Miss Pryde was not to be rebuked. "It's not His Respectability of Tunimba. That I'll swear. I always said he had no chance. Oh, Elsie," and Miss Pryde's voice sank to an awestruck whisper, "it's not, it can't be the Prince."
"How do you know it isn't paste?" whispered Elsie back—as they parted hands. It was in the contact of the ladies' chain that Miss Pryde had jerked out her interrogatories.
"Tell your grandmother," replied Miss Pryde with more pertinency than elegance.
Lord Astar claimed Elsie directly the dance was over. He had found no difficulty in depositing Mrs. Torbolton on a chair, for the good lady was scant of breath, and glad to secure a permanent position till supper time. His dance had not been unprofitable. He had taken advantage of the pauses in the quadrille to lead the conversation to the subject of Elsie. Miss Valliant, he soon discovered, was not a favourite in Leichardt's Town. Mrs. Torbolton thought it was really her duty to warn the young men—he was quite young, and no doubt he had a mother who would be sorry to see him fall a victim to the most designing flirt in Leichardt's Town. Elsie, it may at once be said, had refused Mrs. Torbolton 's son, and the young man had gone to the diggings, and had lost his money and taken to evil ways, a second instance of the fatal effect of Elsie's charms. Mrs. Torbolton hated Elsie, and perhaps it was not unnatural that she should. "Yes, she was certainly very pretty," Mrs. Torbolton grudgingly admitted. But then everybody knew that Elsie painted, and made herself up in a way that was not respectable. And she took presents from gentlemen, and went to lengths that really would astonish Lord Astar if he knew. In proof of it there was the fact that in spite of her undoubted beauty she was not yet married. Mr. Frank Hallett was supposed to be in love with her, but Mrs. Jem herself had declared quite lately that Mr. Hallett was evidently doubtful about tying himself to a girl so talked of—now that he was likely to take a prominent position in politics, and when it is so important that the wife of a public man should be above suspicion—"Caesar's wife, you
