 cousin, as were also her eyebrows, her
eye-lashes, her full irids, and large mobile pupils. Nature having traced all
these details slightly, and with a careless hand, in Miss Fanshawe's case; and
in Miss de Bassompierre's, wrought them to a high and delicate finish.
    Paulina was awed by the savants, but not quite to mutism: she conversed
modestly, diffidently; not without effort, but with so true a sweetness, so fine
and penetrating a sense, that her father more than once suspended his own
discourse to listen, and fixed on her an eye of proud delight. It was a polite
Frenchman, M. Z--, a very learned, but quite a courtly man, who had drawn her
into discourse. I was charmed with her French; it was faultless - the structure
correct, the idioms true, the accent pure; Ginevra, who had lived half her life
on the Continent, could do nothing like it: not that words ever failed Miss
Fanshawe, but real accuracy and purity she neither possessed, nor in any number
of years would acquire. Here, too, M. de Bassompierre was gratified; for, on the
point of language, he was critical.
    Another listener and observer there was; one who, detained by some exigency
of his profession, had come in late to dinner. Both ladies were quietly scanned
by Dr. Bretton, at the moment of taking his seat at the table; and that guarded
survey was more than once renewed. His arrival roused Miss Fanshawe, who had
hitherto appeared listless: she now became smiling and complacent, talked -
though what she said was rarely to the purpose - or rather, was of a purpose
somewhat mortifyingly below the standard of the occasion. Her light,
disconnected prattle might have gratified Graham once; perhaps it pleased him
still: perhaps it was only fancy which suggested the thought that, while his eye
was filled and his ear fed, his taste, his keen zest, his lively intelligence,
were not equally consulted and regaled. It is certain that, restless and
exacting as seemed the demand on his attention, he yielded courteously all that
was required: his manner showed neither pique nor coolness: Ginevra was his
neighbour, and to her, during dinner, he almost exclusively confined his notice.
She appeared satisfied, and passed to the drawing-room in very good spirits.
    Yet, no sooner had we reached that place of refuge, than she again became
flat and listless: throwing herself on a couch, she denounced both the discours
and the dinner as
