Year: 1878

to Flora with the news. The fact is, that Flora wastired ofour arrangement as was. So when rushed into her room, and said, My dear, have come to tell you such piece of news g she said, quite cordially .'r@'* 'e' 'aa I z..ssYou can't thlnk,s Irene. how l. have been

 longing to see you lately. Why have yoube

 keeping away so {"

 AS if she didn't know that it was no pleasure to me to come and be snubbed and that my absence had been due to her own crossness.

 However, was not vindictive; so 1 said, i'm 'petuously-

 "Oh, Flozie :" (this was my pet name when

 we were in our most loving moods, ''who do you think are coming to New York? and Char

 lie is to bring them to us the first day. Why, the Earl of Chowder and Viscount Huckleber-

 ry! Isn't it puffectly splendid ?" Candour

 compels me to state that, in my excited mo-

 ments, l am in the habit of describing most

 things as ''puffectly splendid" We all do;

 and, on the whole, think it is better than the

 expression used by English girls under the

 same circumstances, of ''quite too awfully

 nice" , "''Oh lovely '" said Flora. But poor Char

 lie; what are you going to do with him ?" she

 asked, malciously. a.Iases sa... s.EU

 On Charlie can stand it," replied

 '.Don't you remember, before he was engaged

 to you, he was engaged whole year to Lizzie

 Puff, and something always happened to put

 of the marriage, till at last he told her that he

 was sorry to find that he did not care for her; but that if knowing this, she still wanted to marry him, he would make the necessary sac srifce don't think we need have any con- passion for him'' t..-... Y Darling, i" said Flora 'you are quite right

 How stupid we were to quarrel about him

 but, my dear we must take care not to make

 the same mistake again. How shall we man.

 age?, After what you did about Charlie, 1

 don't see how. Can trust you, dear ?" ' This led to a long discussion about Charlie,

 in which 1 explained to her that 1 had previ- ously refused to be engaged to him until they

 had both got tired of each, other, but that he

 had been unwarrantably premature and Flora

 became satisfied at last, and we swore eternal

 friendship and mutual cooperation, and per

 fectly square and honest conduct in all future

 complications; then we kissed each other a

 good deal, and sat down to discuss the plan of

 the campaign in earnest. After mature delib-

 eration. we decided that the first step shonld

 be reconciliation between Flora and Charlie

 and that in celebration thereof, he should be

 made to give us a little dinner at Delmonice's,

 to which should be invited Fanny and Harry

 Hardpan, Prince Schamovitch and Laura,

 Lord Chowder and Lord Huckleberry, ky

 Bullstock and both of us girls Under these

 circumstances, it is not at all bad plan to

 have one.or two old admirers. The dinner

 was to bU arranged for the night after the ar

 rival of the Cunard steamer and we were all

 to hold ourselves disengaged accordingly. Dear

 Charlie was so anxious to make the G8asaode to

 Flora, that he entered into the scheme cordial

 ly and without the slightest suspicion. Indeed,

 he was great deal to much pleased to be the

 entertainer of the two British noblemen to

 think of anything else. Moreover, there was

 no man in New York who understood the art

 of giving little dinner of this sort more per fectly than Charlie, and he was not sorry for

 the opportunity it afforded him of distinguish

 ing himself; so we were happy and satisfied

 all round 1 think my Lords Chowder and

 Huckleberry may travel far before again find

 ing themselves at dinner with four such pretty

 and agreeable women as Laura, Fanny Flora

 and myself. Though not given to manifesting

 more astonishment than they could help, I was

 amused to see how completely they were taken

 by surprise Chowder was a somewhat heavy

 blue-eped blond, with large light beard, and

 rather vacuous smile; but he had sort of

 smart way of sharply dropping his eye-glass

 with little twitch out of his eye, which, every

 time he did it, seemed to impart flash of in-

 telligence to his countenance. As l came to

 know him better, accounted for it by the fact of his having suddenly to change the focus of his eye. He seemed intensely amiable and good-natured. He evidently had sluggish protoplasm and was very easily amused, but took his jokes ill heavy sort of way, just as some hunters do their fences-they always nlapage to get over, but bungle So much that they lose their place in the field. Now Huckle- berry, on the other hand, was all ''snap."

 Tall, dark, thin, with pure classical profile, and bright sparkling eye he took in the whole situation before we had finished the pre- lininary oysters, aud by the time we had fin don our soup had proved himself match for Flora, who is recognized amongst us all as hav- ing the quickest wit and the sharpest tongue for repartee of any girl in our set. She seemed to be an entirely new specimen to Huckleber- ", and evidently piqued him by certain brilliant aa01acjtGlG0ce, which fancy made him feel rather smaller than he had ever done in the society of any girl of the same age in his life before. Flora was not the kind of girl to stand the patronizing air with winch the young British Peer of immense landed estates and ac- knowledged talent is accustomed to address the young ladies of his own. class in London. She was wise enough to see that if she wanted to hook her aristoQrat, the best plan was to treat him upon thoroughly democratic principles She rightly judged that the novelty of finding himself patronized, instead of patronizmg, of of being condescended to- instead of conde- scending, would produce strange and rather fascinating sensation. In the struggle to assert himself to conquer and subdue this rebellious and independent belle, the chances were that he would fall in love. By the time the cigar cites were put upon the table there was gilt ter in his eye that convinced me he would fight Flora with her own weapons till he had sub dued her j. and knew that if ever Flora met her match, she would fall hopelessly and des- perately in love with him. It would not be skin-deep affair this time, as it was in the case of Charlie but a real serious business should ra&her have preferred HucklebeTy to Chowder myself but, in the first place, I could not again interfere with Floras affairs; in the sec ond place, I don't think I should have had chance with Huckleberry. It was Flora's | 'scussedness," to use an unladylike expression, l which proved so irresistible to him. and my | temper is calm and equable. And, lastly, the l Earl of Chowder would be Duke of Gumbo OH the death of his father; and Lord Huckleber- ry's father was already dead, so he would nev- CT be anything more than a Viscount. When Flora was Viscountess Huckleberry, should | be Duchess of Gumbo, and go in to dinner in l London miles before her so devoted myself ] to Chowder. He was so softand gentle and un- | 1 got quite to like him. He was not l a bit like my idea of a lord. s HT

 The day following the dinner was race-day, 1 and Charlie invited the whoIe party to drive out with him on the drag. insisted on Fanny taking the box x-seat-poor Fanny Charlie had | been a passion naGLheureISo at one time in that | quarter, and she had married Harry out of l pique. Then after he had lost her, Charlie l seemed rather to regret it, until he fell in love with Flora Now that we were both likely to | be otherwise provided. for, I thought it would only be kind to both of them to bring them to- | gether little, and l knew Harry would not l mind, as he was otherwise engaged. Now l 1 know all this is very wrong don't defendi it -on the contrary regret it. I am deeply pen itent for my past follies; but believe me, it was all not half so bad as It looks to the less inno- cent mind of Europe. This trifling with each others affections, even if it does not lead to anything worse,is not a custom to be applaud ed; but the social cOnee1sGaaces of America, lend themselves to such tiirtatiops far more than do those of countries where the external restraints are 80 great that the very necessity which ex- sts for them suggests the frequency of far graver consequences than we in New York | know anything about. Besides, wanted to Sit next Chowder; and how could I do that if