When everything was ready, Aunt Polly’s husband was called in to gaze upon her.  A little man was Aunt Polly’s husband, with black side whiskers and a head partly bald; a most quiet and unobtrusive person, looking just what he had been represented,—­a “plain, sensible man,” who attended to his half of the family affairs, and left the other half to his wife.  He gazed upon Helen and blinked once or twice, as if blinded by so much beauty, and then took the end of her fingers very lightly in his and pronounced her “absolutely perfect.”  “And, my dear,” he added, “it’s after seven, so perhaps we’d best descend.”

So he led the girl down to her triumph, to the handsome parlors of the house where eight or ten men were strolling about.  It was quite exciting to Helen to meet them, for they were all strangers, and Aunt Polly had apparently considered Mr. Harrison of so much importance that she had said nothing about the others, leaving her niece at liberty to make what speculations she pleased.

It was a brilliant company which was seated in the dining room a short while later.  As it was assembled in Helen’s honor, Aunt Polly had taken care to bring those who would please the girl, and represent high life and luxury at its best; all of the guests were young, and therefore perfect.  The members of the “smart set,” when they have passed the third decade, are apt to show signs of weariness; a little of their beauty and health is gone, and some of their animation, and all of their joy,—­so that one may be led to ask himself if there be not really something wrong about their views and ways of living.  When they are young, however, they represent the possibilities of the human animal in all things external.  In some wonderful way known only to themselves they have managed to manipulate the laws of men so as to make men do for them all the hard and painful tasks of life, so that they have no care but to make themselves as beautiful and as clever and as generally excellent as selfishness can be.  Helen, of course, was not in the least troubled about the selfishness, and she was quite satisfied with externals.  She saw about her perfect toilets and perfect manners; she saw everyone as happy as she liked everyone to be; and the result was that her spirits took fire, and she was clever and fascinating beyond even herself.  She carried everything before her, and performed the real feat of dominating the table by her beauty and cleveness, without being either presumptuous or vain.  Aunt Polly replied to the delighted looks of her husband at the other end of the table, and the two only wished that Mr. Harrison had been there then.

As a matter of fact, Helen had forgotten Mr. Harrison entirely, and he did not come back to her mind until the dinner was almost over, when suddenly she heard the bell ring.  It was just the time that he was due to arrive, and so she knew that she would see him in another half hour.  In the exultation of the present moment all of her hesitation was gone, and she was as ready to meet him as her aunt could have wished.