Thus reasoned Charles Hatfield to himself;--and the reader will agree with us in deciding that the necessity which constituted the excuse for his conduct, was not quite so urgent as he chose to fancy it. Moreover,--since Charles Hatfield resolved to appear as reserved and formal as he well might be, towards Perdita,--it was assuredly strange that he should devote more than usual attention to his toilette, arranging his hair in the most becoming style, and surveying with inward satisfaction his very handsome countenance in the mirror. The clock struck twelve as he quitted the house;--and it was impossible to conceal from himself the fact that he was rejoiced at having an excuse to call upon Perdita. Then, as he proceeded with some degree of rapidity towards Suffolk Street, he could not possibly prevent his imagination from indulging in exciting conjectures how Perdita would be dressed--how she would look by day-light--and how she would receive him when she observed his studied coolness and his constraint of manner. “Poor girl!” he murmured to himself: “if she really hoped to find a sincere friend in me, how will she bear the disappointment which is in store for her? It grieves me--Oh! it grieves me to be compelled to inflict a wound upon her gentle heart; but duty--yes, my duty towards Lady Frances leaves me no alternative.” With a beating heart he knocked at the door;--and in less than a minute he was conducted to the drawing-room, where Perdita was waiting to receive him. The young lady was dressed in an elegant morning wrapper; and, the weather being intensely hot, the ribbands which should have fastened it round her neck, were left untied, so that it remained open at the bosom. Her hair was arranged in bands, and she wore a cap of the slightest material, but the snowy whiteness of which enhanced the glossy richness of those luxuriant masses that crowned her fine forehead. Her large grey eyes, with their dark pupils, were as bright and lustrous as on the preceding evening; and the noon-day sun detracted not from the exquisite whiteness of the neck and shoulders, and the healthy hues of the complexion of the countenance, which had shone to such advantage by candle-light. No: Perdita was as ravishingly beautiful on this occasion, as on the former;--and there was a freshness--yes, even an appearance of virgin freshness, about her, matured and developed as her charms were, which counteracted the impression that her wanton looks and the forwardness of her manner might otherwise have created in respect to her virtue. Her depravity in Australia had not impaired her loveliness, nor marred the youthfulness of her beauty: her face--her figure afforded not an intimation that she had been steeped in licentious enjoyments from the age of thirteen until she embarked on board the ship that wafted her to England.