132 BY ORDER OF THE CZAR.
it; but he had a lurking hope that in the course of the chapter of accidents he might have a chance. Possibly his city experiences encouraged him to think of his prospects in this way, because he had so often seen the unexpected happen on the Stock Exchange, and he did not see why the doctrine of chances which affected his operations there should not also influence his speculations in regard to Dolly, the one line of matrimonial stock which lie desired to inscribe in his book of options. Somehow, however, on this night of his latest little dinner at Westbury Lodge he had misgivings as to his prospects in that quarter ; but he made it a rule to appear cheerful and happy under all circumstances, so he sailed into the drawing-room after Philip and Walter, with the smile of apparent confidence and unconcern.
There was just enough of the decorative craze of the day in the arrangement of the Milbanke drawing-room to give it an air of modern prettiness, but not so much as to destroy the sense of comfort, which is often sacrificed to artistic show. It was neither a harmony in yellow nor a symphony in pink; it was not an inspiration from Japan, nor a copy of a Chippendale idea adapted to parquette flooring and Queen Anne windows; there had been no paragraphs in the Society papers about it; probably neither Mr. Whistler nor Mr. Menpes had ever seen it, and if they had they would most likely have condemned it. Nevertheless you felt that the decorator had worked at it with artistic feeling, and that the hostess had supplemented his labors with ideas beyond the reach of art. There was a copper kettle singing on an old hob-grate, a cluster of candelabra on the mantel, a sconce or two of gas on the walls, a dozen or so fine examples of Cox, Haleswelle, Herkomer and Carot on the walls, a cabinet of Venetian glass, a many-legged table with a crown Derby coffee service upon it, and a dainty liquor case; the floor was covered with Persian
