand, and led me forth to the mazy dance. It was indeed more than usually mazy under these circumstances, for it must be confessed he had the very haziest of notions respecting the figures of a quadrille, and more than once was wandering in the next set and brought back forcibly.

He owned that he knew nothing of dancing, but added that he would like to learn.' I was a little anuoyed at time, and told him that in that case he had better go to a dancing academy. He said he thought he would.

We sat upon a rough seat presently, and he asked me whether I did not think ' all this ' (waving his towai'ds the giddy throng), ' a h >llow mockery.' It had never occurred to me in this light before, but I felt there was too much truth in what he said. Then we went down to supper.

I had expected that he would not fa 1 ; much, and I felt dreadfully awkward ; it seemed so commonp lace to have an appetite, and he so witheringly sarcastic upon human weakness. But after he had remarked in a contemptuous way that he didn't care about ' this sort of thing,' he sat down and had several helps.

That odious Mr. Robinson (I do not think by the way I have mentioned before that there was such a person, .but please accept the fact now in conjunction with his odiousness) came up to me and begged for the first waltz after supper, • if,' he added with a contemptuous glance at my late partner, 'you are not engaged.' ' I am, thank you,' I said, 'to this gentleman.' Then when he was gone, I asked Alexis whether he could not waltz at all.

He said he did not think he could do it as well as a quadrille, -so I thought it would be wisest not make the experiment. At the same time I was too high-spirited to accept Mr. Robinson's second offer, and we occupied a rout seat and conversed.

I can't exactly tell you how these things occur, or why. Perhaps if everybody had not seemed to go out of their way to make fun of him I should not have loved Alexis as I did. But when they all seemed to make up their minds 1 shouldn't marry him, I thoroughly made up my mind I would, and so in the end I haye — after a certain interval,