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Rh Ethel, being an amiable and patient creature, took this with a smile.

"I am looking forward with great pleasure," said Mr. Romaine, after having seated himself in a straight-backed chair, while he yearned for an easy one, "to the season in London. I have had my eye on that house in Prince's Gate for several years, and, of course, feel pleased to have it. Being an old-fashioned man, I have kept pretty closely to the localities which were modish when I was a young attaché some years since—such as Belgravia, Grosvenor, and Lowndes Squares, and all those places. But there is something very attractive about the new Kensington—and I have intended for some years to take a house in that part of town for a season—and this one particularly struck my fancy."

"It is very handsome—but very expensive," said Mrs. Chessingham.

"Most handsome things are expensive, dear madam, but this house is reasonable, considering its charm, and I hope that you as well as your sister will enjoy some of its pleasures with me."

Both young women smiled—it would be