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“Not a great many,” he replied.

“I suppose not,” said Mrs. Minturn.

“It was a select party,” remarked the young man.

“And select enough, no doubt, you found it.”

“You speak truly. I have never been in one more so,” replied Erskine.

“You have not answered my question as to who were there,” said Emeline.

“Young ladies, do you mean?”

“Yes, young ladies.”

“Do you know Miss B–?”

“I have no particular acquaintance with her. But she was not there!”

“Oh, yes, she was. And so was her father, General B–.”

“You astonish me!” said Mrs. Minturn. “Certainly you are in error.”

“I believe not. I had a good deal of interesting conversation with General B–, who is well acquainted with my father.”

“Who else was there?”

“Senator Y–, and his beautiful niece, who created such a sensation in Washington last winter. She and Miss Allender, who is, it strikes me, a charming girl, seemed delighted with each other, and were side by side most of the evening. They sang together many times with exquisite effect. Then there were Mr. and Mrs. T–, Mr. and Mrs. R–, Miss Julia S–, and Miss G–.”

All these belonged to a circle yet above that in which the Minturns had moved.

“I am astonished,” said Mrs. Minturn, but poorly concealing her mortification. “I had no idea that the Allenders kept such company. How did you happen to be invited?”

“Mr. Allender is one of my father’s oldest and most valued friends. I called at his desire, and found both him and his family far above the ‘common run’ of people. I do not in the least wonder at the class of persons I met at their house. I am sorry that you have been led so far astray in your estimation of their characters. You never could have known them well.”

“Perhaps not,” said Mrs. Minturn, in a subdued voice. “Did you hear us asked for?” she ventured to add. “We were invited, as I mentioned, and would have gone, but didn’t expect to find any there with whom it would be agreeable to associate.”

This remark did not in the least improve the matter in the eyes of Mr. Erskine, who now understood the Minturns rather better than before. A feeling of repugnance took the place of his former friendly sentiments; and in a briefer time than he had intended, he brought his visit to a close, and bade them good morning.

What was now to be done? The Minturns had fallen into an error, which must, if possible, be repaired. The Allenders were of far more consequence than they had believed, and their estimation of them rose correspondingly. A note of regret at not being able to attend the party, in consequence of a previous engagement, was written, and this enclosed in another note, stating that in consequence of the neglect of a servant, it had not been delivered on the day before. Both were despatched within half an hour after Mr. Erskine left the house.

On the day after, Mrs. Minturn and her daughter called at Mrs. Allender’s, and offered verbal regrets at not having been able to attend the party.

“We wanted to come very much, but both Emeline and I were so much indisposed, that the doctor said we mustn’t think of going out,”–forgetting at the moment the tenor of the note she had written only the day before. But scarcely were the words out of her mouth, when a glance of uneasy surprise from Emeline brought a recollection of this fact, and caused the blood to mount to her face.

A sudden change in the manner of Mrs. Allender was conclusive evidence that she, too, was laying side by side the two conflicting statements.

“But even,” added Mrs. Minturn, in a voice that betrayed some disturbance of mind, “if we had not been indisposed, a previously made engagement would have been in the way of a pleasure that we shall always regret having lost. You had a highly select party, I understood.”