He would have, liked to go dn sing ing duets for an iridelinite period; He felt lifted into some strange and de lightful region— a sphere of love and harmony — while he was' mingling his voice with Violet's. It made the*popu lar idea of heaven, as a place where there is nothing but singing— an eternal, unceasing choir— clearer and more possible to him than it had ever seemed before. Paradise would be quite endurable if he and Violet might stand side by side in the serried ranks of choristers. There was quite a little crowd round the piand, shutting in Violet and Lord Mallow, and Roderick Vawdrey was not in it. He felt him self excluded and hejd himself glodmily apart, talking hunting talk with a man for whom he did not caie twopence. Directly his carriage was announced — sotto voce by the considerate Forbes, so as not to wound anybody's feelings by the suggestion that the festivity was on its last legs— Mr Vawdrey went up to Mrs Winstanloy and took leave. He would not wait to say good-night to Violet. He only cast one, glance in the direction of the piano, where 'the noble breadth of Mrs Oarteret's bro caded amber back obscured every. , re moter object, and then went away' moodily, denouncing duet-singing as. an abomination. When Lady Mabel asked him next day what kind of an evening he had had. at the Abbey House, in a tone which implied that any. entertainment there must be on a distinctly lower level as compared with .the hospitalities of Ashbourne, ho told her that it had been uncommonly slow. : ' Plow was that"? You , had some studid person to take in to dinner, perhaps V ■ ' No ; I went in with Violet'. ' And you and she are such old friends. You ought to get on very well together. • Rorie reddened furiously; Happily he was standing with. his back to the light in one of the orchid-houses, enjoy ing the drowsy warmth of the atmos phere, and Mabel was engrossed with the contemplation of a fine zygopetalum, I which was just making up its mind to bloom. ' 0 yes, that was well enough ; but the evening was disgustingly slow* There was too much music' 1 'Classical?' '. ' Lord knows. It was mostly French and German. 