Let the artist give us a likeness of Ethel.  She is seventeen years old, rather taller than the majority of women.  Youth looks out of her bright eyes and flashes scorn or denial, perhaps too readily, when she encounters flattery or meanness.  Her smile, when it lights up her face and eyes, is as beautiful as spring sunshine.  Her countenance somewhat grave and haughty, on occasion brightens with humour or beams with kindliness and affection.

That night in the drawing room we found the two young ladies engaged over an album, containing a number of Clive’s drawings made in the time of his very early youth, and Miss Ethel seemed to be very much pleased with these performances.

Old Major Pendennis, whom I met earlier in the day, made some confidential remarks concerning Miss Ethel and her relatives, which I set down here.  “Your Indian Colonel,” says he, “seems a worthy man.  He don’t seem to know much of the world and we are not very intimate.  They say he wanted to marry your friend Clive to Lady Ann’s daughter, an exceedingly fine girl; one of the prettiest girls come out this season.  And that shows how monstrous ignorant of the world Colonel Newcome is.  His son could no more get that girl than he could marry one of the royal princesses.  These banker fellows are wild after grand marriages.  Mark my words, they intend Miss Newcome for some man of high rank.  Old Lady Kew is a monstrous clever woman.  Nothing could show a more deplorable ignorance of the world than poor Newcome supposing his son could make such a match as that with his cousin.  Is it true that he is going to make his son an artist?  I don’t know what the deuce the world is coming to.  An artist!  By Gad, in my time a fellow would as soon have thought of making his son a hairdresser, or a pastrycook, by Gad.”

Lady Kew carried off her granddaughter Ethel, the Colonel returned to India, and Clive, endowed with a considerable annual sum from his father, went abroad with an apparatus of easels and painting boxes.  Clive found Lady Ann, with Ethel and her other children, at Bount on their way to Baden Baden, and the old Countess being away for the time, it seemed to Clive that the barrier between himself and the family was withdrawn.  He was glad enough to go with his cousins, and travel in the orbit of Ethel Newcome—­who is now grown up and has been presented at Court.

At Baden Baden was Lady Kew; and Clive learning that Ethel was about to be betrothed, and that his suit was hopeless, retreated, with his paint boxes across the Alps to Rome.

III.—­Clive is Married

It was announced that Miss Newcome was engaged to the Marquis Fairntosh, but for all that no marriage took place.  First the death of Lady Kew made an inevitable postponement, and then Ethel herself shrunk from the loveless match, and, in spite of Lord Fairntosh’s protests, dismissed the noble marquis.

But the announcement drove Clive to marry pretty little Rose Mackenzie.  The Colonel was back in England again, and for good—­a rich man, thanks to the success of the Bundeleund Bank, Bengal, in which his savings were invested, and heavily displeased with Ethel’s treatment of his son.