“Ah! here comes the man that was sent to Mrs. Watkinson,” said Caroline Morland.  “I hope he could not find the house and has brought the note back with him.  We shall then be able to go at first to Mrs. St. Leonard’s, and pass the whole evening there.”

The man reported that he had found the house, and had delivered the note into Mrs. Watkinson’s own hands, as she chanced to be crossing the entry when the door was opened; and that she read it immediately, and said “Very well.”

“Are you certain that you made no mistake in the house,” said Edward, “and that you really did give it to Mrs. Watkinson?”

“And it’s quite sure I am, sir,” replied the man, “when I first came over from the ould country I lived with them awhile, and though when she saw me to-day, she did not let on that she remembered my doing that same, she could not help calling me James.  Yes, the rale words she said when I handed her the billy-dux was, ‘Very well, James.’”

“Come, come,” said Edward, when they found themselves alone, “let us look on the bright side.  If we do not find a large party at Mrs. Watkinson’s, we may in all probability meet some very agreeable people there, and enjoy the feast of reason and the flow of soul.  We may find the Watkinson house so pleasant as to leave it with regret even for Mrs. St. Leonard’s.”

“I do not believe Mrs. Watkinson is in fashionable society,” said Caroline, “or Mrs. St. Leonard would have known her.  I heard some of the ladies here talking last evening of Mrs. St. Leonard, and I found from what they said that she is among the elite of the lite.”

“Even if she is,” observed Mrs. Morland, “are polish of manners and cultivation of mind confined exclusively to persons of that class?”

“Certainly not,” said Edward, “the most talented and refined youth at our college, and he in whose society I found the greatest pleasure, was the son of a bricklayer.”

In the ladies’ drawing-room, after dinner, the Morlands heard a conversation between several of the female guests, who all seemed to know Mrs. St. Leonard very well by reputation, and they talked of her party that was to “come off” on this evening.

“I hear,” said one lady, “that Mrs. St. Leonard is to have an unusual number of lions.”

She then proceeded to name a gallant general, with his elegant wife and accomplished daughter; a celebrated commander in the navy; two highly distinguished members of Congress, and even an ex-president.  Also several of the most eminent among the American literati, and two first-rate artists.

Edward Morland felt as if he could say, “Had I three ears I’d hear thee.”

“Such a woman as Mrs. St. Leonard can always command the best lions that are to be found,” observed another lady.

“And then,” said a third, “I have been told that she has such exquisite taste in lighting and embellishing her always elegant rooms.  And her supper table, whether for summer or winter parties, is so beautifully arranged; all the viands are so delicious, and the attendance of the servants so perfect—­and Mrs. St. Leonard does the honors with so much ease and tact.”