her recognized purpose to give a heartache to as many as possible;
she merely enjoyed in thoughtless exultation her power to attract
young men to her side. There was keen excitement in watching them,
from the moment of introduction, as they passed through the phases
of formal acquaintanceship into relations that bordered on sentiment.
When this point was reached experiences sometimes followed which
caused not a little compunction.

She soon learned that society was full of men much like herself in
some respects, ready to meet new faces, to use their old compliments
and flirtation methods over and over again. They could look unutterable
things at half a dozen different girls in the same season, while
their hearts remained as invulnerable as old-fashioned pin-cushions,
heart-shaped, that adorn country "spare rooms." But now and then
a man endowed with a deep, strong nature would finally leave her
side in troubled wonder or bitter cynicism. Her fair, young face,
her violet eyes, so dark as to appear almost black at night, had
given no token that she could amuse herself with feelings that
touched the sources of life and death in such admirers.

"They should have known better, that I was not in earnest," she
would say, petulantly, and more or less remorsefully.

But these sincere men, who had been so blind as to credit her with
gentle truth and natural intuition, had some ideal of womanhood
which had led to their blunder. Conscious of revealing so much
themselves by look, tone, and touch of hand, eager to supplement
one significant glance by life-long loyalty, they were slow in
understanding that answering significant glances meant only, "I
like you very well,--better than others, just at present; but then