Never did she look more charming in her queenly beauty, than when that delicate, rose-tinted blush betrayed a momentary lack of the self possession which seldom deserted her in any emergency. It was pleasant to feel the pressure of his hand once more, but what was to be done next? There they stood, liable at any moment to be surprised and embarrassed by others. He had not studied his lesson beforehand, and probably by this time was wishing himself out of the dilemma he had so unceremoniously rushed into. He let go her hand, and she looked up at him with a half smile, in her usual dignified manner. He smiled the smile she had once so much enjoyed. All bitterness melted away in an instant, and it is not known what explanation might have followed, but for the sudden announcement of Mr. Carleton which was as unexpected to her, as to the rest of the company. She turned deadly pale, and the interview was abruptly terminated.
She did not leave the conservatory for some time, remaining unobserved as she supposed, amid the dense mass of flowers and shrubbery, which gave it the character of an artificial garden. There she was struggling with the contending emotions of her soul, having just begun to tread that delicate labyrinth whose intricate windings would disclose a mine to fathom which, the brief space of twenty years had not given her the first sounding plummet. She was surprised to find that she did not even know herself. The very moment she felt the pressure of Mr. Livingston's hand all feeling of ill-will vanished, and
