"I have seen eclipses," retorted the other. "The sun is invisible, when the leaden moon comes between it and us. This music is too inspiriting, Miss Ross; am I reduced to the necessity of seeking another partner?" "I am sorry I can't say 'no,'" said she, laughingly. Mr. Lacy was bent upon expelling the regrets reflection might beget; and wiled into confidence by his gentle endeavors to induce a trust in him as a friend, Ida spoke freely, though not unguardedly, of feelings and thoughts which had been so long hushed, that their speech was slow and imperfect; but he interpreted and prized their stammered story. As the night wore on, exhausted couples dropped in, and there was an end to connected conversation. It was as well, for both were forgetting where they were. Morton relinquished his chair to Ellen, and stood by her, and Lynn sank, playfully, upon one knee before Ida. "Take care!" was his whisper. "Serpents coil in rose-thickets." "What do you mean?" inquired she, struck and chilled. "That we are the most tenacious of that to which we have the most meagre title." "A masculine Sphinx! speak out!" she demanded. "Miss Read could enact Oedipus to this riddle. Seriously, Ida, beware of that woman! She courts Lacy's society. I do not know what the ladies' verdict is--to us it is as plain as that he does not like her half as well as he does you. Do not avoid him; he deserves your favor; but do nothing to uncover her eyes--blindfolded by her egregious conceit." "Lynn! you confound me! What have I to do with Mr. Lacy! I have no interests which would war with hers, were they ever so strong. Having nothing to lose, I have nothing to fear. I am obliged to you for your brotherly cares," she added, roguishly. "A fellow-feeling makes us wondrous kind." "You know it, then!" exclaimed he, his large eyes splendid in their flash of intelligence and rapture. "I am not insensible or indifferent, where the happiness of my friends is concerned," she rejoined, in the same confidential tone. Another gleam thanked her.