AND A BELLE. 135 



first sentence ; but as she heard his last word, she 

 looked surprised, and asked : 



" Your country. Why ? are you not an English- 

 man ?" 



" Nor ever was in England, 'till within the last two 

 months." 



" An American then of course, though I never met 

 one before ; were you ever in Canada, Colonel Fair- 

 fax, in Montreal or Quebec?" 



" The last autumn before I sailed for France I was 

 there ; God bless me, Miss Merton, it must be so ; 

 you are Charley Morton's sister, of the 71st Lights." 



" Only his sister. Colonel ; and you knew, and — 

 and liked him ?" 



" More than liked him ; we are friends, and have 

 corresponded for some years ; how curious that I 

 should meet his sister here ?" 



'' And how pleasant," said she, softly, " it is so 

 much pleasanter to owe thanks and kindness to friends 

 than to strangers." 



" Much pleasanter ; but you owe me none of the 

 first, though as much as you will of the second." 



"Hush! Don't, please. The greatest obligation" 

 — she said, artlessly and innocently laying her small 

 hand on his arm — " think if I had fallen. I never 

 would have danced again." 



"A strong reason why I should be thankful," said 

 Fairfax ; " but won't you dance now ; they are stand- 

 ing up ?" 



" Certainly," and she stood up, and took his arm. 

 But, at this moment, Jardinier came up, and it was 

 evident at a glance that he had been dining out, and 

 drinking hard, to say the least. He walked straight 

 up to Mary Merton, drawing on his kid glove as he 

 came, with an air of dogged insolence, affecting not to 

 recognize Fairfax, who felt Mary's hand tremble on 

 his sleeve at his approach. 



