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diff --git a/42168.txt b/42168.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f4168b3..0000000 --- a/42168.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5616 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3), by -Charles James Wills - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - - - - -Title: The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3) - A Family Mystery. - - -Author: Charles James Wills - - - -Release Date: February 23, 2013 [eBook #42168] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PIT TOWN CORONET, VOLUME II -(OF 3)*** - - -E-text prepared by Robert Cicconetti, Sue Fleming, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images -generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries -(http://archive.org/details/americana) - - - -Note: Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive/American Libraries. See - http://archive.org/details/pittowncoronetfa02will - - - Project Gutenberg has the other two volumes of this work. - Volume I: see http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42167 - Volume III: see http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42169 - - - - - -THE PIT TOWN CORONET: - -A Family Mystery. - -by - -CHARLES J. WILLS, - -Author of -"In the Land of the Lion and Sun," etc. - -In Three Volumes. - -VOL. II. - - - - - - - -Ward and Downey, -12, York Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. -1888 - -[The right of translation is reserved, and the Dramatic Copyright -protected.] - -Printed by -Kelly and Co., Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, W.C.; -and Middle Mill, Kingston-on-Thames. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I.--A HORRIBLE SCANDAL 1 - - II.--AT THE PARSONAGE 27 - - III.--HOW THEY CAME HOME 51 - - IV.--THE RETURN OF THE WANDERER 73 - - V.--THE MISSES SLEEK DROP IN 94 - - VI.--THE SLEEKS IN ARCADIA 117 - - VII.--HAGGARD COMES INTO HIS OWN 138 - - VIII.--THE VICAR TRIES PUFFIN 167 - - IX.--MR. PUFFIN HUNTS A BUTTERFLY 190 - - X.--A RATHER SHADY CHARACTER 213 - - XI.--ESAU WAS THE FIRSTBORN 236 - - XII.--IN ST. JOHN'S WOOD 276 - - - - - THE PIT TOWN CORONET. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - A HORRIBLE SCANDAL. - - -Dull as the life of the little chateau on the lake necessarily was, yet -Georgie Haggard did not suffer from _ennui_. She seemed in fact to -rather revel in the quietude, and to luxuriate in the seclusion of the -Swiss villa, after the fatigues and excitements of a busy London season -and the turmoil and the incidental worries which must always attend an -extended foreign tour, even when it is taken for pleasure, and when -expense is no object. The position of the villa was sufficiently -romantic; behind it were the snow-covered Alps, Mont Blanc always -clearly visible; and all in front stretched the lake with its glorious -blue water of that intense azure which is only seen on this Geneva lake. -Why it should be so very blue is, and always will be, a mystery; of -course it has been explained by scientific people in various manners -satisfactory to themselves, but the fact remains that the lake is of a -deeper blue than any other European water, and strange to say the -intense colour is just as apparent in the shallowest parts. One may row -over a place not more than a yard deep, where the bottom is clearly -perceptible, but the waters are as blue as ever, a deep unnatural -ultramarine blue, a blue which is seen only here and in the choicest -specimens of the Oriental turquoise. - -The establishment at the Villa Lambert consisted of the permanent staff -of the place, the aged Savoyard and his wife, who spoke an abominable -and unintelligible patois; these two people were the Gibeonites of the -villa. At earliest dawn the pair rose and toiled till an hour after -sunset. The man worked in the garden, broke the firewood, drew water -from the well, attended to the ponies, and wore the face of a martyr. -The woman got through the labours of four ordinary English servants, she -was cook, housekeeper, housemaid, and an entire staff in herself; she -spoke to no one save her morose husband and Haggard's polyglot Swiss -servant; she scrubbed, she polished her numerous brazen pots and pans -till they shone like mirrors; every particle of woodwork in the house -was washed and polished by her, till it resembled that seen in the Dutch -village of Broek. But the great delight of the pair was the waxing and -polishing of the curious inlaid parquet flooring of the _salon_ which -looked upon the lake. Lucy Warrender had been considerably surprised -when she saw this process for the first time. A strange hissing noise, -which continued for some minutes, gradually diminished in intensity, and -then ceased altogether, only to recommence with renewed vigour, -surprised the two girls as they sat at breakfast. "What can it be, -Georgie?" she remarked in astonishment to her cousin. - -"It's in the next room, I think, dear," said the young matron; "but it's -very easy to see." She opened the door of the _salon_. Husband and wife, -with portentous gravity, the woman having her skirts well tucked up, -their arms a-kimbo, were apparently skating up and down the room. To -them it was evidently a very serious business; they never smiled, but -the perspiration streamed from their foreheads as they flew up and down. -A large flat brush was attached to each foot of either. They were -polishing the floor, and their appearance was sufficiently ludicrous. -Lucy looked at her cousin; the absurdity of the scene was too much for -her; she closed the door and laughed till she cried. - -Mrs. Haggard's maid was an invaluable servant, who understood her duties -and never seemed to forget anything. Hephzibah seldom spoke; perhaps, -like the parrot in the story, she thought the more. The girl was in her -way religious. That valuable work, once so popular but now so seldom -seen, "The Dairyman's Daughter," was her only literature, but she seemed -to be never tired of reading it. - -Capt, the valet, was equally quiet in his way, equally dull. He did not -disdain to manufacture dainty little dishes for his young mistresses. He -would row them about upon the lake. He was steward, footman, and general -factotum. He never opened his mouth unless he was spoken to, and between -him and Hephzibah there appeared to be a good understanding; as the -reader is aware they were "keeping company." - -Georgie and her cousin led quiet uneventful lives. They drove, they -boated, they wandered in their large garden; but they made no new -acquaintances, and they lived the lives of hermits. Once a week there -was some slight excitement as to the arrival of news from the absent -husband; his letters came with praiseworthy regularity. He had arrived -safely in Mexico; the value of his property had increased enormously. He -was in treaty with half-a-dozen persons for the sale of his estates. He -cursed the delays of the Mexican lawyers, who seemed to do nothing but -smoke big cigars and swing themselves to sleep all day in hammocks. He -pathetically bemoaned the unavoidable separation from his dear Georgie. -He wasn't having a bad time of it, the sport was undeniable. He had had -a week with a friend at a place with an unpronounceable name. Then he -described the delights of the opera house, and the great success of the -new French dancer, Mademoiselle De Bondi. It seemed a pity to close -finally, when land was going up in value every day, and so on, and so -on, and he was his dear Georgie's affectionate husband. This was the -burden of all his communications, one letter was very much like another. -Haggard was evidently enjoying himself, and his affectionate Georgie, -though longing for his return, did not grudge him his pleasures. - -Strange to say, though by force of circumstances thrown into an eternal -_tete-a-tete_, the cousins never quarrelled. Georgie read and re-read -her husband's letters. Lucy devoured one yellow-covered novel after -another, and time crept slowly on. They had been four months at the -Swiss villa. - -It was the end of August. The two girls, they were but girls, sat on the -terrace which overhung the lake. The sun was setting, as they sat -dreamily gazing upon the lovely scene, which had even distracted Lucy's -attention from the last naturalistic novel, which lay open on her lap. -As she looked intently at the blue waters of the lake she sighed deeply. -Georgie turned towards her and was startled to see that her lovely dark -brown eyes were filled with tears! Georgie placed her arm softly round -the girl's neck, for she dearly loved her cousin, and gently said, "What -ails you, darling?" - -But Lucy answered never a word, a violent burst of weeping was her only -reply. - -Lucy, never over strong at any time, had lately caused her cousin -considerable anxiety; womanlike, Lucy fought against the growing -weakness; till now she had hidden her increasing melancholy under an -appearance of forced gaiety, which had not deceived her cousin, but only -increased her alarm. - -The elder girl knelt at Lucy's feet--her own Lucy whom she still looked -upon in her heart as a little child. - -"Does anything worry you, darling?" she said. - -No answer. - -"Trust me, Lucy; we are always friends, let me share this trouble." - -"I can't," faltered the girl, as she gnawed her lips, which trembled and -turned pale; "I think I shall drown myself." - -Then Georgie took the blanched hand of the motherless girl, and -entreated her. - -"Do tell me, darling; you must tell me, Lucy. Something is preying on -your mind; trust me, do trust me, pet." - -Not then did Lucy Warrender tell her trouble to her cousin. But that -night, unwillingly and ungraciously enough, she told her grief. Pale as -a ghost, her fingers intertwined in a convulsive grip, she knelt by her -cousin's bed and told her shameful story. She made her pitiful appeal. -With dilated eyes, Georgina listened in terror to Lucy's confidence. It -was the old tale. Lucy was about to become a mother; this was all she -told. Was it not enough? She looked imploringly up at her cousin as she -whispered: - -"You can save me, Georgie, if you will--if you love me, as I know you -do; and if you won't, there is nothing left for me but the lake, the -cold, cruel lake." Here she laughed hysterically, and nestled to her -cousin's breast. - -The elder girl was struck dumb. The shame of it, the bitter shame of -this accursed thing. - -There was a silence, only broken by the monotonous ticking of the -carved Swiss clock and the deep sobs of the kneeling girl. There was a -sudden whiz of spinning wheels--"Cuckoo! cuckoo!" screamed the little -painted bird derisively, as he appeared for an instant from his tiny box -to mark the hour. Both girls started at the inauspicious interruption. - -"I save you, my darling! How can I save you? And father, poor father. -Oh, Lucy! how could you--how could you so deceive us all? But _he_ must -be sent for--who is the man? He must marry you--he will marry you, of -course, at once, _this gentleman_!" - -But Lucy only sobbed the more. - -"He will never marry me, Georgie. You can save me, you alone!" - -She never named the man. - -They talked on far into the night; and as they wept and whispered, the -painted wooden demon ever and again sprang from his box and startled -them with his discordant cry, - - "Cuckoo! cuckoo!" - -How could she refuse? Much against her will at last she yielded; she -agreed to deceive the absent husband who trusted her--that heartless -husband whom she idolized. From that day forward the sound of a cuckoo -clock--the voice of the bird himself, as she heard him in the -woods--sounded in her ear as the cry of a mocking devil. Little did she -dream that, in weakly yielding to her cousin's piteous entreaty, she was -sowing the seed of which she and hers should reap the bitter harvest. - -What could she do, poor girl? She felt it was her duty. Who can tell if -she erred? If so, it was on mercy's side. Next morning Lucy was herself -again; she was once more the buoyant, merry girl, who smiled and -chattered, and sang her little scraps of French songs, making the -sunshine of the house. The _roles_ were changed. Never again shall the -light of perfect happiness beam in Georgie Haggard's once honest -eyes--those eyes now red with weeping, full of the secret sorrow of her -cousin's bitter confidence. It is always painful to an honourable mind -to play the part of a conspirator, and that thankless _role_ was now -forced upon poor Georgie--willy-nilly she had to do it. Lucy's fertile -brain teemed with plan, with plot, with stratagem; certain of ultimately -conquering the scruples of her gentle and loving cousin, she had -evidently thought the matter out. - -"We ought to trust nobody, you know," said the younger girl, who had -suddenly assumed the management of everything. Startled and horrified, -Georgie had become in regard to her cousin, that born intriguer, but as -clay in the hands of the potter. "No, we ought not to, but we must. If -ever a girl in this world could keep her tongue between her teeth, it's -that pale Hephzibah of ours, and trust her we must, there's nothing else -for it." - -Lucy's tongue, once loosed, never seemed to tire. Her despondency and -melancholy, her load of carking care, were all transferred as by the -wave of a magician's wand to her cousin's shoulders. Alas! that cousin, -that patient, loving cousin is perhaps destined to carry to her grave -the fardel of another's weakness, the punishment of a worthless woman's -fault. - -Georgie, from that hour, was a changed girl. No more the once happy, -loving eyes gazed on the younger girl with more than a mother's pride. -From that day Georgie feared her cousin, and Lucy soon detected the new -sentiment which she had unexpectedly inspired. The younger dictated, the -elder acquiesced. - -"Georgie," she once suddenly said, when they were alone together on the -little platform which hung over the blue waters of the lake, "swear to -me that you will never betray my secret." She clutched her cousin's hand -with fierce insistance and stamped her little foot; "swear to me," she -said in a hoarse whisper, "that never by word or letter you will reveal -my secret--_our_ secret," she added with a smile. If ever a pretty -woman's smile was devilish, Lucy Warrender's was, as she insisted on -this partnership in her guilt. - -"Have I ever deceived you, Lucy, that you should want me to swear?" - -"But you shall swear, Georgie," she reiterated almost savagely. "I have -gone too far to hesitate at trifles now, and if you don't, you will -never see me more," she added menacingly, as she pointed to the lake. -Her little figure seemed to increase in height, so sternly determined -was her aspect. - -Georgie cowered in mingled anxiety and horror. - -"Swear to me," she said, and she emphasized the command, for it was no -longer an entreaty, by a fierce clutch at her cousin's wrist, "never to -a soul till the day of your death will you breathe a word of it. -Swear." - -"I do swear it, Lucy," replied the dominated victim, and she buried her -face in her hands. - -The next day the two English ladies left the Villa Lambert in an open -carriage. - -The faithful Capt was told to be ready for their return in a few days' -time. Considerably to his astonishment, he did not accompany them. As -the carriage drove away the valet lighted one of those long and -peculiarly nasty cigars which his countrymen seem so much to enjoy. He -stood watching the carriage rapt in meditation, and his face wore a -puzzled air. Then he did what no economic Switzer has probably done -before or since--he actually flung away the still burning abomination. -Then he spat upon the ground, and with an exaggerated shrug of his -shoulders re-entered the house. - -The carriage took the ladies and their maid to a small town, some -twelve miles off. They put up at the hotel. Next morning they took -tickets by the steamer to Geneva, but less than half-way they got out at -a small village, Auray, a little place totally devoid of interest, a -mere hamlet never visited by the tourist; here they took a lodging, -humble enough, but clean, in the house of a well-to-do widow. It was -from this lodging that Georgie posted a letter containing the following -advertisement, which appeared in the _Times_: - - "At the Villa Lambert, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland, the wife - of Reginald Haggard, Esq., of a son. August 20, 18--." - -The cousins exchanged _roles_. Lucy became Madame Haggard, while Georgie -was addressed by the discreet Hephzibah as Mademoiselle Warrender. - -The whole thing had evidently been carefully planned by Lucy for some -time previously. She had even with infinite art written numerous letters -to their relatives and friends, in which she dilated upon the strange -reticence of "dear Georgie" as to the whole matter. Needless to say -these letters were all dated from the Villa Lambert. In her letter to -Haggard, and in her more formal communication to the head of the family, -the old earl at Walls End Castle, she explained how her cousin had kept -the whole matter secret as a surprise for her husband; and how she, the -guileless Lucy, had been unwillingly compelled to participate in the -deception. All was thus satisfactorily explained as the whim of the -young wife. - -How she had purchased the silence of the invaluable maid it is difficult -to say, whether by bribes, promises or cajolery; but Hephzibah Wallis -was the servant of the Warrenders, born and bred on their land, discreet -and silent. - -In ten days they returned to the villa, Mrs. Haggard wrapped up as a -young convalescent mother; the little bastard clothed in purple and fine -linen as became his expectations as Reginald Haggard's heir. Georgie -was pale, great black rings surrounded her eyes; she leant heavily on -the arm of the invaluable Capt, as she stepped out of the carriage which -had conveyed her from the nearest wharf. But Lucy's cheery laugh, though -it failed to bring a smile to the face of her cousin, soon dominated the -inhabitants of the Villa Lambert. Hephzibah, full of that added dignity -which every woman assumes as the guardian of an infant, sat enthroned -before a blazing fire, for in Switzerland in August the evenings are -chilly. It was her custom never to address Mr. Capt, save on official -matters, when a third person was present. On the present occasion she -went further than this, for she declined even to answer him. - -Capt had bustled about, had brought in the luggage, had handed their -letters to his mistresses, had received the thanks of Miss Lucy -Warrender for his tasteful floral decoration of the little _salon_, and -had then suddenly subsided into an attitude of respectful admiration in -front of Haggard's supposed heir. To no man or male person, save perhaps -to their own fathers or their medical attendants, are very young infants -objects of interest; we may therefore