"That's some comfort," pursued Caroline; "and, no doubt, we shall see a great deal of him, one way or another." Sophia Clements, though scarcely conscious of it herself, felt a secret desire of appearing to advantage in the eyes of Colonel Forrester. Her two nieces felt the same desire, except that they made it no secret. They had worked up their imaginations to the persuasion that Colonel Forrester was the finest man in the army, and therefore the finest in the world, and they anticipated the delight of his being their frequent guest during the stay of his mother; of his morning visits, and his evening visits; of having him at dinner and at tea; of planning excursions with him to show Mrs. Forrester the lions of the city and its vicinity, when, of course, he would be their escort. They imagined him walking in Chestnut street with them, and sitting in the same box at the theatre. Be it remembered, that during the war, officers in the regular service were seldom seen out of uniform, and even when habited as citizens they were always distinguished by that "gallant badge, the dear cockade." Perhaps, also, Colonel Forrester and his mother might accompany them to a ball, and they would then have the glory of dancing with an officer so elegant as entirely to efface their mortification at their former military partners. We need not say that Messrs. Wilson and Thomson were again at a discount. The girls were taken with an immediate want of various new articles of dress, and had their attention been less engaged by the activity of their preparations for "looking their very best," the time that intervened between the receipt of Mrs. Forrester's last letter and that appointed for their arrival, would have seemed of length immeasurable. At last came the eve of the day on which these all-important strangers were expected. As they quitted the tea-table, one of the young ladies remarked:-- "By this time to-morrow, we shall have seen Col. Forrester and his mother." "As to the mother," observed Mrs. Darnel, "I am very sure that were it not for the son, the expectation of _her_ visit would excite but little interest in either of you--though, as you have often heard me say, she is a very agreeable and highly intelligent woman." "We can easily perceive it from her letters," said Sophia. Mrs. Darnel, complaining of the headache, retired for the night very early in the evening, desiring that she might not be disturbed. Sophia took some needle-work, and each of the girls tried a book, but were too restless and unsettled to read, and they alternately walked about the room or extended themselves on the sofas. It was a dark, stormy night--the windows rattled, and the pattering of the rain against the glass was plainly heard through the inside shutters. "I wish to-morrow evening were come," said Harriet, "and that the introduction was over, and we were all seated round the tea-table."