all that delightful man's doing; only he wont have a geometric
flower-garden, as I did everything I could think of to
persuade him. I pity the woman that will be his wife — she
wont have her own way in a single thing; but then he will
fascinate her into thinking that his way is the best — so it
will do just as well, I suppose. Do you know, I can't conceive
what he has come over here for. He has been here before, you
know, and he don't seem to me to know exactly what he means to
do; at least, I can't find out, and I have tried."

"How long has he been here?"

"Oh, a month or two — since the beginning of April, I believe.
He came over with some friends of his — a Sir George Egerton
and his family; — he is going to Canada, to be established in
some post there, I forget what; and they are spending part of
the summer here before they fix themselves at the North. It is
easy to see what _they_ are here for — they are strangers, and
amusing themselves; but Mr. Carleton is at home, and _not_
amusing himself, at least, he don't seem to be. He goes about
with the Egertons, but that is just for his friendship for
them; and he puzzles me. He don't know whether he is going to
Niagara — he has been once already — and 'perhaps' he may go
to Canada — and 'possibly' he will make a journey to the West
— and I can't find out that he wants anything in particular."

"Perhaps he don't mean that you shall," said Fleda.

"Perhaps he don't; but you see that aggravates my state of
mind to a distressing degree. And then I'm afraid he will go