sweetness of the whole impression. I had had it before, but to my
companion it was new, and he thought it as pretty as the opera: the
enchanting beauty of the place and, hour, the stillness of the air and
water, with the romantic fantastic Borromean Islands set as great jewels
in a crystal globe. We disembarked at the steps by the garden-foot of
the hotel, and somehow it seemed a perfectly natural part of the lovely
situation that I should immediately become conscious of Mrs. Pallant and
her daughter seated on the terrace and quietly watching us. They had the
air of expectation, which I think we had counted on. I hadn't even asked
Archie if he had answered Linda's note; this was between themselves and
in the way of supervision I had done enough in coming with him.

There is no doubt our present address, all round, lacked a little the
easiest grace--or at least Louisa's and mine did. I felt too much the
appeal of her exhibition to notice closely the style of encounter of the
young people. I couldn't get it out of my head, as I have sufficiently
indicated, that Mrs. Pallant was playing a game, and I'm afraid she saw
in my face that this suspicion had been the motive of my journey. I had
come there to find her out. The knowledge of my purpose couldn't help
her to make me very welcome, and that's why I speak of our meeting
constrainedly. We observed none the less all the forms, and the
admirable scene left us plenty to talk about. I made no reference before
Linda to the retreat from Homburg. This young woman looked even prettier
than she had done on the eve of that manoeuvre and gave no sign of an
awkward consciousness. She again so struck me as a charming clever girl
that I was freshly puzzled to know why we should get--or should have
got--into a tangle about her. People had to want to complicate a
situation to do it on so simple a pretext as that Linda was in every way
beautiful. This was the clear fact: so why shouldn't the presumptions be
in favour of every result of it? One of the effects of that cause, on