safely presume that Mr. Capt was -either really wrapped up in the severe charms of the student of the -"Dairyman's Daughter," or that he had some occult and ulterior reason -for remaining to study the little group at the fireside. - -"Ah, madame," exclaimed the major-domo, as he washed his hands in the -air, "you will not think it a liberty when I respectfully felicitate -you." But no answering smile appeared on Mrs. Haggard's face. - -"Certainly not," burst in the younger girl; "you are the first of our -friends to do so, Capt," she said, with an almost perceptible emphasis -on the word; "but we are both of us knocked up with the bustle, so get -us some tea at once." - -The humbly sympathizing friend became once more the respectful servant, -and hurried away to carry out his young mistress's behest. - -"Rouse yourself, Georgie," exclaimed the younger girl impatiently, "you -really look very little like the mother of a possible heir to an -earldom," she maliciously added. - -But Georgie made no reply to her cousin's taunt, she merely extended her -colourless hands towards the blazing fire of logs. - -A pile of letters lay upon the table; one by one Lucy's active fingers -tore them open, one by one she read them to her silent cousin, -enlivening them with a running fire of comment. As she read each one -aloud, she planted a fresh dagger in her cousin's heart, but she went -steadily on with an occupation which seemed congenial. - -They were the usual formal congratulations for the most part: one, from -the old squire, gently blamed his daughter for not having taken her -father into her confidence; "but the ways of women, my dear, are -mysterious, and I suppose that explains it." As Lucy read the words the -tears ran down her cousin's face. - -One other letter yet remained; it was addressed in a crabbed hand; its -contents were as follows: - - "Walls End Castle. - - "MY DEAR CHILD, - - "Miss Warrender's letter has quite taken me by surprise; I had - not the slightest inkling that I should have so soon to - congratulate you both on the happy event. It gives me great - pleasure to do so; though I have known you, my dear, for so - short a time, you have inspired me with feelings of the - liveliest affection. I need not say I am greatly gratified to - hear that it is a little boy. The great terror of my old age, - the not unremote possibility of the extinction of my house, - which always preyed upon my mind, is now removed. I shall hope - to welcome the little man here ere long, and with affectionate - remembrance to your cousin, - - "I am, my dear child, - "Yours affectionately, - "PIT TOWN." - -The ladies had retired for the night. A heavy mist hung over the lake, -but a red spark moved slowly up and down the little terrace in front of -the Villa Lambert; the spark indicated the presence of Mr. Capt, who was -awaiting with lover-like impatience the arrival of the discreet -Hephzibah. At length she appeared, muffled in a heavy shawl. - -"Have done, do, Capt," said the maiden with indignation, as the valet -imprinted a salute on her pallid lips. - -"I haven't commenced, my beloved, yet," retorted he. "Will it be an -indiscretion to hope that Miss Hephzibah has enjoyed herself, and that -the separation from her beloved Maurice has produced ever so slight a -depression?" said he as he attempted to take her hand. - -"Stuff," replied the Englishwoman with an indignant snort. - -Here the conversation took a distinctly amatory turn, and would probably -hardly interest the reader. But, under the influences of the blind god, -the stern student of the "Dairyman's Daughter" seemed to thaw. She took -the proffered arm of her adorer, and, like all women in love, seemed to -derive a pleasure from the peculiarly pungent aroma of his cigar. - -"And how did we pass our time, my Hephzibah; did we amuse ourselves? -Have you nothing to tell me, my beloved, nothing to _confide_ to me?" - -The lady's maid shook her head. "Except that I've been worked off my -legs as you may suppose, what can I have to tell you?" - -"Ah!" remarked the valet. "I can fancy that my Hephzibah always fulfils -her duties to her mistress, but perhaps my too perfect angel forgets -that between betrothed persons there should be no secrets." - -"You don't mean to say you're jealous, Capt?" she exclaimed, as she -raised her face to his. - -"My love, you are discretion itself; I know you never betray a secret." - -"If I had one, Capt, _you_ would worm it out of me," she said with a -smile and a perceptible pressure on his arm. - -"Yes, my love, I _should_ worm it out," he replied with intention. - -Hephzibah took no notice of this remark. - -"The mist is very damp, and I am very tired, Maurice; I must be going -in; my mistress will wonder what has become of me, so good-night." - -The valet kissed the girl. "Good-bye, my love," he said. "I think you -had better have trusted me. Good-bye." - -"Good-night, or good-bye, if you prefer it, Mr. Capt," replied the -lady's maid with dignity. - -"Good-bye, my dear, good-bye, _till we meet again_." - -Hephzibah hurried into the house. - -The valet continued his walk up and down the little terrace; he was -immersed in thought, he still smoked his cigar, but unconsciously; he -was suddenly roused from his reflections by the fire almost touching his -lips. With a curse, he flung the end into the waters, and watched it -disappear with a hiss. Then he walked briskly into the house. - -The next morning Mr. Capt had disappeared. There was nothing wrong with -the plate. On the carefully arranged breakfast table lay an envelope -directed to Mrs. Haggard; it contained the man's account book, balanced -to a farthing; a small sum of money due from him to his mistress, and -his keys. - -"What does he mean by this?" said Lucy to her cousin. - -Mrs. Haggard made no answer, but turning to Hephzibah, she said coldly, -"Where is Capt?" - -"Please, ma'am, I don't know; he's taken his things with him, and I -think he is gone. I hope there is nothing wrong," said the girl, her -pale face working with suppressed emotion. - -Then Mrs. Haggard fainted. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - AT THE PARSONAGE. - - -In King's Warren Parsonage the vicar's wife was seated at her little -table. Before her was a handsome service of _real_ Queen Anne plate; the -square-looking teapot with its solid ebony handle, and the bowl and jug -to match, for in those days they were sugar bowls and not sugar basins. -Mrs. Dodd was not alone; she had two visitors, old Mrs. Wurzel and her -inseparable companion, Miss Grains. The tea was good and strong, the -cream perfection; all three ladies were in the best of temper. As a rule -even the most cantankerous women are placable after afternoon tea. No -man had ever partaken of Mrs. Dodd's tea in her own peculiar sanctum; -that honour was reserved for those of her own sex, her cronies, her -fellow-workers. In this little room the village scandals were threshed -out, in this room the female scholars of the Sunday school received what -Mrs. Dodd was pleased to call a few words of advice and admonition. What -the mysterious advice was that Mrs. Dodd imparted, who can tell? One -thing is certain, as they left the Vicarage they always wept, all save -Jemima Ann Blogg the defiant; she alone had shed no tears. - -"It's very sad," said the vicar's wife, "but I don't think any other -course is open to me. I never looked upon Hephzibah Wallis as flighty; -in fact, she was undoubtedly the steadiest of all my girls. It's really -enough to break the old mother's heart. Why they should always want to -go out of service and into matrimony I can't think; but I suppose they -are all the same; but this is the climax. The creature actually declares -that she has engaged herself to a foreigner." - -The eyes of the other two members of the council of three were raised -in mingled astonishment and horror. - -"Yes, it's too true," continued the vicaress; "but I shall not hesitate -in my duty, which is plain: she must be saved from the foreigner and -herself. I'll read you her letter. - - "'Villa Lambert. - - "'DEAR MOTHER, - - "'You will be glad to hear that we are all well. We are living - in what they call a villa, and though I like quiet the life is - very dull. All through our travels Mr. Capt, who, as you know, - is Mr. Haggard's own man, has been very attentive to me; he has - asked me to marry him. I think it only right, dear mother, to - consult you and father before saying yes. I should tell you that - we are much attached to each other. Mr. Capt is very - respectable, and very clever, too, for a foreigner. He is a - Swiss gentleman. I'm sure you would like to hear him talk, - though he's sometimes rather difficult to understand, as he uses - so many dictionary words. I suppose it will have to be a long - engagement, for, as you know, service is no heritage, and we are - both in service. What Mr. Capt wishes me to do is to be married - to him here at once, which he says would be much nicer than - being engaged; but I don't think it would be right to keep it - from mistress, as she has been so kind. Please let me have an - answer by return, as Mr. Capt is very anxious. Give my love to - father, and hoping this finds you both well, - - "'I am, - "'Your loving daughter, - "'HEPHZIBAH WALLIS.'" - -"Poor thing," exclaimed the stout Miss Grains, for she felt a ready -sympathy, as an engaged young woman, with the whole of the rest of her -sex who were in a similar position. - -"Poor thing, indeed," cried the vicaress, "shameless thing, I call her; -a girl who has been educated under my own eyes, who was actually -confirmed in this very parish, calmly proposes to degrade herself, her -parents and me by secretly marrying a disgusting foreigner, for -foreigners are disgusting, as a rule. I shall forbid it, I shall -distinctly forbid it; it's a duty I owe to dear Georgie. I am -disappointed in Hephzibah Wallis." - -"I'm afraid, Mrs. Dodd, it will be difficult to save the girl; here we -are in King's Warren, while she is in Switzerland, and no doubt the man -makes love to her," insinuated Mrs. Wurzel. - -"Ah, yes," said the brewer's daughter softly, as she thought of her own -little flirtation with the sallow French master, whose classes she had -attended. - -"They may be fascinating," said Mrs. Wurzel spitefully, "but they always -smell of tobacco and never cut their nails." - -Alas! the accusation was too true as regards the French master, at all -events, and the brewer's daughter was temporarily extinguished. - -"To a person in the position of Hephzibah Wallis," said the vicar's wife -magisterially, "the length of their nails is of little importance; it's -their want of principle that I object to; as for this creature Capt, -like the rest of them he is, I suppose, an atheist, or perhaps worse, a -Papist, for when he was here with his master he never once came inside -the church. Goody Wallis has asked me to write to her, and I shall -certainly do so at once, distinctly forbidding it. I haven't mentioned -the matter to Anastatia, for she is so weak and romantic that she's -quite capable of writing herself to the girl and inciting her to -rebellion." - -Here she carefully folded the letter and replaced it in her writing -desk. - -"And your sister-in-law's own affair, dear Mrs. Dodd, is it an -indiscretion to ask you if it is settled yet?" said old Mrs. Wurzel with -sympathetic interest. - -"Stacey Dodd, Mrs. Wurzel, is, I regret to say, of a secretive nature; -she does not confide in me. No, her own sister-in-law is the last person -whom she would trust. But I believe, mind I do not state it as a fact, -but I have reason to believe that she has refused the squire; his age -was an obstacle, you know, and then Lucy would have been a difficulty. I -don't think it would quite have been a bed of roses; that girl would -have been a very serious responsibility indeed." - -A discreet tap was heard at the door. - -The vicar never presumed to enter his wife's room without knocking; he -evidently had something to communicate. He saluted the ladies and -commenced his tale at once. - -"A dreadful thing has happened. I have just returned from The Warren, -where I left the squire in a natural state of violent indignation." - -The ladies expressed their curiosity. - -The portly vicar continued: - -"Oh, there's no secret about it, the country is ringing with it." - -Then he read the paragraph in _The Sphere_, with which the reader is -acquainted. - -"Then, Mr. Dodd, we may understand that Georgina is the wife of a -murderer," said Mrs. Dodd. - -"Well, my dear, not exactly that; you see they say he received great -provocation, so he was bound to go out with him, I suppose." - -"Then my husband, a beneficed clergyman of the Church of England, -approves of duelling, and is actually the champion of the--the--the -assassin." - -The vicar's wife was fond of strong words; this was the strongest one -she knew of, so she used it. - -"Well, but, my dear, consider the circumstances." - -"No circumstances can excuse a murder, Mr. Dodd. I hope he won't come -here; don't let him dare to offer me his blood-stained hand; his mere -presence would be enough to contaminate the whole village. Will they -hang him?" she asked with interest. - -"Oh, Mrs. Dodd," said the brewer's daughter, clasping her hands, for the -thought that she herself had witnessed the marriage of this interesting -criminal thrilled her very soul. - -"Of course she will leave him at once," continued the vicar's wife; -"were the case my own," she said, "I should not hesitate for an -instant." - -A slight smile rippled across the broad countenance of the vicar; -perhaps it passed through his mind that were he not a clergyman there -might yet be a means of escape for him. - -"It is of men such as this," cried the indignant vicar's wife, "that -Shakespeare speaks. Yes," she said clenching her fingers, "every honest -hand should hold a whip to lash the rascal naked through the world." - -"It would be a highly indecent spectacle, my dear," said the vicar with -a chuckle. - -"I am speaking figuratively, Mr. Dodd." - -"Of course, my dear, of course. In the meanwhile old Warrender is -horribly angry, as well he may be." - -The ladies' little meeting now broke up. Old Mrs. Wurzel hastened to the -stationer's to order a copy of _The Sphere_ and all the society papers, -then, bursting with the news, she proceeded to call upon the Misses -Sleek to tell her tale. - -By midnight every soul in King's Warren was in possession of the fact -that Georgie Haggard's husband had fought a duel and had killed his man. - -The Misses Sleek did not hesitate to express to each other when -retiring for the night their united opinion that Mrs. Haggard was a very -lucky girl. - -"I always said he was a hero," said the younger sister with a sigh, and -then she went to sleep to dream of him. - -It is a moot question as to who can claim the title of esquire. -Now a-days everybody is Mr., Mrs., or Miss. But Mrs. Dodd was -uncompromising; in her mind servants, labourers and criminals should be -addressed by their Christian and surname, and no more. When she was -unaware of the name she was accustomed to address all males by the -epithet "man." There is something very scathing, very exasperating too, -in being addressed in this way. Had poor Hephzibah herself been actually -in the flesh at King's Warren, Mrs. Dodd would, undoubtedly, have -addressed her as "girl;" as it was she merely adopted the Spartan mode -which is used by judges at a jail delivery. The tone of the judgment, -for we can hardly call it a letter, will be best seen if given at -length: - - "HEPHZIBAH WALLIS, - - "Your poor mother came to me in great trouble yesterday bringing - with her the flippant, the almost indecent letter, which you had - thought proper to send her. Little did I think, Hephzibah - Wallis, when I placed in your hands the beautiful copy of the - 'Dairyman's Daughter,' which I had intended should be your guide - through life, and which you afterwards so hypocritically - informed me you frequently perused, that I was patronizing a - girl who was about to rush headlong to her own destruction. If I - remember rightly, the dairyman's daughter was a sickly person - like yourself, but _she_ would never have degraded herself by - even hinting at an immoral marriage with a foreigner; nor would - she have ever dared to propose such an abomination to her own - mother as a marriage which should be kept secret from her - mistress and from the wife of her parochial clergyman. I shall - not, then, shrink, Hephzibah Wallis, from the duty of warning - you. Except among the upper classes marriages with foreigners - always end in misery; and it is extremely doubtful whether such - unions in the eyes of heaven are marriages at all. I have - repeatedly pointed out to my girls at the Sunday school, and to - you among the number, that no young woman in domestic service - should think of entering upon the marriage state till she is - past all work. I was pained to see by your letter that you have - evidently hardened your heart, and I am aware that the deaf - adder will not listen to the voice of the charmer, charm he (or - she) never so wisely. I know that you are exposed to the - dangerous fascinations of a designing foreign manservant, who, - to use your own expression, only addresses you in 'dictionary - words;' no doubt such language is apt to turn the head of any - young woman. But let me tell you, Hephzibah Wallis, that you - will have a far greater chance of happiness in this world, and - the next, as the wife of an English deaf mute of high principle, - than you would have if married (even in the unlikely contingency - of such a marriage turning out to be legal) to any foreigner, - however eloquent, who is of course, as all such people are, - wholly irreligious. - - "If this letter, as I trust it may, should be the means of - softening your heart and so saving you from the ruin to which - you are evidently hastening, it will not have been written in - vain. I grudge no trouble in the duty that Providence has forced - upon me of superintending the lives of any of my girls. You of - course are subject to great temptations, but you must never - forget your duty to me and to your mistress, particularly now - that she (your unhappy mistress) is, as I hear with pain and - consternation, the wife of a murderer. I trust that you will - frequently read this letter when in doubt or temptation, and - that it may be the means of preserving you is the earnest desire - of - - "Your well-wisher, - "CECILIA DODD." - -Mrs. Dodd posted her letter herself, and to make assurance doubly sure -she registered it. - -When at lunch with her husband she broke to him the fact that she had -written a letter "full of kind advice," as she phrased it, "to that -flighty creature, Goody Wallis's daughter." - -"It's a troublesome and anxious duty, Mr. Dodd," she said, "to look -after them all; but I try to shield all my girls from possible harm, and -this one evidently meditated making a fool of herself." - -"You are always judicious, my dear," said the vicar. - -"This house and this parish would not be what they are, Mr. Dodd, were -it not for me." - -"My love, I am fully sensible of my great good fortune." - -"John," said the vicar's wife as soon as they were alone, "one of us -ought to write to that poor thing." - -"What poor thing, my dear?" - -"I mean the squire's unhappy daughter," she said. - -"Good heavens, Cecilia, for goodness sake, let her alone." - -"Leave her alone in the hour of her tribulation! Mr. Dodd, is that your -advice as a clergyman, or is it your other entity, the man of the world, -who speaks?" - -"Common prudence, my dear, suggests discretion." - -"And who shall listen to the whisper of prudence, when common duty -speaks so loudly, Mr. Dodd?" - -"My dear, 'too many cooks spoil the broth,' is a homely saying." - -"A vulgar proverb, Mr. Dodd." - -"But full of wisdom, my dear, as are most proverbs. I think there is -another culinary hint, too, that I remember, 'It is good not to -introduce one's finger into one's neighbour's pie.'" - -"And is the murderer, then, to escape with impunity, Mr. Dodd? Is he to -have at least no moral punishment; is the indignant finger of outraged -society not to be pointed at him; is he with impunity to go out to slay -whomsoever he will; and is there to be no Nemesis for such as he?" - -"Oh, as much as you like, my dear; but there's no reason why you should -personally represent outraged society." - -"If I felt it a duty, Mr. Dodd, I should certainly represent outraged -society, and Nemesis too, if I pleased." - -"Of course, my dear, of course, and doubtless _con amore_." - -"John!" said the indignant wife. - -But the vicar, having fired the last shot in his locker, had fled. - -Fortunately Mrs. Dodd's time for the next fortnight was pretty well -taken up. What with visitors who came to her to ascertain what they -called the real truth; what with answering the innumerable inquiries of -her large circle of acquaintance on what was now getting to be known as -the "Haggard Scandal," Mrs. Dodd was fully occupied. It was a happy -thing for Georgie; the young wife remained in ignorance of her husband's -escapade. She was spared the threatened letter of advice and admonition. - -Not one word did old Warrender breathe to his daughter of the matter. - -The details of the affair however, that is to say of the actual meeting -itself, were pretty well known in town. General Pepper had no cause for -reticence. Men who had barely nodded to him before, now amicably grasped -the warrior's hand, and asked him to the most _recherche_ dinners; and -his inevitable description of the duel, at dessert, usually formed the -feature of the evening. Cards of invitation from the most distinguished -personages rained down upon the fortunate veteran in profusion. Report -said that he had even lunched with the Commander-in-Chief. His cronies -at the Pandemonium accused him of assuming an air of habitual arrogance. -Captain Spotstroke swore that the general had cut him in St. James's -Street. - -But in London the lives of chance lions are short; people began to -forget the Haggard duel and to cease to long for the presence of General -Pepper, C.B. Grosvenor Square ceased to invite him to her banquets, -though he was still a welcome guest in the mansions of Bayswater and -Maida Vale. - -As for Lord Pit Town, he was of the old school. He ascertained, from a -reliable source of information, that Haggard had not been the aggressor. -For a gentleman to go out with another gentleman before breakfast, to -settle their mutual differences, seemed to him the most natural thing in -life. The faithful Wolff too, as a graduate of a German university, had -been a fighter of duels in his youth. Wrapped in the bandages, the pads, -the plastrons, and the guards customary on such occasions, he and the -other young fellows had pluckily stood up to chop at each others' faces, -on what those enthusiasts were pleased to term the field of honour. -Their eternal occupation in the new galleries soon caused Haggard and -his duel to be forgotten by both, and, save in King's Warren parish -itself, the whole matter ceased to be remembered. - -Perhaps the very last mention of the affair, even there, was made by -Miss Sleek, upon a rather memorable occasion to her father. - -The young ladies at "The Park," notwithstanding their undeniable good -looks and good temper, had failed to find admirers, at least eligible -admirers, in King's Warren. Over-dressed young men, generally beaux of -Capel Court, used to be brought down to stay from Saturday till Monday, -to beguile the tedium of the girls' lives, by their indulgent papa. But -the golden youth of the Stock Exchange found little favour in the eyes -of the Misses Sleek. Generally at the second or third visit the -gaily-clad young men would propose to one sister or the other, but both -girls still remained heart-whole, and their father was not over anxious -to lose them. - -"My dears," said he one evening to his daughters, "Dabbler's coming down -to-morrow. I do want you to be civil to Dabbler." - -Now Dabbler was a widower; he was not of prepossessing appearance, and -his h's troubled him, but Dabbler was a warm man. The Misses Sleek on -hearing their father's announcement looked at each other in a meaning -manner; to do them justice, perhaps because they had plenty of money -themselves, perhaps because they were both rather romantically -inclined, neither coveted the honour of consoling the unhappy Dabbler -for his rather recent loss. - -"Of course we shall be civil, papa," said the elder girl; "we always are -civil to Mr. Dabbler." - -The father smiled upon his dutiful children and gave no further sign. - -On the Saturday Mr. Dabbler arrived. He was very attentive to both -girls, neither of whom showed any desire to monopolize his society. On -the Sunday afternoon the conversation turned on the recent duel at Rome. -The ladies defended Haggard's conduct, while Mr. Dabbler laughed at -duels and duellists, and stated his conviction that "that fellow Haggard -deserved to be 'ung." Whereupon both girls were highly indignant; they -rapturously commended Haggard's valiant behaviour. Unfortunate Dabbler, -now upon his mettle, declared that "should he ever want satisfaction, -his solicitor should get it for him." - -The girls retorted at once "that in their eyes such a course was -detestable, that they could never even respect, much less like, any one -who professed such sentiments." - -Dabbler, who had rather hesitated between his partner's daughters, and -who, in his own mind, had decided that he had but to come, to see and to -conquer, was a man used to arrive at determinations at once. From that -instant he made up his mind that neither of the Misses Sleek would -suitably fill the vacant place at the head of his dining-table. - -As the two men went to town on the Monday by the fast morning train, -Sleek, as he unfolded his _Times_, turned with a smile to his partner. - -"Well, Dab," he said, "which is the lucky one?" - -"They won't 'ave me, my boy," replied the other philosophically. - -"And why not, in the name of common sense, pray?" replied his partner in -some astonishment. - -"Because I'm not a Nero," returned Dabbler with a sigh. - -"What?" said Sleek. - -"We will not continue this conversation, Mr. Sleek," said Dabbler -solemnly, and both gentlemen buried themselves in their newspapers. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - HOW THEY CAME HOME. - - - "The Warren, - "May 2nd, 18--. - - "MY DEAR CHILD, - - "Lucy's letter announcing the happy event took me so much by - surprise that I could do little more than formally congratulate - you. As you say, I gave you no news whatever; to tell you the - truth, there was very little to give; but, my dear child, you - will have to come home immediately and see how the old man is - getting on for yourself. The fact is that I have had a long - letter from my friend Pit Town, who is greatly pleased and - delighted at the birth of your boy. He alludes, my dear, to the - possibility--and unlikelier things have happened--of the little - fellow some day coming into his title, and what will go with - it--his immense wealth. He suggests, as he delicately puts it, - that he should like to see the little chap at once; but, my - dear, what he really means is that the little Lucius should be - seen in the flesh. When you were managing your little surprise - for your husband and me, my dear, you forgot that the little - stranger was the direct heir to an earldom, and that though it - is exceedingly improbable that my grandchild will ever be a - peer, still stranger things have happened. Baby should certainly - be in evidence. - - "My old friend Pit Town has written me quite an affectionate - letter, and he has succeeded in considerably altering my ideas - on the subject of what he calls your husband's peccadillo at - Rome. When I was a young man, of course such things were - frequent occurrences; but manners are changed now. You will - forgive me, my dear, when I say that I think your husband has - already sown a sufficiently large crop of wild oats. Let us hope - his new responsibilities will sober him; I trust they may. You - will hear nothing more on this matter in future, rest assured, - nor shall I ever mention it to your husband. - - "Pit Town thinks, and so do I, that you had better come home at - once. The old man, my dear, has been very miserable without you - both for the last few months; and The Warren has not seemed the - same place since its young mistresses have been away. - - "Lucy tells me to give you all the gossip. You will be amused to - hear that the vicar's wife goes about declaring that I am on the - point of a marriage with Miss Hood. The fact is, my dear, that I - might have given you a mother in the form of Miss Anastatia - Dodd, and I fear that, by the ladies at the Vicarage, I am - looked upon as a designing old man. I need not tell you that I - had no idea of paying our dear old friend the very poor - compliment of making her an offer of my heart and hand, but Mrs. - Dodd will have it that it is so, and as her husband says, it's - no use arguing with her. When we meet, the vicar's wife greets - me with a snort of indignation. I fear that this is old wives' - talk. You will be glad to hear----" - -Here, the letter ran off into home matters, interesting enough perhaps -to the girls, but trifles which in no way concern this history. The old -man wound up by declaring his intense desire to see both the cousins and -his "dear grandchild" as soon as possible. He also gave an affectionate -message from Lord Pit Town asking them both to make an indefinite stay -at Walls End Castle. - -Such was the letter from the old squire that reached the ladies in their -temporary home upon the Swiss lake. - -Somehow or other the maternal _role_, which had been so suddenly thrown -upon Georgina, had become not ungrateful to her. Perhaps she found some -sort of consolation in lavishing endearments upon the unconscious -infant, the little Lucius who lay asleep upon her lap. As for his real -mother, she took very little notice of the child. Whether it was pure -heartlessness, or whether what had been first policy had now become a -sort of second nature, it is difficult to say. Lucy had begun by posing -as the child's aunt, and she played the part to the life. As for -Georgie, probably the maternal instinct was strongly developed in her; -it usually is in women who are naturally affectionate; perhaps it began -in pity, but it was very evident now, both to her cousin and to -Hephzibah Wallis, that young Mrs. Haggard was excessively fond of the -little child of shame. Suddenly placed in her extraordinary position, -separated from the father whom she loved and the unworthy husband whom -she idolized, without a friend or confidant, subdued by the master mind -of her cousin, is it to be wondered at that the young wife would sit for -hours nursing the unconscious cause of all her woes? - -The cousins presented a remarkable contrast. As for Lucy, the flush of -health was on her cheek, her eyes sparkled with the triumph of her -recent escape and her delight at the success of her own machinations. -Her clear voice might be heard ringing through the house as it trilled -forth the little French _chansons_ of more than dubious propriety that -she loved so well. - -"Don't sulk, Georgie," she would say, and with a laugh she would place -her hand on her hip and imitating the gesture of Theresa, then still in -vogue, she would warble: - - "Je suis l'heureuse gardeuse de l'ours." - -"Yes, you are a bear, Georgie, and twice as sulky." But Georgie, paler -than usual, dark rings round her eyes, would lie flaccidly in her lounge -chair, the infant on her lap, and decline to be galvanized even into -momentary life by her cousin's taunts or innuendoes. There she would sit -for hours together, gazing into space, the silent victim of another's -fault. Why did she not rebel? Why did she not insist on informing her -husband at least of her cousin's lapse, of her ignoble stratagem? -Probably because she was too conscientious. With some few people -truth-telling is a sort of religion, a kind of Obi, a fetish; so it was -with young Mrs. Haggard. She had promised, nay she had sworn. A voice, -more awful than that of the Veiled Prophet, ever cried in her ear, "Thy -oath, thy oath." Deception, so hateful to her truthful soul, she was -compelled to carry on even against her trusting husband. Many a time and -oft had she pleaded, with tears, to the remorseless girl who looked so -soft and yielding. But the tender lines of Lucy's voluptuous figure -covered a marble heart. - -"Reginald would never betray you, darling," she had said. "He would do -anything for my sake, for us and for this poor little thing." Here her -eyes filled with tears as she kissed the unconscious infant in her -arms. - -"It's no use, Georgie, you've promised, and I shan't release you. You -are a most interesting young mother. You look the part; there is a sort -of matronly dignity about you, Georgie, that I could never hope to -attain. Don't plague me," she continued. "As for telling Reginald or any -soul alive, I'd die first; and mind you I mean it, it's no idle talk. If -you ever should be so cruel as to tell my secret, our secret--if you -should dare to tell it, even to hint it, Georgie"--and here the lovely -eyes seemed to scintillate with suppressed fury--"you would bid good-bye -to me, at all events in this world," and then she would go off into a -half hysterical laugh. - -At first scenes such as these were frequent, but Georgie gradually -ceased to plead. She had reluctantly now accepted her position, and -recognized her cousin's determination as immutable. - -Lucy had read her uncle's letter aloud, eagerly breaking the seal; for -her cousin had drifted into a state of listless apathy, a kind of dull -indifference, from which even a letter from her much-loved father failed -to rouse her. No look of interest, no answering smile lit up her once -bright features as Lucy read the letter, interlarding it, as was her -way, with a running fire of comment. When she came to the invitation to -the Castle she could not restrain the exuberance of her delight, but -clapped her hands in girlish glee. - -"I see fresh triumphs, Georgie," she said, "with my prophetic eye. You -will complete your subjugation of the old lord, and the philosophic Dr. -Wolff will certainly propose to me. As for the heirs, they shall all -sigh in chorus, from Lord Hetton to your father-in-law. But it is you -who ought to be troubled by the suitors, patient Penelope that you are. -I suppose uncle's letter must be taken as a royal mandate, and that we -must leave here at once. I shan't be sorry to leave this place; there -have been no sunny memories of foreign lands for us here, have there, -Georgie?" she said, with some little show of affection, as she placed -her hand upon her cousin's shoulder. But young Mrs. Haggard shrank from -her touch with an almost imperceptible shudder. - -Since Mr. Capt's mysterious departure from the Villa Lambert things had -not gone on so pleasantly as under the reign of that invaluable -domestic. Lucy Warrender at least had missed the thousand and one -delicate attentions of the valet. The various little appetizing -kickshaws that he was in the habit of concocting for the delectation of -his young mistresses had disappeared. The living rooms and the table -service no longer presented the attractive appearance they had done -under his superintendence. But worst of all, Hephzibah Wallis distinctly -sulked; no other word will express the condition of that love-lorn maid. -Bereft of her admirer, her study of that depressing masterpiece, "The -Dairyman's Daughter," became more intense; her very presence was a kind -of blight as she silently performed her duties in her usual mechanical -way. Never over strong, the loss of her lover was painfully apparent in -Hephzibah's appearance: her muddy complexion became almost ghastly in -its sallowness, and her pale lips grew almost colourless. That the girl -was ill was very evident, but the fact did not seem to dawn upon Mrs. -Haggard, whilst Lucy Warrender, who was in the habit of looking upon -servants very much as pieces of furniture which could be replaced when -worn out, troubled herself very little about the matter. - -Miss Warrender, now the master-spirit of the establishment, did not -hesitate. She answered her uncle's letter announcing their immediate -departure for The Warren. As she playfully put it: "We must hurry home, -uncle, or Miss Hood will devour you, body and bones; but we must travel -by easy stages as Georgie seems not over strong, and we must be careful -with baby. As for Hephzibah I have no patience with her; but people of -her class are always helpless." - -Two days afterwards they were on their way home. Travelling is not such -a very fatiguing process after all. The ladies, the baby and the maid -had a compartment of the sleeping car to themselves and journeyed -comfortably enough. They arrived safely at their hotel in the Rue de la -Paix, and then Hephzibah Wallis broke down. Tired as she was herself, -Georgie Haggard nursed her like a sister; all night long she sat by the -girl's bedside and watched the movements of the pale lips, which seemed -to be eternally attempting to articulate, but though the lips moved -ceaselessly no sound came from them. The maid's condition alarmed Mrs. -Haggard; there was evidently something more than mere fatigue; great -beads of perspiration stood on the forehead, the hands were cold as ice -and seemed to pick irritably and aimlessly at the coverlid. Gradually -the mutterings of the sick girl became louder. - -Georgie attempted to rouse her, but in vain; she placed her ear to her -moving lips. - -"It's no use, Maurice, you'll get nothing out of me." This was all she -heard, and it was