'I am afraid it is silly,' half-whispered Violet to herself; but the
recollection was too pleasant not to be easily drawn out; and at her
age the transition is short from shyness to confidence.

'Not at all silly,' said John. 'You know I must wish to hear how I
gained a sister.'

Then, as the strangeness of imagining that this grave, high-bred, more
than thirty-years-old gentleman, could possibly call her by such a
name, set her smiling and blushing in confusion, he wiled on her
communications by saying, 'Well, that evening you danced with Arthur.'

'Three times. It was a wonderful evening. Annette and I said, when we
went to bed, we had seen enough to think of for weeks. We did not know
how much more was going to happen.'

'No, I suppose not.'

'I thought much of it when he bowed to me. I little fancied--but there
was another odd coincidence--wasn't it? In general I never go into the
drawing-room to company, because there are three older; but the day
they came to speak to papa about the fishing, mamma and all the elder
ones were out of the way, except Matilda. I was doing my Roman history
with her, when papa came in and said, we must both come into the
drawing-room.'

'You saw more of him from that time?'

'O yes; he dined with us. It was the first time I ever dined with a