figuratively, at Bella's feet, and Maurice leaned on the railing beside
them. Mr. Percy was happier than he had been all day; he had been taken
possession of by a pretty young matron--an Englishwoman, who still
talked of "home," and they had found out some mutual acquaintance, of
whom she was eager to hear news. Yet he was not too much engrossed to
perceive the group opposite to him, or even to keep up a kind of
half-conscious surveillance over them. At the landing the party
dispersed, almost all to meet again in the evening at the unfinished
house, which had been appropriated for a ball-room. Mrs. Bellairs drove
her sister and Lucia home, leaving Mr. Bellairs and Mr. Percy to follow;
and when they arrived, the ladies had shut themselves up in their rooms,
to drink tea and rest before dressing.

At nine o'clock, while Mr. Percy was finishing his toilette, his host
knocked at the door. "Are you ready?" he asked. "Elise was anxious to
see the rooms before anybody arrived, so she and the girls are gone some
time ago with Maurice Leigh."

"Gone! Why, Bellairs, what hours _do_ people keep in Canada?"

"In Cacouna they keep reasonable ones, my good cousin; we begin to dance
at nine and finish soon after twelve. That accounts for the young people
being young. But come, if you are ready."

The house where the dance was to take place stood on a slight elevation,
so that its unglazed windows, blazing with light, shone out
conspicuously and lighted the approaching guests as they wound their way
among the rough heaps of mortar, planks, and various _débris_ left by
the workmen. The two gentlemen made their way readily to the open door,
and stepped at once into full view of the ball-room.