evident to her mind that in her delirium Hephzibah was -holding an imaginary conversation with her faithless lover. - -All through the long weary night Georgie Haggard continued her watch by -the bedside, moistening the girl's lips with water and wetting her -burning forehead with Eau de Cologne. In the next room Lucy Warrender -slept peacefully, and ever and anon her cousin would enter to take an -anxious glance at the sleeping infant. The maternal instinct, which had -so strangely remained dormant in the child's real mother, was abnormally -developed, as we have said, in Georgie Haggard. At dawn, as Mrs. Haggard -turned down the gas and admitted a little of the cold, cruel, grey -light of early morning, she became thoroughly alarmed at the appearance -of her patient; still the ever-restless fingers continued to search for -the invisible crumbs, but they were colder now, and the finger tips were -almost blue. Georgie hurriedly rang the bell. After some time a -half-dressed chambermaid appeared. A messenger was dispatched in haste -to summon a doctor. Lucy Warrender, very much against the grain, had -left her couch and, head and shoulders muffled in a shawl, stood gazing -at the dying woman with contracted brow. It was evident to both girls -that a terrible change had come over Hephzibah Wallis; the lips no -longer moved, but were strained tightly over the teeth, which were -painfully apparent; while the breathing, which though rapid had -previously been tranquil, was now harsh, extremely loud and often -interrupted. - -And now a doctor hurriedly entered the room. He was a dapper little -Frenchman and had arrived in evident haste. Bowing to the ladies, he -gave a perceptible start when he perceived the appearance of his -patient. Taking his watch from his fob he felt the poor girl's pulse. -Then he shook his head ominously. Placing a stethoscope over the region -of the heart, he listened for a few seconds. - -"Madame," he said, "I can do nothing; she is beyond all human skill. -Alas, I fear that in a few moments she will pass away." - -Even Lucy Warrender's hard heart was filled with horror. - -"Can nothing be done, doctor? can you suggest no remedy? is there really -no hope for her?" said Mrs. Haggard. - -"Alas! no, madame, the mischief has gone too far; it is an old case of -heart disease. Did she complain of ill health to you?" - -"She has never been strong, doctor, and she has had a great deal to -trouble her lately," said Lucy. - -Suddenly, while they were yet speaking, the face of the dying girl -assumed a placid expression; the lips trembled convulsively and then a -happy smile gradually appeared. The smile remained, the lips gently -parted and then the eyes slowly opened, but in them there was no -speculation, for Hephzibah Wallis had ceased to breathe; she had -peacefully passed away. The faithful girl was gone, carrying with her -the carefully guarded secret of her young mistresses. - -As the French doctor drew the sheet over the dead girl's face, a ghastly -smile, almost of satisfaction, might have been seen on Lucy's -countenance. Both girls sobbed bitterly; but let us do Miss Warrender -justice, her tears were tears of genuine sorrow, but her grief was -tempered with a sort of awful content, that now at least her secret was -buried in the solemn silence of the grave. - -The next few days were passed in a sort of melancholy bustle; a letter -had to be written to break the painful news to the poor old mother at -King's Warren. Poor Hephzibah was buried, her two young mistresses -following their faithful servant to the grave. - -That night Lucy Warrender stole softly into the empty room. With her own -hands Miss Warrender carefully went through all the dead girl's little -possessions, and she removed every letter and paper to her own room. -Then she locked the door and carefully scrutinized everything, but not -one scrap of writing did she find which compromised either herself or -her cousin in the slightest degree. There were a few notes which had -been written to the girl by her mistresses at odd times, and had been -carefully treasured by the abigail. There was a little box of carved -wood which contained a photograph, the likeness of the faithless Capt. -Lucy cast it into the flames, and from the fire, as it turned and -twisted like a living thing, the face seemed to glare at her menacingly. -There was nothing more save the letter from the vicar's wife. Lucy -perused it with a smile, and crushing it into a ball she tossed it into -the fire. - -Then she returned into the dead girl's room and replaced all that -remained. Taking a glance at her sleeping cousin, whom her proceedings -had not disturbed, she herself quietly retired to rest. - -Next day the girls were busily employed. From a crowd of applicants they -had to select a nurse for the little Lucius. Their choice fell upon a -handsome Norman peasant woman dressed in the becoming, though peculiar, -costume of her race. She wore the tall white cap of filmy cambric, -ironed in the elaborate manner with which we are all familiar; she wore -too a massy pair of gold ear-rings and a heavy gold cross, which -indicated that her people were well-to-do. Fanchette was evidently a -paragon of neatness; no spot of dust could be seen on her short dress of -French merino, or on the little woollen shawl pinned closely over her -shoulders. She spoke no word of English and seemed rather taciturn; -the only anxiety she manifested was as to the amount of her -remuneration. Her references were undeniable. She was the picture of -health, a magnificent animal. - -Probably what most recommended her to the critical mind of Miss -Warrender was her impassive taciturnity. - -Fanchette was installed at once. She expressed her readiness to proceed -to England, informing the girls that all countries were the same to her -as she had no relatives and her _homme_ was serving in Algeria. - -Nothing detained the party further in Paris, and they prepared to start -for King's Warren the next day. - -A letter from the Parsonage reached them that evening; it was from Mrs. -Dodd, the vicar's wife. - - "King's Warren Parsonage. - - "DEAR MISS WARRENDER, - - "On receipt of your letter I hurried over to Goody Wallis's - cottage to break to her the sad news of Hephzibah's death. - Strange to say it did not take her by surprise; she told me that - the girl had been ailing for several years. Of course these - things do not affect people of her class to the same extent as - educated persons; but it was plain enough that she was much - grieved. As you can suppose I did my best to console her. I - pointed out to the poor old thing that her daughter had been - saved from the degradation of a marriage with a foreign person; - strange to say, this appeared to give her no comfort: she did - not seem so well disposed as usual to listen to good advice. So - I took my leave, lending her a copy of Lawe's 'Serious Call.' - - "Your uncle is quite excited at your approaching arrival, and is - burning to see the little Lucius. I suppose, my dear, that this - very unusual name has been selected out of compliment to you, - but my husband says that he is probably called after the - celebrated Irish baronet, the head of the O'Trigger family. - - "I cannot express to you, my dear, my feelings of horror and - indignation when I heard of the awful occurrence at Rome. - Between ourselves I should think it would be better for all - parties, particularly for his poor ill-used wife, if your - brother-in-law remained in America. Personally, I regret to say - that I shall never be able to receive him again. I'm sorry to - add that my husband does not look upon the matter in the same - serious light, but he was always frivolous, even for a - clergyman. - - "I may tell you that you are both coming back none too soon, for - the squire, always a weak-minded man, seems now to be quite - under the thumb of Miss Hood. That lady does not hesitate now to - give herself airs to which I, for one, will never tamely submit; - and I hope your cousin will take steps on her arrival to at once - assert her position. - - "With love to Georgie and kind regards from the vicar, - - "I am, dear Miss Warrender, - "Affectionately yours, - "CECILIA DODD." - -The next morning the sisters were driven with Fanchette and the baby to -the station of the Northern Railway, and they left for England by the -tidal train. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE RETURN OF THE WANDERER. - - -When Georgie was ushered into the state room at The Warren, though she -was horribly tired, she protested, but all to no purpose. - -"It's no use, my dear; the wheels of time never go backwards. You will -never be Georgie Warrender again, for she has developed into a -personage--Mrs. Haggard is a personage of consideration." So said Miss -Hood as she welcomed Georgie to the quarters set apart for her, -Fanchette and the boy. - -Summer is always enjoyable in a country house, and probably it is only -after an extended absence from England that one can thoroughly -appreciate the delights of English country life. To both girls the -change was pleasant, to Lucy especially; the Villa Lambert had been to -her a very punishment, for there had been no one to talk to. But Lucy -had found an ally, a mine of information, a fund of amusement, an -appreciative audience all combined, in her cousin's French _bonne_. -Naturally the foreigner looked upon England as a veritable land of -Egypt, a house of bondage; equally naturally, she determined to spoil -the Egyptians whenever she should have the opportunity. In her mind, as -is the case with all the working classes in France, the English were -objects of derision and ridicule, as well as hereditary enemies. -Fanchette felt very much like a wolf turned loose in a sheep-fold: the -wolf cannot foregather with the sheep; and the animal's delight may be -fancied when it discovers that one at least of the flock, under the -snowiest and most innocent-looking of fleeces, is, like herself, a wolf -after all. Is it to be wondered at, then, that Fanchette clung to Miss -Warrender? The pair thoroughly understood each other. Every Frenchwoman -at heart is an intriguer, here again was a similarity of tastes and -pursuits. - -No successor had as yet been appointed to Hephzibah Wallis. The little -Lucius, like most infants of his tender age, passed the greater portion -of his day in sleep, and Fanchette being an active person, willingly -devoted the large proportion of spare time on her hands to Reginald -Haggard's wife. - -It is hardly to be wondered at that old Squire Warrender, who idolized -his daughter, should make a fool of himself over the little Lucius. He -even brushed up his archaic French for the sake of inquiring directly -after the child's health from Fanchette. But Fanchette was only -Fanchette to the two girls and the squire; to the rest of the -inhabitants of The Warren she soon became "Mamzell;" this brevet, or to -be more correct, local rank, she first earned by her own personal -heroism. Johnny Chubb, the oldest of The Warren coachman's boys, was -detected by the _bonne_ in a series of hideous grimaces. She promptly -seized Johnny by the ear. Johnny's ears were large, projecting, and of a -healthy crimson. As she twisted his great red ear, the agonized cries of -Johnny became heartrending. "Demand of me, then, pardon, little cancer," -cried the indignant _bonne_ in her native idiom. "Say, I pray you to -pardon me, Mademoiselle Fanchette." - -But Johnny only screamed the louder, for Johnny did not understand -French, and Johnny was in pain. Fanchette, being a determined -Frenchwoman, went on with the twisting; like Sir Reginald Hugh de Bray -she certainly would have twisted it on till she twisted it off; in vain -did Johnny, in his ineffectual struggles, turn head over heels more than -once; the relentless Frenchwoman never let go his soft and ruddy ear. -She continued her injunctions to the boy, addressing him in many of the -choicest flowers of abuse with which her language abounds, that he -should beg mademoiselle's pardon. He did so at last, for even the -endurance of a British boy breaks down at the idea of losing an ear. - -"I begs yer pardon, Mamzell," he said sulkily, as he clapped his hand to -the injured member, to assure himself that it was still attached to his -head. - -From that day Fanchette ceased to be "Frenchy" to Johnny, she became -"Mamzell." At first, as a joke, the Warren servants gave her the title -derisively; from them it spread to the villagers, and gradually all -King's Warren called her "Mamzell" in sober earnest. - -The atmosphere of home, the healthy English air, and above all the quiet -and regularity of the life at The Warren, combined with the hope of the -approaching return of her husband, all had a beneficial effect on -Georgie Haggard's physical health. Her lost colour gradually began to -return, her step regained somewhat of its former elasticity, but she -courted solitude, and seldom spoke. It was with difficulty she could be -persuaded to go outside the grounds. Even the gossip of the vicar's -wife, or the genial chat of the vicar himself, failed to interest her. -The change was apparent to everybody. But King's Warren opinion was -generally formed by the active mind of Mrs. Dodd. Mrs. Dodd had decided -that the poor thing was fretting for her husband; she considered that -Mrs. Haggard deserved her sympathy, and so King's Warren looked on Mrs. -Haggard as a "poor thing," and duly sympathized. Old Warrender himself -became gradually less anxious, and accepted the general verdict. - -Weeks rolled into months. The sale of estates, even in Mexico, ends at -last. Haggard, who had returned to the capital, found the weather -getting unpleasantly hot; there was nothing further to detain him, and -he vouchsafed to announce his return to the wife of his bosom. Strange -to say, to the astonishment of all but Lucy, young Mrs. Haggard -continued to "fret." - -In that same rose garden, on the very bench on which she had sat -awaiting Reginald's arrival on that momentous morning when she had -consented to be his wife, Georgina now sat once more, but not alone. By -her side was the _bonne_, and upon the _bonne's_ lap, wrapped in -tranquil slumbers, lay the little Lucius. The young wife sat gazing at -the infant, and as she sat she tried hard to come to a decision upon the -course she should pursue. On the one side lay the path of duty. Should -she make a clean breast of the matter? should she take her husband into -her confidence? Should she ask him to give his name to the child of her -cousin's shame? Or if she did so, could she for a moment suppose that he -would for one instant listen to so monstrous a proposition? Of course -there was her duty to be considered, her duty towards her husband, her -duty towards her cousin; of what she owed herself she thought but -little. But then she had sworn, and to some people, and Georgie was one -of these, an oath remains ever binding. She felt herself securely -caught, bound hand and foot in the net of intrigue, the meshes of which -were so skilfully woven by her cousin's treacherous hands. Her mouth was -sealed. Could she look forward with any pleasure to her husband's -return? could it cause her aught but apprehension and a deadly fear that -she, an innocent woman, was to pass the rest of her life in guarding a -horrible secret, not her own, and in betraying her husband's confidence? -But she had given her word; keep it she must, at whatever cost. - -How different had been her feelings on that well-remembered day, as she -sat alone, in maiden meditation, and awaited her would-be lover's -advent. Then there had been no anxiety in her anticipations of their -meeting. It was very different now. A dreadful terror filled her heart; -the fear of nameless horrors caused her hands to become cold and clammy. -Should she appeal to his generosity? should she make an end of the whole -ghastly story? If she could only nerve herself to do so, that was the -one way out of the maze of doubt, the sole possible road to Georgie's -future happiness. What right had Lucy to wreck her life? Hers was the -sin; on her head let it be visited. But Georgie felt that she had gone -too far already; the first step, that dangerous first step, in the path -of deception had been unhappily taken. In her natural anxiety to shield -her cousin she had yielded to her imperious demands. She had entered -upon the lane of trickery, in which there is no turning back. She felt -herself but a ship on a sea of troubles, whose helm was guided by that -experienced sailor, her cousin Lucy. - -The little Lucius, the helpless centre of all the dark intrigue, clad in -his garments of needlework, slept the sleep of innocence upon -Fanchette's lap. Most women having so much cause would have hated the -child, but to hate was not in Georgie Haggard's affectionate nature. - -The sleepy mid-day silence of the rose garden was broken by the sound of -wheels, but no flush of pleasure reddened Georgie's cheek as she heard -the bustle of her husband's arrival. - -Just as once before big Reginald Haggard strode down the gravel walk, so -once more Georgie now saw him advancing in the blaze of sunlight, but -not alone. With him walked her father, with a cheerful face, while on -his arm hung the light-hearted Lucy, all smiles and happy blushes, her -ringing musical laugh joyously heralding his advent. - -But Haggard seemed to have no eyes for any one but Georgie; his face -wreathed in smiles, he hurriedly advanced to greet her, and then for an -instant nature triumphed. Georgie burst into tears, and rushing into his -arms, husband and wife were locked in a long embrace. But the momentary -oblivion of her trouble ceased when Georgie left her husband's arms and -caught her cousin's eye. - -Lucy's finger was pressed to her lips. What the gesture meant young Mrs. -Haggard knew only too well. - -"If you don't moderate your transports you will commit the unpardonable -crime, Reginald, for you will wake the baby," said Lucy. - -It was too late. The child, with a gentle sigh, opened his eyes and -stared around him. But Haggard, absorbed in his first meeting with his -wife, did not seem to observe him. Lucy snatched up the little bundle of -lace and embroideries, and exhibited him triumphantly. - -"Have you no eyes, Reginald?" she cried. "Pray reserve some, at least, -of your transports for the object of universal adoration." - -As Haggard gazed on the pair he thought they made a pretty picture, with -their background of foliage. - -"So that's the little chap," he said carelessly. - -"And is that all you have to say to him?" cried Lucy. "No wonder you -make him cry, Reginald," for the child, at the sight of a stranger, had -burst into a succession of sturdy yells, which, at all events, showed -the strength of his lungs. - -But even when a man is confronted for the first time with his firstborn, -he probably does not manifest the amount of interest which is expected -by the