"I like Mr. Ralston very much," Annis remarked gravely. "Varina thinks Patty will marry him."
"What nonsense! Varina is quite too ready with her tongue. Come, don't you want a little ride with me before I go to town?"
The child was delighted, and ran off for her hat and coat.
Her father had suggested a little caution in regard to Mr. Ralston. They were simply friends. He had never uttered a word that could be wrongly construed. She had a kind of safe feeling with him. Was there any real danger? But he was Roger's friend as well?
There were already some invitations awaiting the two girls when they arrived at Mrs. Jettson's. Patricia was much elated with her first levee. Certainly there was a group of distinguished women entertaining—Mrs. Cutts and Mrs. Lucy Washington, now a charming young widow; Mrs Gallatin, and the still handsome Mrs. Monroe, who had been an acknowledged New York beauty; and among the men the very agreeable young Washington Irving, who was to leave a lasting mark on American literature.
"But you feel almost afraid of the wisdom and genius and power," said Patricia to Dr. Collaston. "Now, there is Mr. Clay, with his sharp eyes under the overhanging eyebrows that look as if they might dart out at you and somehow set you in a blaze. I am to go hear one of his speeches, my brother insists. And my cousin Dolly is wild about Mr. Calhoun. Don't you think they might both have been made handsomer without any great detriment to the world? And Mrs. Calhoun is charming. She knew some of the Floyds and heard about Dolly's marriage."
"Patrick Henry wasn't a handsome man, if accounts are reliable. Genius and good looks do not always go together," and Collaston smiled.
"There is Mr. Irving. He talks delightfully. And it is a pleasure to look at him."
"Call no man happy until he is dead. I mean it is not safe to predict how much fame one will win until—"
"Until he has won it. But it is a kind of cruel thing to wait until you are dead, when you can't know anything about it. I mean to take my delight as I go along. But, then, women are not expected to be addicted to longing for fame."