'Suppose I did; mayn't a man change his mind on further
acquaintance?'

'Yes, of course,' returned he, nicely reducing an entanglement in
the pony's redundant hoary mane. Then suddenly turning to me, and
fixing his shy, hazel eyes upon me with a steady penetrating gaze,
he added, 'Then you have changed your mind?'

'I can't say that I have exactly. No; I think I hold the same
opinion respecting her as before - but slightly ameliorated.'

'Oh!' He looked round for something else to talk about; and
glancing up at the moon, made some remark upon the beauty of the
evening, which I did not answer, as being irrelevant to the
subject.

'Lawrence,' said I, calmly looking him in the face, 'are you in
love with Mrs. Graham?'

Instead of his being deeply offended at this, as I more than half
expected he would, the first start of surprise, at the audacious
question, was followed by a tittering laugh, as if he was highly
amused at the idea.

'I in love with her!' repeated he. 'What makes you dream of such a
thing?'

'From the interest you take in the progress of my acquaintance with
the lady, and the changes of my opinion concerning her, I thought