female mind. The little Lucius was speedily consigned to his -nurse's arms; she disappeared with him down a shady walk, carefully -protecting, as is the way with French nurses, the child's complexion and -her own by means of a big sunshade. - -"Come, uncle," said Lucy. "We have to prepare the roast veal to -celebrate the prodigal's return. Besides, Georgie and Reginald must have -hundreds of things to tell each other; _we_ shall only be treated to the -second edition of a gentleman's travels in America. I suppose the first -will be for private circulation only. I fear Georgie won't have much to -say in return, for our dull life at the chateau will have little to -interest a man." This was said trippingly upon the tongue, but it was -said with intention, and the look which accompanied it caused poor Mrs. -Haggard to drop her eyes, while a slight flush suffused her cheeks. - -"Two can't play gooseberry, you know, uncle; it is a _role_ that, like -the daisy-picker's, cannot be divided." - -Old Warrender rose with a smile, and Lucy dropped the pair a profound -courtesy. - -"Farewell, Strephon. Good-bye, Chloe. You would both make a pretty -picture in sylvan costume, but in your nineteenth century clothes you -look terribly prosaic." - -"Lovers still though, I think, my dear; lovers still, please God," -muttered the old man, as he gave his arm to Lucy. - -The pair were left alone. - -Were this history mere fable Reginald would at once have proceeded to -possess himself of his pretty wife's unresisting hand; he would have -pressed it to his lips with rapture. What he really did was to take his -case from his pocket, provide himself with a large and uncommonly -fullflavoured cigar, which he lighted with much care and deliberation. - -"You must have found it beastly dull at that hole, Georgie," he remarked -at length; "how on earth did you get through your time?" - -Should she tell him? Could she tell him how she had got through that -terrible time? Her honest nature urged her to it; but Georgie's love for -Haggard, deep as it was, was not untinged with fear. Her gentler spirit -was dominated by Lucy's strong will. Her intense respect for her -promise, the promise snatched from her in the moment of her excitement -and tribulation, quelled the impulse. - -"Of course it was dull without you, Reginald. But you, at all events, -have enjoyed yourself. How brown you've got," she said, gazing up at him -with her old look of girlish rapture. - -The look did it. Woman's admiration was ever meat and drink to big -Reginald Haggard, particularly the admiration of a pretty woman. Now -Georgie was a very pretty woman. Accustomed as he was to open -appreciation by the sex, it never seemed to pall on him. Though most men -expect it, or at least the semblance of it, as a sort of right from -their wives, and consequently cease to value it, yet Haggard, not having -seen Georgie for many months, was evidently pleased. - -"Yes, we had plenty of sun out there," he said, as he passed his hand -meditatively over his shaven chin. "It was hot, beastly hot. But they -weren't a bad lot out there, you know," and then he went off into a long -description. - -Nothing pleases a man better than to talk to his own wife about himself, -except, perhaps, when privileged to enlarge upon the same delightful -subject to somebody else's wife. So Haggard ran on; but even personal -experiences must have an ending, and Haggard, at the height of good -humour, condescended to compliment his wife upon the little Lucius. - -"Capital little chap that, Georgie," he said. "Howled awfully when he -saw me. I suppose they all do, though?" - -Georgie's heart beat like a sledge-hammer at the heedless remark. Should -she tell him at once, or finally make up her mind to pass the rest of -her life as a cheat, and the accomplice of that arch-cheat, her cousin? -Alas! for her, her impulse was smothered by what she considered her duty -to Lucy. - -She laughed a little hollow laugh--a poor little, weak, stagey giggle. -"I fancy he's much like other children," she said; "they always do cry -when they see a stranger." - -"Let's have a good look at him, old girl," said her husband with a -smile. - -Young Mrs. Haggard called the _bonne_, who advanced at the summons, her -coarse, but handsome, peasant features lighted by a smile. - -The proprieties must be observed even in the presence of a _bonne_, and -Haggard's hand, which had somehow stolen round his wife's waist, now -discreetly sought the shelter of his coat pocket. - -"Monstrous fine creature, by Jove!" said the husband, as he emitted a -vast cloud of smoke. - -This appreciative remark did evidently not refer to the baby. Many wives -would have resented this openly-expressed tribute to Mademoiselle -Fanchette's personal attractions, but Georgie was neither surprised nor -disgusted. She was accustomed to her husband's ways; often and often, on -their marriage trip, had her Reginald drawn her attention to the real or -supposed charms of other women. It was a way he had. He didn't admire -scenery; he hated pictures; architecture, and especially ruins, were to -him abominations. But he did admire the sex. The pegs on which he hung -his memory were pretty faces and pretty figures. He would refer to -events and places in an original way of his own, as, "The day we met -that cardinal's niece with the eyes," or, "Where we saw the American -girl with the hair." At first, in their married life, these remarks had -a sort of sting in them, but at last Georgie had come to regard them as -a sort of proof of the big man's affection. She felt that they were a -sign of confidence, that she was endeared to him by the far higher -title of comradeship, that she was, in fact, what in his language he -would dignify by the appellation of his "chum." - -Fanchette dropped a courtesy. Fanchette continued to beam, for Fanchette -saw that she was appreciated by Monsieur. In fact, the appreciation was -mutual; and Fanchette compared her new master, and not unfavourably, -either, with the proverbial _pompier_ of her native country. - -There is a class of men ever ready to chatter with servants, -particularly if they are of prepossessing appearance. To this class Mrs. -Haggard's husband belonged. He would have been delighted to compliment -the _bonne_, but, alas! his linguistic powers failed him. He rose, -however, to his feet, and, with true British pluck, employed the few -words of Anglo-French he knew; these he accompanied with appropriate -pantomime. - -"_Enfant_," he said, pointing to the child. "_Mon_," he continued, -indicating himself. "_Mon enfant_," he triumphantly added, with an air -of jubilant proprietorship. - -"_Mais assurement, monsieur!_" cried the _bonne_, and then she went off -into a flood of mingled praise of the infant, of her mistress, of her -new master, and of herself. The child, whose eyes were open, was held -aloft in triumph, and he stared at Haggard with a wondering gaze. - -Haggard clapped his hands at the child in undisguised pleasure. - -As Georgie sat upon the bench she wistfully watched the little drama, -and gradually the old look of terror, which seemed to have left her in -the excitement of her husband's return, came back to her face. The -decision--the fatal decision--she felt was now irrevocable. From that -moment she knew that her life was to be passed in the carrying out of -Lucy's plot. There could be no drawing back now. As she thought of all -this, the colour left her face, and the strength her limbs. - -The sharp eye of the _bonne_ saw that she was almost fainting. - -"_Monsieur, madame se trouve mal!_" she exclaimed, distracting the -husband's attention from the infant and herself. - -"What's amiss, George," he cried. "You are not ill, dear?" he said with -unusual solicitude. - -But Georgie declared that it was nothing. "I think the heat upsets me," -she said with an effort. - -Just then the clash of the luncheon bell was heard, and Haggard gave his -wife his arm. She leaning heavily on it, the pair slowly proceeded -towards the house, followed by the _bonne_, solacing the infant with the -rather inappropriate strain of: - - "Rien n'est sacre pour un sapeur--bebe. - Non, rien n'est sacre pour un sapeur." - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE MISSES SLEEK DROP IN. - - -It was certainly a great deal to Haggard's credit that he remained -tranquilly at The Warren for the space of three whole weeks. It was the -London season--just that time of year when flat-racing was at its -height; and at all the great meetings the Pandemonium set was -conspicuous. It might have been that he really liked his wife's society, -and that he found that the only way of getting her all to himself was, -as he was pleased to call it, to bury himself alive at King's Warren. It -has been said before that Haggard objected to the _role_ of Beauty's -Husband, but he had found that in town it was willy-nilly forced upon -him. He felt it trying that the instant Georgie showed herself in their -box at the play, the glasses of all the somebodies and half the -nobodies would be immediately levelled at her. Haggard was by no means a -jealous man. He was one of those who thoroughly enjoy being a -"popper-in" at the boxes of friends where beauty sits triumphant. He had -admired and rather laughed at the stoical philosophy of some of his -married friends, who were accustomed to calmly go off to enjoy their -brandies and sodas, under such circumstances, leaving their wives the -centre of a little circle of admirers--a circle of which he himself was -often a prominent ornament. But, though not a jealous man, he considered -it wise, when at the play, to be particularly attentive to Georgie. -Haggard believed in sheep dogs to a certain extent, but he believed -still more in the actual presence of the shepherd himself. But his -experiences of the last London season as a married man had convinced him -that the life of Corydon, particularly at the play, was not an existence -of unalloyed bliss. To Mrs. Charmington and her smart set, Haggard's -devotion to his wife was particularly touching: in vain would they -beckon him, or point to a vacant seat at their sides, with their fans; -like Love's Sentinel, sweet was the watch he kept, but, to tell the -truth, it bored him horribly. - -It is undoubtedly pleasing to a man to find that his choice is -appreciated by all his friends, but it is rather trying to a married man -when he leaves his wife, even for a few moments, at a garden party, or -the inclosure of a race-course, on his return to always find her, by no -fault of her own, be it remembered, surrounded by a rapidly-increasing -throng of enthusiastic admirers. So Haggard resigned himself, with -considerable philosophy, to the innocent delights of country life and -the dulness of King's Warren. - -At all events, it had the refreshing charm of novelty: there was the -fishing, and the King's Warren trout stream was a good one. Before he -had filled his creel at the pretty stream that artists used to come to -paint, the girls would come down to count the spoil and walk with him -through the cool lane, to conduct this most fortunate of men back to the -squire's well-supplied breakfast table. Then the model husband would -pass the morning in a lounge chair in the shadiest corner of the rose -garden, with a big cigar in his mouth, contemplating with lazy -satisfaction his prize baby and his handsome wife, while the fair-haired -Lucy would swing in the Mexican hammock he had brought her as a souvenir -of his American experiences, gaily singing her little scraps of rather -risky French songs, which, though he did not understand them, always -amused him. The little songs, too, appeared to give intense delight to -Mademoiselle Fanchette; that muscular specimen of womanhood would shake -with inward laughter, and fluently compliment her younger mistress. -"Ah!" she would say, "if mademoiselle had only been a poor girl, what a -position! all Paris would be at the feet of the beautiful miss. Why, the -_cafe-concerts_ would be struggling to possess her. Ah, what an enviable -position!" - -Stimulated by this honest praise, Lucy Warrender would delight her -little audience with "La Venus aux Carottes," or some other well-known -ditty of a similar nature. Old Warrender would lean on his daisy-spud a -pleased spectator of the Arcadian scene. It delighted him to observe -Haggard's suddenly awakened delight in the simple pleasures of country -life, and the old gentleman's admiration of Monsieur, Madame and Bebe -was unbounded. - -The afternoons were enlivened by the unceremonious dropping in of -sympathetic visitors; the Reverend John Dodd and his wife were welcome -guests, and tea in the garden became quite a function. - -It was a standing rule at The Warren that Thursday afternoon was a sort -of special day. On Thursdays it was the custom to turn up at the -squire's garden for afternoon tea. The men were always in a minority, -for most of the gilded youth of King's Warren were of too timid a nature -to put in an appearance. Occasionally young Mr. Wurzel, dragged thither -by his bride-elect, the sentimental Miss Grains, would come, but he felt -like a fish out of water, seldom opened his mouth, and passed most of -his time in gazing, with respectful admiration, upon Miss Lucy -Warrender; an annoying fact which did not escape the observation of his -mother's sharp old eyes, and which caused considerable indignation in -the troubled breast of the brewer's daughter. The vicar's curate was, of -course, a standing dish; other curates from adjacent parishes, too, -would appear and disappear, but they met with little encouragement, for -Miss Warrender didn't affect a liking for parsons. Even the -short-sighted High-church deacon from the next parish, who spoke of -himself as a "Celibate," and "vowed to heaven" and habitually got -himself up to resemble a Roman Catholic priest, failed to move her -worldly little heart; the Reverend Hopley Porter would have been more in -her line, mild curates were not at all in her way. The Misses Sleek, -too, freely availed themselves of their _entree_ to The Warren, and -those young ladies were ever on their best behaviour. They were not -bad-looking girls, and though both rather fast, while at The Warren they -affected a demure primness which made them not unattractive. They -patiently submitted to the continual snubbings of the vicar's wife, and -to the little sarcasms with which they were occasionally favoured by -Miss Warrender. They humbled themselves in dust and ashes to Miss Hood, -and seldom made any reference to that patient money-grubber, their papa. -With effusive affection they always addressed the squire as "dear Mr. -Warrender," and sought favour in Georgie Haggard's eyes by an ecstatic -worship of the little Lucius. - -"Don't you think you could manage it for us, Miss Hood? It's not a -formal affair, and we are so anxious it should be a success. We shall -have none but nice people, and it is so terribly dull at The Park: we -shall only allow pa to ask three of his friends, and they are quite old -gentlemen. I really couldn't ask dear Mr. Warrender myself, nor could -Connie, and we are both terribly afraid of Lucy." So spoke the elder -Miss Sleek in appealing tones. - -"Do help us, Miss Hood," chimed in the younger sister. - -"My dear, I don't see why you should be afraid of Miss Warrender," said -good-natured Miss Hood, giving that young lady her full title. - -"Oh but, dear Miss Hood, she always laughs at us; only just now she -inquired after that poor afflicted Mr. Dabbler. I knew she was laughing -at us, and so did Connie, and then she said something dreadful in French -about an ass and two bundles of hay; I'm sure we're not like bundles of -hay," said the girl with an indignant sob. "But we neither mind a joke -from dear Miss Warrender, do we, Connie?" - -"But we should be such a party, my dears." - -"Oh, that would only make it more delightful," cried the girl with -triumphant eyes, as she noticed the slight indication of capitulation in -Miss Hood's voice. "We're neighbours after all, you know, and haymaking -too; why, the squire goes to Mr. Wurzel's harvest home. Nothing but the -haymaking, and a little dance afterwards; oh, we should be _so_ -grateful." - -"What's that about a little dance?" cried Georgie's husband with -unaffected interest. - -"Oh, Mr. Haggard, it's nothing; it's only an idea of pa's; it's our -haymaking, you know, and we've been asking Miss Hood if The Warren won't -honour us for once in a way." - -Both girls fixed their eyes appealingly on Haggard's face. - -The squire's son-in-law was quite aware that the wealthy Mr. Sleek was a -_parvenu_. He knew that old Warrender would no more dine at The Park -than he would think of attending the services of the Dissenting -minister; but he himself was already beginning to feel rather hipped -with the novelty of his quiet life at The Warren. - -"Come, my dear Miss Sleek? of course we'll come. Georgie," he said to -his wife, "Miss Sleek is good enough to ask us to her father's place. -We'll be only too glad, of course." - -With Georgie to yield to her husband's slightest wish was a second -nature. - -"Certainly, Reginald, if you wish it. I shall be very pleased," she -added, though with an effort. - -"It'll be great fun, I'm sure," exclaimed Haggard; "but you'll have -mercy, Miss Sleek: you won't work us so hard at the haymaking as to -knock us up for the promised dance, and you'll keep one little dance for -me, won't you?" he added with cool familiarity. - -The girl's face reddened with pleasure as she acquiesced with effusion. -And as she thought of the glowing description in the local paper of the -forthcoming festivities at The Park, her eyes sparkled with the -anticipation of triumph. It would be an epoch in her life to have danced -with a peer's great-nephew, with the husband of one of the reigning -queens of society. But fresh joys were yet in store for the Misses -Sleek. - -"You'll let me bring my friend Spunyarn, won't you?" said Haggard; "he's -coming down to-morrow." - -"Oh, we shall be delighted," chorused the girls, "for we are wofully -short of men down here at King's Warren." - -The babble of conversation increased. Next morning each member of the -group on The Warren lawn had received an elaborate copper-plate -invitation to the Misses Sleek's haymaking, and the small and early -dance that was to follow it. - -The Misses Sleek carried their point; had there been a Mrs. Warrender, -their success would have been more than doubtful. Old Warrender himself -cared for none of these things; Miss Hood had protested officially, but -found herself very much in the position of the unfortunate member who -alone protests once a year, as a sort of duty to his constituents, -against the sum voted by Parliament to royal princes or princesses on -their marriage. Haggard and Lucy evidently looked forward to the -haymaking as a relief to the monotony of their existence; as for -Georgie, hers was the simple religion