"On condition" of such a number of little observances that Ruth
thought Mrs. Mason would never have ended enumerating them, they
were allowed during the dances to stand at a side-door and watch.
And what a beautiful sight it was! Floating away to that bounding
music--now far away, like garlands of fairies, now near, and
showing as lovely women, with every ornament of graceful
dress--the elite of the county danced on, little caring whose
eyes gazed and were dazzled. Outside all was cold, and
colourless, and uniform,--one coating of snow over all. But
inside it was warm, and glowing, and vivid; flowers scented the
air, and wreathed the head, and rested on the bosom, as if it
were midsummer. Bright colours flashed on the eye and were gone,
and succeeded by others as lovely in the rapid movement of the
dance. Smiles dimpled every face, and low tones of happiness
murmured indistinctly through the room in every pause of the
music.

Ruth did not care to separate figures that formed a joyous and
brilliant whole; it was enough to gaze, and dream of the happy
smoothness of the lives in which such music, and such profusion
of flowers, of jewels, elegance of every description, and beauty
of all shapes and hues, were everyday things. She did not want to
know who the people were; although to hear a catalogue of names
seemed to be the great delight of most of her companions.

In fact, the enumeration rather disturbed her; and, to avoid the
shock of too rapid a descent into the commonplace world of Miss
Smiths and Mr. Thomsons, she returned to her post in the
ante-room. There she stood, thinking or dreaming. She was
startled back to actual life by a voice close to her. One of the