It was a Sunday evening.  Every one was gone to church except Charlotte, who was left to keep house.  Though November, it was not cold, the day had been warm and showery, and the full moon had risen in the most glorious brightness, riding in a sky the blue of which looked almost black by contrast with her brilliancy.  Charlotte stood at the back door, gazing at the moon walking in brightness, and wandered into the garden, to enjoy what to her was beyond all other delights, reading Gessner’s Death of Abel by moonlight.  There was quite sufficient light, even if she had not known the idyll almost by heart; and in a trance of dreamy, undefined delight, she stood beside the dark ivy-covered wall, each leaf glistening in the moonbeams, which shed a subdued pearliness over her white apron and collar, paled but gave a shadowy refinement to her features, and imparted a peculiar soft golden gloss to the fair braids of hair on her modest brow.

A sound of opening the back gate made her give one of her violent starts; but before she could spring into the shelter of the house, she was checked by the civil words, ’I beg your pardon, I was mistaken—­I took this for No. 8.’

‘Three doors off—­’ began Charlotte, discovering, with a shy thrill of surprise and pleasure, that she had been actually accosted by the great Mr. Delaford; and the moonlight, quite as becoming to him as to her, made him an absolute Italian count, tall, dark, pale, and whiskered.  He did not go away at once, he lingered, and said softly, ’I perceive that you partake my own predilection for the moonlight hour.’

Charlotte would have been delighted, had it not been a great deal harder to find an answer than if the old Lord had asked her a question; but she simpered and blushed, which probably did just as well.  Mr. Delaford supposed she knew the poet’s lines—­

     ‘How sweet the moonlight sleeps on yonder bank—­’

‘Oh yes, sir—­so sweet!’ exclaimed the Lady of Eschalott, under her breath, though yonder bank was only represented by the chequer-work of Mrs. Ponsonby’s latticed trellis; and Mr. Delaford proceeded to quote the whole passage, in a deep mellow voice, but with a great deal of affectation; and Charlotte gasped, ‘So beautiful!’

‘I perceive that you have a fine taste for poetry,’ said Mr. Delaford, so graciously, that Charlotte presumed to say, ’Oh, sir! is it true that you can play the guitar?’

He smiled upon her tone of veneration, and replied, ’a trifle—­a little instrumental melody was a great resource.  If his poor performance would afford her any gratification, he would fetch his guitar.’

’Oh, sir—­thank you—­a psalm-tune, perhaps.  It is Sunday—­if you would be so kind.’