"You seem to be in hot haste, Sir. Pray, what have you been hunting?"
Alfred also laughed, as he replied,—
"I have been chasing a charming little girl, who would not be caught.
Perhaps she was your daughter, Sir?"
"She is my daughter," rejoined the gentleman. "A pretty little witch, is she not? Will you walk in, Sir?"
Alfred thanked him, and said that he was in search of a Mr. Duncan, whose residence was in that neighborhood.
"I am Mr. Duncan," replied the patrician. "Jack, go and fetch the gentleman's hat, and bring cigars."
A negro obeyed his orders, and, after smoking awhile on the veranda, the two gentlemen walked round the grounds.
Once when they approached the house, they heard the pattering of little feet, and Mr. Duncan called out, with tones of fondness,—
"Come here, Loo Loo! Come, darling, and see the gentleman who has been running after you!"
But the shy little fairy ran all the faster, and Alfred saw nothing but the long red ribbons of her gypsy hat, as they floated behind her on the wind.