of Ruth, "Whither thou goest I -will go, thy people shall be my people." - -"One must be neighbourly, you know," said the squire, "in a place like -this. For my own part, I see no difference now-a-days between the man -who makes his money in business and the landowner. I'm sure I don't know -what Dodd would do without the Sleeks; he's always ready with a cheque, -and the girls seem almost unobjectionable." - -What a curious fact it is, that in the eyes of all old men girls are -always unobjectionable. Probably from their very age they look upon -even the hoydens, the "mannish," and the fast merely as big and rather -naughty children; therefore, all the more interesting. Let a girl be -thoroughly detested by her own sex--and to be thoroughly detested by her -own sex she must at least be tolerably good-looking--she is certain to -be the delight of all the old gentlemen of her circle. - -Haggard was in a particularly good humour, for he was hourly expecting -the arrival of his _fidus Achates_, Lord Spunyarn. He was impatient to -hear all the talk, the gossip and the scandal, which he had missed -during his prolonged absence from the Pandemonium Club. Though they -don't acknowledge it, your average club man is as great a scandalmonger -and gossip as any village crone; but being by nature more cautious than -are women, they hardly ever commit themselves upon paper. A yarn is told -by A to B, as a yarn; B tells it to C, as a rumour he has heard; C gives -it a tail, and imparts it under the seal of secrecy to D; over the -whist table, E, F, and G get hold of it, like the rolling snow-ball, -considerably increased in magnitude; sly H overhears it and gives it at -once into a society journal, where it becomes public property; perhaps -it may even result in an action for libel. Let the galled jade wince, -our withers are unwrung. Besides, perhaps Haggard was a little nervous -as to his reception; since he was last at the Pandemonium he had killed -a man, not that that fact troubled his conscience in any way. Now-a-days -a gambler is by no means an outcast at a smart club, particularly the -lucky man; for he is placed on a sort of moral pedestal by his less -successful rivals. Still the Lamb episode was not forgotten at the -Pandemonium, and this, coupled with the affair of poor Barbiche, caused -Georgie's husband to rather dread the cold shoulder. The presence of -Spunyarn too would certainly be a break in the monotony of the life at -The Warren. - -Haggard drove over some five miles on that hot summer day about noon, in -the squire's well-appointed dog-cart, to meet his friend Lord Spunyarn, -and it was with unaffected pleasure that he shook hands with him upon -the platform of the little station. Had they been Frenchmen, they would -have rushed into each other's arms and saluted mutually on either cheek. -As it was, they merely smiled and nodded, with a mutual, "How are you, -old man?" and a careless inquiry from Lord Spunyarn as to the health of -"your people" followed as a matter of course. During the five-and-twenty -minutes' sharp drive home, they talked of the heat, the crops and the -fishing; for the squire's smart groom rendered anything but general -conversation impossible: the bay mare, too, was full of oats, and a -puller. - -Lord Spunyarn was a welcome guest to everybody; the whole party came out -to meet him at the door, and with rural hospitality a substantial meal -was quickly placed before him. The cool of the afternoon was got -through by means of the inevitable croquet; in those days croquet was -inevitable wherever there were ladies and a lawn. At The Warren both -ladies and lawn were particularly attractive; the ubiquitous curate was -conspicuous by his absence; there was a little play, a good deal of -small talk, and as usual, Lord Spunyarn was particularly attentive to -Lucy Warrender. Now-a-days it is the fashion for the youth of England to -leave the spinsters out in the cold, and to affect the society of the -more attractive among the married ladies only. But Spunyarn was no -lady-killer, and if he had been, there was a certain air about Georgie -Haggard, a kind of notice to trespassers, that would have warned off the -most determined poacher. His lordship at once resumed his old position -of everybody's friend; he chatted with the cousins, he talked politics -with old Warrender, he complimented the head gardener; and when Lucy -Warrender, assuming a pensive air, inquired if he had no secrets to -tell her, he calmly replied: - -"There is nothing new, I think, Miss Warrender; nothing new, at least, -to you; yours as ever, you know, till death," he added with a little -laugh. - -"True knight," she cried, "ever faithful?" - -"To you, and to your cousin," he added with a little bow. - -"Why, you don't even offer me an undivided affection," said the girl. "I -suppose you are reserving yourself for the high jinks at The Park, Lord -Spunyarn," she said. "Connie Sleek's a pretty girl, you know, and there -are piles of untold gold, but in your case, though, that isn't an -inducement." - -"I'm too great a snob myself, dear Miss Warrender, at least, by birth, -as you know, ever to fall a victim to a financial belle." - -"Poor Connie Sleek, if she could only hear you. Depend upon it the -dreams of both sisters last night were disturbed by visions of possible -promotion. They couldn't restrain their raptures when they learnt that -they were to entertain a lord, a real live lord, you know. But you are -not to turn their heads, Lord Spunyarn; respect the innocence of our -simple village maidens." - -"It is that simple village innocence, Miss Warrender, which in your case -has caused me to sigh so long in vain." - -"Thanks," she said with a low courtesy, "the most sincere compliments -are always the most grateful. _A propos de rien_, how did you leave Mrs. -Charmington, Lord Spunyarn?" - -"On the wane, decidedly on the wane. I think she will soon be a monarch -retiring from business. Your cousin and you extinguished her -effectually. There's a little Portuguese Jew, a financial light; he has -ducats and a daughter: the ducats are undeniable; the daughter is all -eyes, hair and diamonds; she is the last startling novelty of the -season, and under royal patronage. There's only one chance for the -Charmington to keep herself before the public: she should try the stage. -God knows she has brass enough." - -"You are all the same, Lord Spunyarn; when we cease to please you laugh -at us. I suppose you'll be soon recommending me to try the stage." - -"Oh, no, Miss Warrender. _You_ are far too genuine, far too sincere." - -Here the conversation was broken off by the exigencies of the game. - -The two young men sat smoking late into the night. Haggard narrated his -American experience, cursed the dilatoriness of lawyers and land agents; -told of his feats by flood and field; praised the hospitality of the -natives, the horses and the half-castes; but he didn't say much of -Mademoiselle de Bondi, of the Mexico Opera House. And then they talked -about the Pandemonium, and Haggard heard with pleasure that his -numerous club acquaintances would be delighted to see him. - -"Not quite so pleased, I fancy, when they know I have forsworn the -pasteboards. That Lamb affair was a scorcher. Besides, Shirtings, you -know--I may say it to you without swagger--I find now I've made my pile -that it's too big to risk, so I mean to set up as a fogey, and to -confine myself to whist at pound points." - -"Poor old paterfamilias," exclaimed the sympathizing friend with genuine -feeling. "I know, port wine, a J.P.-ship, with a lord-lieutenancy and -the gout looming in the distant future." - -Haggard gave a groan. "I suppose it'll come to that," said he. - -"How are the old man and the pigs? Jolly as usual, eh?" - -"Well, the pigs are flourishing, but the governor's out of sorts; he -speaks thick, and his handwriting's getting rather groggy; the poor old -chap may go off at any moment." - -There was a short silence. - -"Are you going to speculate yourself, Shirtings? If you were one of the -impecunious, there'd be a chance for you to-morrow. Two queens of the -snobocracy will entertain us at romping in the hay, with Sir Roger de -Coverley to follow. From all I hear it is a land flowing with milk and -honey. The people themselves are rather dreadful, but for my own part, -after three weeks of enforced tranquility, seeing no one but the old -boy, my wife and her cousin, I am in a state of mind that is prepared to -be grateful for the smallest mercies. My dear fellow, I positively look -forward to it. Another week of the existence I have been leading here, -and I verily believe that I shall yearn to dance with my own wife." - -"Or even her pretty cousin," chimed in Lord Spunyarn. - -But Haggard took no notice of the observation. He chuckled, still -tickled with the idea of the absurdity of dancing with Georgie. - -"And is Lucy, as of old, to be honoured with your attentions, -Shirtings?" said Haggard, who was amusing himself by blowing circles of -smoke into the air. - -"Between ourselves, my boy, I've thought better of it. I shall remain a -respectful admirer, of course; but I don't think the lady would go well -in double harness. If I were a devilish good-looking fellow as you are, -my boy, I might try it; but I fancy Miss Lucy would prove a handful for -any fellow, and I have no ambition to play Jack Charmington's part in a -sort of perpetual Palais Royal comedy. Life being too short, you know, -old man, it seems hardly good enough." - -"Rough on Lucy. I fancy she has looked upon you as lawful prize." - -"Oh! she can reckon upon me as a permanent admirer; but without -compliment, you know, her cousin rather throws her into the shade." - -"Thanks, dear boy; there is no accounting for taste." - -As the representative of his father-in-law, Haggard asked his lordship -with punctilious hospitality if he would take another peg. Then, with a -yawn, he closed the Tantalus with a snap, and the pair retired to rest. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - THE SLEEKS IN ARCADIA. - - -There had been a succession of battles royal between the Misses Sleek -and their papa over the haymaking party. Mr. Sleek had drawn up a long -list of guests, among whom prominently figured the names of most of the -gilded youth of the Stock Exchange. Sleek was determined at all hazards -to make what he called a "splash." He felt that in getting old Warrender -and his daughter to The Park, he was in reality receiving his passport -into county society. It had been gall and wormwood to the head of the -firm of Sleek and Dabbler to find that in King's Warren village, except -among the tradesmen whom he patronized, for no fault of his own, he had -remained a social pariah. In vain had he subscribed liberally to the -local charities, the coal club, and the various other institutions of -the place. He was annoyed that, when walking with young farmer Wurzel, -village heads would be uncovered in every direction; and yet when he, -Sleek, the head of a well-known firm, was alone, a surly nod or a -fraternal smile was the only recognition accorded to him. He was -naturally anxious, then, that his haymaking and the subsequent dance -should be an important affair. But his daughters had manifested an -obstinacy totally unexpected. - -The family council of three had met in solemn conclave. Miss Sleek had -read to her father a long list of King's Warren people, and he had -cheerfully nodded his approval at each name submitted for his -approbation. - -"Can't be better, can't be better, my dear," smiled the father. "I don't -think you've left a soul out. But we mustn't forget my friends. I tell -you what it is, girls, when I do a thing I like to do it well, and I -mean to do this thing in style. None of your negus and stale sponge -cakes for me. I shall give 'em real turtle from Birch's, and as for -fizz, they shall swim in it if they like. Dry Monopole for the men, and -Duc de Montebello for the ladies; women hate dry champagne, they like it -sweet, for it fizzes longer, and they don't care a hang for the head in -the morning. Montebello will suit the vicar's wife and the married -ladies down to the boots. There's nothing like fizz, it makes 'em all so -friendly; and as for music, I've secured Toot and Kinney. Kinney himself -will come and conduct, and do the solos on the cornet. I'm going to -arrange for a special, girls, to bring the whole party down and take 'em -back to town at six a.m." - -His eldest daughter suddenly put a stop to his enthusiasm by asking him -rather coldly, "who the train was to bring down." - -"Why, my friends, of course; who else?" - -"But, dear papa, we don't know your friends, at least, many of them; and -I'm afraid, and so is Connie," she added with a sickly smile, "that -perhaps they wouldn't amalgamate." - -Much as King Lear looked when he first detected the real natures of -Regan and Goneril, so did Mr. Sleek gaze in horror on his two rebellious -daughters. - -"Bosh!" he exclaimed with indignation. "Do you mean to tell me that -after romping together all the afternoon in the hay, and getting their -skins full of my champagne, they won't amalgamate, as you call it? Why, -they'll be calling each other by their Christian names before supper -time." - -But the sisters showed no signs of yielding. - -"I tell you what it is, girls," said their father in anger, "you're a -pair of ungrateful minxes. Don't 'pa' me," he added at the duet of -deprecation that followed. "My daughters are going to dance with a -lord," he continued with tragic fervour, "and their poor old father -isn't good enough for them." - -Mr. Sleek did not go to business that morning. A terrible ceremony that -lasted a good hour and a half was gone through. Mr. Sleek's list, which -had originally contained over a hundred names, was shorn of its fair -proportions, till but a little handful of the least objectionable -remained. With the eloquence of a Cicero and the skill of an -attorney-general, Miss Sleek "showed cause" against everybody. Though he -fought hard he had to yield, for the girls were two to one. But he did -not give in without a struggle, and he fought loyally for the absent -Dabbler, but the girls were inexorable. - -"Mr. Dabbler is too dreadful, papa. I'm sure he'd forget himself, and he -would insist on dancing." - -Now both the Misses Sleek had a vivid recollection of poor Dabbler's -terpsichorean efforts at a certain Guildhall ball. Not contented with -walking through his square dances, as is the lazy custom now-a-days, Mr. -Dabbler had _danced_ them with a vigour and ingenuity which would have -assuredly brought down the house at a transpontine theatre. Even at the -Guildhall, Dabbler's style was peculiar to himself, and productive of -amazement and delight to all but his partners and those who figured in -the same set. Dabbler was a vigorous dancer. When he set to his partner, -he performed a sort of cellar-flap breakdown; when he stood in the -middle of the quadrille while his _vis-a-vis_ advanced and retired with -the two ladies, he still continued dancing. "To dance implies that a man -is glad," and Dabbler was a cheerful-minded fellow enough, but no lady -danced with him a second time. The eyes of the Misses Sleek flashed with -unaffected rage and horror at the terrible remembrance of that dreadful -night in the City. - -There was nothing for it but to yield, and Mr. Sleek, when he had had -time to cool, came to the conclusion that perhaps after all his -daughters were right. - -Romping among the haycocks may be very good fun, but the elaborate -toilettes in which he found his daughters arrayed on the eventful -afternoon effectually convinced him that the romping, if romping there -was to be, would be entirely confined to the few juveniles who graced -the entertainment with their presence. - -The house was turned inside out. The drawing-room floor had been duly -chalked in elaborate devices; the staff at The Park, in new gowns, caps -and aprons, was reinforced by an army of myrmidons from the City. Huge -blocks of ice decorated the dining-room, and Messrs. Toot and Kinney's -band already discoursed sweet music from the Italian summer-house. The -plump charms of his two daughters were freely displayed in elaborate -Parisian costumes, _merveilleuse_ dresses of striped satin; one girl -affected pink, the other sky blue. So resplendent was their appearance -that the proud father hardly recognized his two buxom daughters in their -gay attire. - -But carriages, dog-carts and antediluvian flys began to pour into The -Park. Every lady on her arrival received a bouquet of hot-house flowers, -every gentleman was presented with an elaborate button-hole of orchids. -Not a single invitation had been refused. King's Warren and the region -round about had come to the philosophical conclusion that if Mr. Sleek, -of The Park, was good enough for Squire Warrender, he was good enough -for them. More than this, even those who had once passed the Sleek girls -with a condescending nod, or with their noses high in air, had deigned -to intrigue for invitations; and in the hour of their triumph the girls -had not been ill-natured, nobody had been refused. - -There was quite a crowd in the shady corner of the hay-field to watch -the so-called haymaking, a familiar sight enough to the King's -Warreners, and there _was_ romping among the haycocks. But the pastoral -amusement was only indulged in by the children of the village school. -Young Mr. Wurzel, in the shiniest of boots, yellow gloves, a pink tie -and a white hat, his bride-elect, Miss Grains, upon his arm, looked on -approvingly, and it is not to be wondered at if the young fellow's eye -dwelt, somewhat too long for Miss Grains' satisfaction, upon their young -hostesses. The Reverend John Dodd, as usual, was surrounded by a throng -of female worshippers, the party from The Warren was in full force, and -it somewhat astonished the Misses Sleek to note that Georgie and her -cousin were in ordinary afternoon muslin dresses. No doubt the Sleek -family would have been more gratified if, instead of his brown -billycock, Lord Spunyarn had worn his coronet; he probably didn't travel -with it, however. - -All went merry as a marriage bell. - -"My dear young ladies, surely we ought to join in this," said the -Reverend Jack with a smile, addressing his hostesses, as he pointed to -the children who were pelting each other with the perfumed hay. - -But the _merveilleuse_ costumes of the Sleek girls were better suited -for looking on than for taking part in the actual performance. - -"Oh, we should like it of all things, Mr. Dodd, but _we_ must reserve -ourselves. You see _we_ are almost bound to dance every dance, and there -is so much to do, and so much to see to. But if any one would like to -make hay we should be so pleased, and so would the children." - -"You are not haymakers to-day, then, only shepherdesses looking after -an unruly and, I see, rapidly increasing flock. It's a very sweet -pastoral, you only want your crooks to complete the picture. I, too, am -a shepherd, you know; but a shepherd in black and without his crook is -somewhat in the way. With your permission, then, I shall join the -children," said the vicar with a smile. - -"The crook will come in time, Dodd; you may depend upon it we shall see -you a bishop one of these days, after all," laughed Haggard -good-naturedly. - -"Thank you so much, Mr. Haggard," said a deep voice at his elbow, which -made him start; "thank you so much for attempting to recall my poor -husband from this frivolous scene to higher things. My unhappy husband, -Mr. Haggard," she added in a confidential whisper, "has no ambition. -John Dodd, Mr. Haggard, is, I regret to say, a trifler. It has been the -labour of my life to try and withdraw his mind from frivolities, and to -keep him in the path which would ultimately lead him to what should be -the goal of every clergyman's ambition. Oh, if he would only try to be a -little more like my dear father. If he would only think less of carnal -things," and here the vicaress gave a snort and looked spitefully at the -Misses Sleek, between whom the Reverend Jack still lingered. - -The Misses Sleek were plump, the Misses Sleek were pretty, even if they -were a little over-dressed; but to call them "carnal things" was at -least unkind. - -"Console yourself, dear Mrs. Dodd," said Haggard with a smile; "the -vicar will be just as attentive to the school children in the hay as he -is to our young hostesses now," he added with intention. - -"Too well I know it, Mr. Haggard. And can there be a sadder sight than -to see the vicar of this parish romping in the hay with village -hoydens?" - -Haggard's prophecy turned out to be correct, for the vicar threw off his -coat and joined the children; and he, the greatest child of them all, -was soon thoroughly enjoying himself. - -Nearly all the ladies were accommodated with seats, all save the Misses -Sleek; they, poor girls, alas, could not sit. One can walk, flirt and -dance in a _Merveilleuse_ costume, but it is next to impossible to sit -down in it. They bore their sufferings with fortitude, however, and, -like the Spartan boy with his fox, concealed their agony. - -And now the loud summons of a gong called everybody to the more serious -business of the evening. A big marquee of striped canvas had been -erected; the guests trooped into it. Soon all the little tables were -filled, and everybody did full justice to the delicacies set before -them. After standing in the sun a considerable time, the crowd was not -sorry to eat and drink its fill. The eyes of bashful bucolic youth -began to sparkle with the effects of Mr. Sleek's champagne; rosy cheeks -grew rosier; even the vicar's wife unbent; that blighted maiden, Stacey -Dodd, almost felt her hopes revive under the influence of _pate de foie -gras_, and the immediate proximity of the squire. But, even in the -country, people can't eat and drink for ever; and the marquee was at -last deserted for the superior attractions of the dance. - -For that evening, at least, class distinctions were for once forgotten -in King's Warren. Young Mr. Wurzel screwed his courage up so far as to -ask Miss Warrender to dance with him, while the vicar took out the -village schoolmistress, and Mrs. Dodd herself condescended to waltz with -her host. But after her toes had been trodden on three times in a couple -of rounds, she felt that she had already done more than enough; she -danced no more, and relapsed into her old position of tutelary goddess, -or guardian angel, to society in general. Connie and her sister were in -great demand, and the cup of their happiness was filled to overflowing, -each having danced with the real live lord. Young Wurzel having done -enough for honour, did as engaged young men should, and stood up for -dance after dance, as a matter of course, with the object of his -affections. - -"I can't dance as _she_ does," whispered the Village Rose in his ear; -"but hold me tight and turn me round quickly, William," she added with a -sigh of satisfaction. - -The young farmer did as he was bid, and owing to their united exertions, -they were soon both the colour of a couple of peonies. - -The big conservatory had been judiciously only dimly lighted by a few -Chinese lanterns, and by common consent had been given up to the lazy -philanderers, who sought its leafy shades between the dances. Connie -Sleek had volunteered to show the plants to Lord Spunyarn; they were -both tired, and Connie in considerable trepidation managed to sit down -in one of the dimly-lighted nooks, at his good-natured lordship's -suggestion. Spunyarn, however, didn't make love to Connie, but the young -lady felt that she had her chance, and she availed herself of it. - -"I've been on my feet since four o'clock, Lord Spunyarn," she said, with -a not unmusical sigh, "and I feel as if I could sit here for ever. Don't -you?" she added. - -What is an easy-natured young man to say under such circumstances? Given -an exceptionally substantial collation, warm weather, some dozen round -dances, and nothing particular to do, most men would have probably -replied just as Lord Spunyarn did. - -"With you, Miss Sleek? Well, do you know, I believe I could." - -Connie Sleek's eyes sparkled like coals of fire. Visions of herself as -Lady Spunyarn presented at Court on her marriage, and patronizing her -elder sister, flitted through her young and innocent but giddy brain. -But his lordship's next remark rather damped her hopes; the descent from -the sublime to the ridiculous is at times a little too sudden. - -"By Jove!" said Spunyarn, "I should like to be one of these plants, and -never move out of my pot, with nothing to think of but to look forward -to the time when the gardener would come and syringe me. I wish he'd -come and syringe me now, don't you? _They_ seem to be enjoying -themselves, don't they? Uncommonly, by Jove!" he added, looking towards -the farther end of the conservatory. - -The guileless Connie saw a pink mass in the dim shadows opposite her. -The pink mass was evidently her sister. A small incandescent speck, -which sparkled about a foot from where that sister's head would be, -indicated her partner in enjoyment, also that the gentleman was smoking -a cigarette. - -"Why, it's Lottie. I wouldn't have her see me here for the world, Lord -Spunyarn. She's a dreadful tease, and I should never hear the last of -it," and here the young lady, exactly upon the principle of the ostrich, -who is said to bury its head in the sand when it wishes to escape -observation, unfolded an enormous blue fan which effectually screened -both herself and her fellow criminal. If Spunyarn had sought a -_tete-a-tete_, he had now got it with a vengeance. - -Precisely the same feelings evidently animated the young lady in pink. -She, too, unfurled a big fan. The conversation of both couples for the -next five minutes must have been interesting, for both fans, which were -originally used merely as screens, were frequently violently agitated. - -No doubt, the conversation of both pairs was instructive as well as -amusing. Both ladies evidently enjoyed the unhoped-for but -well-deserved rest. Had it not been for an unfortunate disturbing -influence, who can tell but that Connie Sleek might have risen from the -settee Lord Spunyarn's affianced bride. When even a worldly-wise young -peer occupies the half of a seat only intended for one person for fully -five minutes, behind a big fan, beside a becomingly-dressed young woman -of undoubted crispness, and who is not troubled with bashfulness, who -can say of what folly he may not be guilty? - -But Providence willed it otherwise; for Mr. Sleek suddenly entered his -conservatory in a state of considerable excitement. - -"Gals," he said--when excited, Sleek _pere_ always addressed his -daughters as "gals"--"where on earth is Mr. Haggard? I've been looking -for him everywhere." - -The two men rose to their feet; the one behind the pink fan, not much to -Lord Spunyarn's surprise, turned out to be Haggard. But neither young -lady moved; their dresses wouldn't let them, poor things. - -"It's pa!" they both exclaimed in a sort of astonished chorus. "Oh, pa, -it's so hot," said the elder girl, regaining her _aplomb_ at once. But -Connie, more indignant, only sighed; she felt, poor girl, that she had -had her chance and lost it. There are moments in girls' lives when even -a father is _de trop_. - -"What is it, old fellow?" cried Haggard with unusual condescension as he -advanced. - -"I've been looking for you everywhere, Mr. Haggard. Here's a telegram -for you. I hope it's no bad news," he added. - -The two girls, with considerable effort and many an ominous crack, -covered, too, with rosy blushes, perhaps from their exertions, had now -managed to regain their feet. - -"Oh, I do hope it's nothing dreadful," said the elder girl with pretty -sympathy. - -Haggard, as he tore the envelope open and read the telegram with -difficulty by the light of one of the Chinese lanterns, blurted out: - -"By Jove! Shirtings, the poor old governor's dead." - -There was considerable consternation. The Warren party hurried away, and -though dancing went on, the two young hostesses, perhaps in their -natural grief for their friend's loss, joined in it no more. - -As poor Connie wept herself to sleep that night in her sister's arms, -she whispered her tale of sorrow into her ear. Her last words were, -"Lottie, darling, I shall never, never forgive pa." - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - HAGGARD COMES INTO HIS OWN. - - -Old Justice Haggard had died rather suddenly. He had been ailing for -several weeks; as his son had remarked, his handwriting had been the -first symptom of the breakdown. His articulation, too, had become -thickened, and one evening he was found seated in his chair by his study -fire speechless, his face painfully drawn on one side; within an hour he -had peacefully passed away. - -The king was dead, long live the king. Reginald Haggard came into his -own. But though Haggard had talked of settling down into a county -magnate in the case of his father's death, when that event happened he -failed to do so. - -"I couldn't stand it, you know. The dreadful dinners and the dreadful -people would have finished me, I think," he had said. - -So after the funeral, Haggard returned to The Warren, but not before he -had given the old steward final and definite instructions, which caused -that worthy man's hair to almost stand on end. - -"Cunningham," he said, "if you want to remain on the estate as my -steward, you'll have to alter the state of things here. My father, you -know, muddled along in a happy-go-lucky sort of way. As long as his pigs -took the first prize at the county shows he was happy. That was his -ambition. Now, Cunningham, you'll have to make the place pay. There are -a lot of old servants, old pensioners and old horses, all eating their -heads off here, and doing no work. You'll have to make a clean sweep of -the lot. Were I to attempt to do it myself they'd worry my life out. Now -I want you to act as a buffer. From your decisions there is to be no -appeal. They are to look to you, and not to me. As I said, the place -must be made to pay, that's the first point; the second is, that I am -not to be bothered. It used to amuse my father to sit in his -justice-room every morning and to be perpetually receiving and answering -letters from all sorts of people about the place. That sort of thing -won't suit me. You know as well as I do that my father got nothing out -of the place." - -"Sir----" began the Scotchman. - -"Wait till I have done, Cunningham, and you will see that you have -nothing to say. I know what you are going to tell me. That it is my duty -to come and live in this place, with these yokels, to have the ague at -least twice a year, as my father did before me, and to ask my friends -down in September to shoot my partridges. Those were my father's views, -they're not mine. As to the house, I shall let it, and I shall do the -same with the shooting. With regard to the property, if you can get an -income out of it for me, well and good; if you can't, I don't suppose -anybody can; and in that case I intend to be shot of the whole bag of -tricks." - -"Ye wud'na think of pairting with the property, sir," said the -astonished steward; "it's been your fathers' before you for centuries." - -"It must pay me three per cent., Cunningham, or I shall assuredly sell -it. Of course any legal liability I have I must fulfil; but there's been -a good deal too much sentiment lately in the management of the place. My -father was fond of pigs and paupers; I can't say I care for either. You -will grant no new leases except at their full value. If Dick can't get a -living out of a farm, that's no reason for letting him have it rent -free. The estate must be improved, Cunningham--as a property. You -understand me, I take it?" - -"I could'na fail to do that, Mr. Reginald." - -The steward carried out his instructions. It is needless to say that -Reginald Haggard became unpopular. Ash Priory was let; the old -servants, those few who had any work left in them, got new and harder -places at less wages; those who were past work went into the poor-house. -The Haggard estate actually returned three per cent on its market -value, and everybody in the neighbourhood of the Priory agreed that Mr. -Cunningham the steward was an exceedingly hard man. - -Haggard was very particular about one thing. A large diamond-shaped -hatchment on which the arms of the Haggards were emblazoned came down -from town and was duly affixed over the principal entrance to the -Priory. - -"It's to stay up for a year mind, Cunningham, tenant or no tenant, and -then you can take it down and burn it if you like." - -The death of Justice Haggard caused the postponement of the proposed -visit to Walls End Castle, and it was not till more than a year -afterwards that the old earl's eyes were gladdened by the sight of his -favourite, his great-nephew's wife. - -During the year of mourning, Georgie Haggard presented her husband with -a son. The child had been born at The Warren. Their recent mourning had -effectually prevented the Haggards from going much into society, so -rather against the grain, Haggard had consented to remain the guest of -his father-in-law, varying the monotony of his long stay at The Warren -by an occasional run up to town. At first he had proposed a furnished -house, but he had been warned by the local practitioner that it would be -unwise and imprudent to subject his wife to unnecessary fatigue, or to -let her lose the benefit of the air of her native place. There was not -much fuss made on the arrival of the little George; he, poor little -chap, was provided with a humble attendant from the village, Fanchette -being still retained to minister to the wants, whims and foibles of the -elder child. - -Miss Lucy Warrender had enjoyed the successive delights of two London -seasons; she went everywhere, she was as much admired as ever. Lucy -Warrender was not a mere beauty to be stared at; she was a brilliant -conversationalist and possessed considerable powers of repartee. She had -an artless way of administering cruel stabs to her female acquaintances -which frequently turned them into enemies. When Mrs. Charmington had -innocently asked her whether she considered her proposed appearance upon -the stage _infra dig._, she had replied that she thought her friend -couldn't do better, "for," added she gently, "they tell me, dear Mrs. -Charmington, that actresses never grow old." Lucy Warrender had not been -without her triumphs; she had had several offers, and good offers too, -but she refused them all, and Lucy Warrender was Lucy Warrender still. -Excitement was an absolute necessity to Lucy; there was a persistent -craving in her mind for something new, and a ceaseless round of -amusement was what she could not do without. Many girls would have -knocked up from the effects of continuous late hours, heated rooms and -high living, but Lucy seemed to thrive upon it. She was now nearly -two-and-twenty, and from the time she had been able to think she had -never troubled herself about anybody's comfort but her own. The maternal -instinct had never been awakened in her; she petted the little Lucius -simply because he was good-looking, and because she knew that a -well-dressed, good-looking young person engaged in petting a child who -is also well-dressed and good-looking is a pleasant and picturesque -object. Just in the same way she was accustomed to hang on her uncle's -arm and gaze up into his face, not because she cared one iota for her -uncle, but because she considered it an effective tableau. The sole -reason that Lucy Warrender never accepted any of the good offers which -she received was, that she thought herself better off as her own -mistress. If Lucy Warrender had been a man, she would have been one of -those wholly unobjectionable persons, one of those single-minded -individuals, whose life is passed in trying to get the greatest possible -amount of personal enjoyment out of this world. As we know, Lucy was not -troubled with what is called a heart; true she had made what she now -considered a mistake at the outset, but she had burnt her fingers so -severely that from that time she was never likely again to lapse from -her religion of self-worship. When they had first returned from -Switzerland, she had had considerable cause for anxiety, for the fear of -being found out had troubled her a good deal, but that shadow had -gradually passed away and the whole affair now seemed to her merely like -a troubled dream, which she still remembered in a vague sort of way. - -Happy, tranquil and contented, Miss Lucy Warrender, looking fresh as a -rose, sat down to the well-furnished breakfast-table at The Warren and -turned over in a meditative manner the three or four letters which had -arrived for her by the morning's post. Miss Warrender was a wise young -woman; she always ate her breakfast first and postponed the perusal of -her correspondence till the meal was over. She put her letters in her -pocket, as was her custom, and did full justice to the substantial meal -which graced the squire's board; at its conclusion, provided with one of -her favourite yellow-coloured novels, she lounged into the garden -prepared to get through the morning with the least possible amount of -trouble to herself. She sat down in a shady nook of the rose garden and -read two of her letters, gossipy effusions from female acquaintances; -then she took up the last letter, which was on thin paper and addressed -in a legible but foreign-looking hand. She opened it carelessly, but as -her eyes fell upon the contents she drew herself up, suddenly the -colour left her lips. This was what she read: - - "131, Gerard Street, Soho. - - "MADAME, - - "I trust you will excuse the liberty I take in addressing you on - a little matter which concerns myself. Circumstances compelled - me to leave the service of Mr. Haggard while you and madame were - at the Villa Lambert. I have now, madame, to trespass on your - kindness, in asking you to assist me in my present intention of - re-entering that gentleman's service. I have no reason to - believe, madame, that during the time I acted as Mr. Haggard's - valet I failed to give satisfaction. It is to ask you to use - your kind influence with my former master that I now address - you. His valet, I understand, is about to leave him. It probably - is in your power, madame, to enable me to obtain my old position - once more. Should you feel inclined to use your influence in my - behalf I shall be for ever grateful. I may tell you, madame, - that business took me to the village of Auray; what I learned at - Auray I shall look upon as a secret confided to my honour. I - shall write to Mr. Haggard to-day to apply for the situation. - Trusting, madame, that you will give me your powerful aid in - this matter, I remain, - - "Very respectfully, - "Your humble servant, - "MAURICE CAPT. - - "P.S.