to Lady Severn's to-night to dinner?"

"Of course I am, and so are you. You know the famous prima donna,
Mademoiselle Laurentia is staying at the Castle, and we shall hear her
sing."

"Who is she? Another of old Lady Severn's _protégées_, I suppose. All her
swans turn out geese. I only hope this one will not be a worse failure
than usual."

"You at least, Noël, ought to be interested in Mademoiselle Laurentia,
for she comes from your part of the world--from the backwoods of Canada."

"Really?" he questioned, with some show of interest at last.

"Yes; and Elsie Severn began to tell me some romantic story about her
which I can't remember, for, just as she was at the most exciting part,
Jones came in and related the account of the arrears in the Mackays'
rent, and that put all Elsie's story out of my head."

"Yes, my dear, you have a faculty of remembering all the disagreeable
things and forgetting all the pleasant ones. This adds much to your
worth as a charming companion. I, who am honored with so much of your
society, fully appreciate this quality."

Fortunately Lady Margaret did not hear this tender speech, for she was
again deep in the recalcitrant Jones' accounts.

Let us glance for a moment at Noël McAllister, and see how years and
prosperity have agreed with him. Lazily smoking in a comfortable