and the ladies returned to the drawing-room, when conversation light and fashionable began to circulate among the different groups. Near Ida sat a favorite cavalier of the party, vainly endeavoring to obtain a glance from her lovely eyes ; and opposite to her, apparently engaged in looking at a print, stood the heir to an earldom, wishing he was the bird, or the greyhound, or the handkerchief, or anything that Ida loved or admired ; but Ida neither looked at the one nor the other.
"It was the opinion of Charles the Fifth, Miss Ilderton," said the heir, "that we speak English to birds." "And Italian to ladies," was the cool answer. 66 Why not speak la bella lingua to me, if you follow the Enperor's maxim ?" Ida smiled as he said this, and glanced toward a window, where sat a young man, holding a cup of coffee in an easy manner, perfectly displaying a finelyformed white hand, and seemingly intent on taking the pattern of the carpet in his mind's eye, to compare it with others on some future occasion. " Listen !" said Ida, starting from her couch ; "there is music " and the sound of a harp was heard beneath the balcony. Instantly the windows were thrown open, and the visitors rushed to hear the Harpiste ; while Ida drew near the farthest, and stood by the silent young gentleman, who smiled, and offered a chair as she approached. From the blaze of light within, and the brightness of the gas without, the figure and face of the Harpiste were clearly seen, and her rapid and brilliant execution astonished and delighted her audience. " I have seldom heard such a thrilling touch," remarked Ida. " What a pity she should play thus, and find such small encouragement : for nothing but absolute necessity could have obliged her to seek bread by itinerant playing." " She is une demoiselle Francoise," said the young man, gazing firmly on Ida's lovely face. " Listen ! there, she sings !" and a perfectly natural voice arose in all its wild beauty, singing a pathetic French romance. “ Has she not a pretty style, Mr. Beresford ?” asked Ida, who seemed pleased with the musician ; " I fancy there is a touch of romance about her. I feel an interest in her ; she is as youthful as myself, and a wanderer." "You are a little enthusiastic creature, Ida," was the answer. " Now, surely, you do not fancy her a princess in disguise, or a maiden escaped from a haunted castle, where some malignant genii confined her. Tell me, what do you imagine ?" " Some disappointment ; a faithless lover ; a father banished for breaking the laws ; and, after a bright happy girlhood, she becomes what she is now, with a life of desolation before her. Have I drawn a touching picture Beresford ? Is not that sufficient misery for a novel?"
" Not quite ; truth is stranger than fiction. I am sure Ida there is more real wretchedness, more deep misery, in many hearts than any novel could describe ( and Ferdinand Beresford spoke for the first time feelingly.) Perhaps you have no idea of the meaning of grief, and if you have not I hope you never will." "Thank you, I can only wish you the same. Now we must contribute to the Harpist ; it ought to be a shower of gold. Viscount Lyvil first :" and Ida moved away toward the spot where the Viscount stood, and a handsome collection was soon made, sufficient to awaken joy in the heart of the fair Harpiste. "Ask her residence and her name ; tell her to return to-morrow," were Ida's commands, and she once more returned to Ferdinand Beresford . A moment only elapsed, when she quitted his side, and for the remainder of the evening a beautiful blushing rosebud decked her bosom. It was not more lovely than those favorite children of Flora usually are, but Ida had never possessed one so inestimably valuable before. Ida Ilderton was devotedly attached to Ferdinand Beresford ; she loved him better than aught else besides, and to win his esteem she would have resigned all her wealth and power ; and of this Ferdinand felt quite conscious , and not a little proud. In the society of Ida he seemed pleased but reserved, and a languid melancholy stole over him, which added a degree of calm repose and thoughtful grace, of which those around him were bereft. Mrs. Ilderton had long and silently seen Ida's growing attachment, and determined, by slow degrees, to find the exact point at which it had arrived ; for Ferdinand was scarcely a desirable match for her daughter, his father being the seventh son of a duke, and himself the youngest of nine children , all depending upon their grandfather's patronage for appointments in the army and navy, or small lucrative places about court ; and by dint of being seen in the Duchess' carriage in Hyde Park, and introduced at the different drawing-rooms, Ferdinand's three sisters were titled and tolerably rich ladies, who all united in saying he was too handsome for anything but a secretary, and that he accordingly became, with a salary of five hundred pounds per annum, but no better prospects. This did not suit Mrs. Ilderton's projects for her child, and she determined to seperate the lovers ; therefore, on the night in question, she believed she had seen sufficient to warrant her so doing. It was late before the party broke up, and as Ida received the farewell of Ferdinand Beresford , for a moment his reserve was thrown off ; he caught the little white hand and pressed it to his lips, and left the delighted maiden to ponder on this his first act of love. The sun had past the meridian before Ida arose, and putting on a simple robe, threw herself on her couch to breakfast alone. Many new feelings crowded on her
