versed in the polite slang of the day. He scented afar off and
announced the slightest change in the mode, so that his elegant
sisters could appear on the avenue in advance of the other fashion-
plates. As they sailed away on a sunny afternoon in their gorgeous
plumage, the envy of many a competing belle, they would say:

"Isn't he a duck of a brother to give us a hint of a change so early?
After all there is no eye or taste like that of man when once
perfected."

And then they knew him to be equally _au fait_ on the flavor of wines,
the points of horses, the merits of every watering-place, and all the
other lore which in their world gave pre-eminence. They had been
educated to have no other ideal of manhood, and if an earnest,
straight forward man, with a purpose, had spoken out before them, they
would have regarded him as an uncouth monster.

Notwithstanding all his vanity, "Gus," as he was familiarly called,
was a very weak man, and though he would not acknowledge it, even to
himself, instinctively recognized the fact. He continually attached
himself to strong, resolute natures, by whom, if they were adroit, he
could easily be made a tool of. He took a great fancy to Edith from
the first hour of their acquaintance, and she soon obtained a strong
influence over him. She instinctively detected his yielding
disposition, and liked him the better for it, while his good-nature
and abundant supply of society talk made him a general favorite.

When every one whispered, "What a handsome couple they would make!"
and she found him so looked up to and quoted in the fashionable world,
she began to entertain quite an admiration as well as liking for him,