"My own, my father"s friend!
I cannot part with thee!
I ne"er have shown, thou ne"er hast known,How dear thou art to me."
ANON.
The elements of the dinner-parties which Mrs. Lennox gave, werethese; her friends contributed the beauty, Captain Lennox the easyknowledge of the subjects of the day; and Mr. Henry Lennox and thesprinkling of rising men who were received as his friends, brought thewit, the cleverness, the keen and extensive knowledge of which theyknew well enough how to avail themselves without seeming pedantic,or burdening the rapid flow of conversation.
These dinners were delightful; but even here Margaret"s dissatisfactionfound her out. Every talent, every feeling, every acquirement; nay, evenevery tendency towards virtue was used up as materials for fireworks;the hidden, sacred fire, exhausted itself in sparkle and crackle. Theytalked about art in a merely sensuous way, dwelling on outside effects,instead of allowing themselves to learn what it has to teach. Theylashed themselves up into an enthusiasm about high subjects incompany, and never thought about them when they were alone; theysquandered their capabilities of appreciation into a mere flow ofappropriate words. One day, after the gentlemen had come up into thedrawing-room, Mr. Lennox drew near to Margaret, and addressed her inalmost the first voluntary words he had spoken to her since she hadreturned to live in Harley Street.
"You did not look pleased at what Shirley was saying at dinner."
"Didn"t I? My face must be very expressive," replied Margaret.
"It always was. It has not lost the trick of being eloquent."
"I did not like," said Margaret, hastily, "his way of advocating what heknew to be wrong--so glaringly wrong--even in jest."
"But it was very clever. How every word told! Do you remember thehappy epithets?"
"Yes."
"And despise them, you would like to add. Pray don"t scruple, though heis my friend."
"There! that is the exact tone in you, that--" she stopped short.
He listened for a moment to see if she would finish her sentence; butshe only reddened, and turned away; before she did so, however, sheheard him say, in a very low, clear voice,-"