them,--were really young ladies, and most unusually beautiful ones, as
she was forced to confess to herself. She envied them the occasion, the
honor they gained through their intimate connection with Mr. Sumner and
Mrs. Douglas, and the impression they were so evidently making on
everybody. She was not broad or generous minded enough to be glad for
the young girls from her own country as a nobler-minded woman would have
been. But that there could be any especial feeling, or even momentary
thought, between Mr. Sumner and Barbara was too absurd to be considered
for a moment. That could not be.

Drawing near, she joined Mrs. Douglas and Mr. Sumner, and again sweetly
congratulated them on the success of their party, the beauty of the
rooms, etc.

"The young girls, too," she said, "I am sure do you great credit--quite
grown-up they seem, I declare. What a difference clothes make, do they
not? I have been a bit amused by some of their pretty airs, as an older
woman could not fail to be," and an indulgent smile played about her
lips.

As it was time to go to the dining room for refreshments, Mrs. Douglas,
in accordance with a preconceived plan, asked her brother to lead the
way with Miss Sherman. When Barbara entered the room soon after with
Howard, she saw the two sitting behind the partial screen of a big palm.
She felt a momentary wish that she could know what they were so
earnestly talking about, and, presently, was conscious that Mr.
Sumner's eyes sought her.

But how little she thought that she, herself, was the subject of their
conversation, or rather of Miss Sherman's, who was saying how apparent