--It will be unnecessary to answer this letter, as I feel I - can count upon your generosity." - -There was no mistake. Lucy had taken every precaution; she had looked -upon the old scandal as dead and comfortably buried, buried in the grave -of the Parisian cemetery in which lay the unfortunate Hephzibah. - -She ground her little white teeth, as she saw the spectre rise once more -in a new and uncompromising shape; an unpleasant feeling of utter -helplessness filled her soul. Had her successful intrigues been all to -no purpose after all? She had no doubt in her own mind as to what it was -that Maurice Capt had learnt at the village of Auray. Capt had not -written to ask her for money; she felt that he would probably name the -price for his silence later on. In the meantime, she knew that the -humble request of the Swiss valet was a politely-worded command which -she dared not disobey; and she dreaded his presence, filled with the -horrid fear of its consequences. It was even possible, she thought, that -her cousin in her sudden terror might incontinently make a clean breast -of the whole matter to her husband, or even to the squire. When one has -felt perfectly secure, it is extremely painful to see all one's -carefully-elaborated combinations instantaneously collapse. As has been -said, Lucy Warrender was in the habit of looking upon servants as mere -furniture, but here was a piece of furniture suddenly developed into a -most substantial bogey. - -At first Lucy was disposed to take her cousin into her confidence, but -then she thought, and thought rightly, that Georgina would make a very -bad conspirator. Perhaps after all the valet might consent to be bribed; -she remembered with pleasure that he was discretion itself, so she -calmly resolved to adopt what doctors call an expectant policy; that is -to say, to do nothing at all, and to patiently await the turn of events. - -She was not kept long in suspense. While they were at dinner that -evening, Haggard mentioned to the squire that he had just received a -letter from his old servant. - -"I think the confounded impudence of that rascal Capt has something -almost sublime in it. He bolts in a mysterious manner when he was left -in charge of the girls, and now he calmly proposes to come back to me -again." - -"Of course you won't think of taking him," replied the squire. - -"Take him, I'd see him hanged first, as he will be one of these days, if -he gets his deserts. Why, Georgie, what's the matter?" - -And well might Haggard exclaim, for young Mrs. Haggard was staring at -her husband, her eyes wild with terror. - -"How terribly stupid you men are; don't you see that she's fainting, -Reginald," cried Lucy as she hurried to her cousin's side. "The heat's -something dreadful, and it has quite overcome her," said the -sympathizing cousin, as she cleverly covered Georgie's retreat from the -room. - -In a few minutes she reappeared. - -"It was nothing after all, as I supposed. She is lying down, and will be -herself again very shortly. What was it you were saying, Reginald, about -Capt?" - -"Oh, I had forgotten the rascal; merely that he coolly suggests that I -should take him on again. He wasn't a bad servant, you know, quite what -a servant should be--a mere machine. I wonder what made him bolt in that -unaccountable way, Lucy?" - -"Didn't we tell you?" said the girl. "It was some lovers' quarrel -between him and Hephzibah; she was never the same girl after he -disappeared; quite a little back-stairs comedy." - -"Which turned into a tragedy though when the poor girl died," said the -squire; "I suppose when he bolted she broke her heart." - -"You are getting quite romantic, uncle," said Lucy; "people in her class -of life don't break their hearts, they only do their work worse than -usual." - -"I know one thing," said Haggard, "he was the best man I ever had, and -if it wasn't for his confounded cheek, I should be glad to get him back. -I suppose if I did though he'd commence upon Fanchette, and turn her -head." - -"I fancy Fanchette can take very good care of herself. I don't think -you need hesitate on her account if you really want him," carelessly -threw in Miss Warrender. - -"It wouldn't be a bad idea," said Haggard meditatively. "My present -fellow insists on smoking my cigars, and absolutely declines to wear my -new boots. I hate wearing boots for the first time. I think I'll give -the fellow a chance after all." - -A week afterwards Maurice Capt was installed. To Lucy's intense -astonishment, not one word did he breathe to her of his researches at -the secluded village of Auray. But she felt that they understood one -another. Gradually she came to the conclusion that she had bought the -valet's silence at a very cheap price. He was glad to get back his good -place, and that was probably all he wanted; he dropped no hint or -innuendo of his discoveries, if he had made any, and he made no attempt -at blackmailing. - -Mademoiselle Fanchette was at first very attentive to the valet, and -seemed to think less than ever of the "_homme_" in Algeria. But Mr. -Capt, though very courteous to Fanchette, did not respond to her -advances; perhaps he was yet sorrowing for the dead Hephzibah. Still -Fanchette secured a gossip to whom she could confide her numerous -troubles, and Haggard felt that he had done wisely in having once more -obtained the invaluable services of the faithful Swiss. - -It has been stated that the King's Warreners were divided into two -religious camps--the upper classes and the labourers going to church, -while the smaller tradespeople sat under the Reverend Boanerges Smiter, -an eloquent young Baptist minister, who had wrestled in vain for thirty -years of his life with cruel letter H. It was the dream of Mr. Smiter's -life to empty the old-fashioned pews of the parish church. With this -intention he worked hard; he preached, he lectured, he even at -considerable trouble obtained a sort of reputation as a pulpit comedian, -but he forgot that the seats of Gilgal Chapel were hard, while the old -baize-lined pews at King's Warren Church were high and comfortable, and -seemed to say to their occupants, "Here your slumbers will be -undisturbed," also that the vicar never preached for more than twenty -minutes. Rev. B. Smiter (for somehow or other the definite article is -always left out before the title of a dissenting minister) was an -ingenious man. It was through his exertions that Gilgal stood proudly -upon its own freehold, and that it possessed actual cash at the bank. -When Mr. Smiter first came to King's Warren the funds of Gilgal Chapel -were in a very bad state indeed. The community was in debt for rent, the -pastor lived in a little lodging in the village, his stipend was of the -smallest, and the chapel was badly out of repair. But Rev. Boanerges -Smiter was equal to the occasion. He was the original inventor of the -Great Avalanche System. He got into his little pulpit one day, and he -preached his great sermon on the text "Ask and ye shall have," and then -he explained to his hearers the details of the Great Avalanche System. -He told them, what they well knew, that they were in King's Warren a -comparatively small body of relatively poor people. "Many a time and -oft," said he, "have my predecessors stood here, and urged you, my dear -brothers and sisters, to give to the needs of this chapel. My -predecessors have ever resembled the young ravens in their persistent -cry, 'Give, Give;' and you, my dear brothers and sisters, have given, -you've responded manfully, but what has been the result? Gilgal is as -badly off as ever. We are but a small handful of Israelites in a great -land of Egypt, and we are oppressed by Pharaoh; for Pharaoh, clad in -purple and fine linen, takes tithes of all we possess." (Did he refer to -poor Jack Dodd as Pharaoh?) "But you will all remember that Moses -ordered the children of Israel to spoil the Egyptians, and it will be -our duty, nay our privilege, to do to these modern Egyptians as did our -prototypes, the children of Israel, to Pharaoh and his subjects. What -does Gilgal want? Gilgal wants to be out of debt. Gilgal wants a -suitable residence for its pastor. Gilgal wants a new roof, and Gilgal -would be all the better for a new organ. Now, my friends, did the -Egyptians assist the unfortunate Israelites? Not a bit of it. Why they -wouldn't even give them straw to make their bricks with. But though they -wouldn't give them any straw, yet they yielded up to them after a time -their jewels of silver and their jewels of gold, for we read that the -Israelites spoiled the Egyptians. I am going to ask you for your -charity, and I am going to head the subscription myself. Don't be cast -down, my friends, at the single shilling which your pastor is about to -subscribe. I trust that we shall obtain the roof, the freehold, the -suitable residence for the pastor, nay, even the organ; for fifteen -hundred pounds will do all this. Fifteen hundred pounds seems a large -sum to you, my brethren, but it is easily to be obtained. And remark -the pleasant fact that it will be obtained from the Egyptians. It is -your charity I ask, but not your money, for the charity I require is -simply vicarious. Let me go more into detail and make myself thoroughly -understood. How is an avalanche first formed? A tiny mass of snow slips -down from the top of some lofty mountain; that tiny mass is my original -shilling. As the mass falls, it sets in motion other portions larger -than itself. Gradually at first, and slowly, the little heap slides down -the steep declivity. Its velocity increases, as does its volume--it at -length becomes irresistible; enormously and indefinitely multiplied, it -at last reaches the valley, no longer a tiny mass of snow, but a vast -avalanche, which carries all before it, trees, rocks, and even villages -being torn away by the irresistible force of the tremendous aggregation. -Such is the Great Avalanche System. I am 'A,' and I subscribe a -shilling. I now call upon four of you to stand up, each in his place, -and you four will each contribute but a humble shilling." - -All the adults in the congregation of Gilgal stood up as one man. - -"No, my friends," said the pastor, "I need but four, but four female -friends. Four of my sisters will be my 'B's,' my busy bees; each 'B' -will select four 'C's,' from each of whom she will obtain a shilling. -She will register their names and addresses, and request them to do as -she herself has done, and each four 'D's' to contribute a similar -amount; and so on, my friends, through all the letters of the alphabet. - -"The human heart is hard. There are many of us who would look twice at -that shilling if we were asked for it as a simple contribution. But it -is not a simple contribution, for it carries with it a privilege--it -enables the person who has paid his or her shilling to exact a similar -amount from four personal friends; and though the original giver has -contributed but a single shilling, that giver has the pleasure of -handing in an amount which is practically incalculable. I know the -world, my brethren, and I know that as a rule the world is very glad -indeed to get off for a shilling. Alas, many of the most active -contributors to the numerous Missionary Societies of this country never -put a single penny into the missionary boxes with which they are always -glad to be provided; for the missionary box is an outward and visible -sign of respectability, and a perpetual rod in pickle for friends, -relatives, and rebellious children. - -"Already, my friends, in my mind's eye I see Gilgal standing proudly -upon its own freehold, I see it provided with the roof it so much needs, -and mentally I already dwell in the comfortable residence allotted to -its pastor. I even hear the sweet strains of the much-desired American -organ. And all this is no dream; in a few short weeks, my friends, it -will be a delightful reality. And what will be our chief incentive to -the work? Why the fact that all this money has been obtained, not from -the little congregation of Gilgal, but from the Egyptian, from haughty -Pharaoh and his countless host." - -Then he gave out the hymn. - -Rev. Boanerges Smiter was right. The thing came off. The money poured -in, and the Reverend Smiter's original shilling was turned, as by the -touch of the enchanter's wand, into fifteen hundred pounds. Thirty -thousand victims had been indirectly teased and pestered by Smiter, at -the least possible amount of trouble to himself; but all had had their -revenge, save the last batch, in finding four other shilling victims, -and each of them had obtained for a ridiculously small sum a character -for active benevolence. Who is there in this wicked world who would not -consider a character for active benevolence cheap at a shilling? - -It was indirectly due to Rev. B. Smiter that the vicar received the -cruel snubbing which was a joke against him in King's Warren for the -rest of his natural life. The congregation of Gilgal held open-air -meetings upon the village green at the end of summer as a sort of -counter demonstration to the harvest festivals of the church. There was -no Salvation Army in those days, and in a little place like King's -Warren even such a mild excitement as an open-air meeting is very -welcome. Besides the real congregation on the village green there was -always a considerable gallery of curious onlookers, "scoffers," as they -were termed by the "elect." Rev. B. Smiter had been very successful at -these meetings. They really did a certain amount of good, for some who -had come to laugh remained to pray. In the particular summer to which I -am referring Mr. Smiter had gone to the expense of engaging what in -theatrical circles would be termed a popular favourite. This was the -well-known 'Appy 'Arry. - -'Appy 'Arry was a character in his way. He had been a noted pugilist; he -had even fought for the championship, and he took the punishment he -received on that memorable occasion in a very plucky manner. If 'Arry -had won the fight he would doubtless have subsided into the pugilist's -well-merited haven of rest--a sporting public house. But the fates -willed it otherwise, and 'Arry was converted and took to religion. The -man was perfectly sincere, and many a rough fellow owed his conversion -from drink and debauchery to 'Appy 'Arry. His was a rude kind of -eloquence that went straight to the hearts of the majority of his male -hearers. He would retail his exciting experiences as a pugilist and a -drunkard with much gusto. He would tell in minute detail the history of -his great but unsuccessful struggle for the champion's belt; and as he -dilated on the wicked glories of his former life he would say with a -pleasant smile, "And was I 'appy, my brothers? No, I was not 'appy, for -I hadn't got religion." - -Haggard and the vicar were looking on at one of the revival meetings, -and 'Appy 'Arry was holding forth with his accustomed fervour. - -"I've given it all up now. I don't associate with the swells now. Many's -the time, my brethren, as I've had on the gloves with dooks and -baronites, and other sporting swells," and here his eye fell upon the -amused countenance of the Reverend John Dodd. "Ay, and with fighting -parsons, too," he said. - -The Reverend Jack blushed. - -"But I looks on 'em now as men of sin; they used to be proud to shake -'ands with 'Arry in his bad days, but I've shook 'em off, my brothers, -and I don't foregather now with the likes of them. Don't you think it's -no yarns I'm telling you, my friends; why, there's one of 'em now, -a-looking on. Oh, how I wish that fighting parson was as 'appy as I am -now; and if he'd only listen to me in a proper spirit he might be; but -he won't, my brethren, and why won't he? Because 'is 'art is 'ard. -Many's the merry round I've 'ad with the gloves with 'Andsome Jack Dodd, -as is a-standing there. Why, he was one of my backers when I fought the -butcher on Moulsey Hurst, and licked him, too, for the matter of that! -'Andsome Jack Dodd was proud to shake 'ands with 'Arry in those days. -But will 'Appy 'Arry shake hands with him now? No, my brethren. And for -why? Becos he ain't got religion." - -And then the preacher sat down, and Haggard and the Rev. John Dodd beat -a hasty retreat. Haggard told the story to Mrs. Dodd that very evening. -It was a rather mean thing to do, but Haggard was a man of impulse. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - THE VICAR TRIES PUFFIN. - - -It must not be supposed that all the religious activity in King's Warren -was confined to the Dissenters. The Reverend John Dodd was a fine -old-crusted Tory; the world had gone very well with him. He had his -cross, of course, in the shape of his wife Cecilia, and the Reverend B. -Smiter was a very thorn in his flesh; but his living was a good living, -and his peaches and his port wine were unsurpassed in the county. His -archdeacon was an old personal friend of his own, and I am afraid that -the post-prandial conversations of the two when the archdeacon made his -yearly visitations and Mrs. Dodd had left them to themselves, turned -more upon vintages and things of this world than on church matters. But -a young and active bishop, of High Church tendencies, now reigned in -the neighbouring cathedral, and the archdeacon in a friendly manner -suggested to Dodd that it behoved him to set his house in order. - -"We must move with the times, Dodd," he said. "The bishop is a man of -six-and-thirty and an enthusiast. I am sorry to say he is no respecter -of persons. There is no doubt, my friend, that dissent has spread in -this parish of late years with frightful rapidity." He spoke of it as if -it were a disease. "What you want is an energetic coadjutor, and you -can't do better than try Puffin. Puffin has been a Missioner, and he is -a wonderful organizer. If you want to be in the bishop's good books you -should try Puffin. He'll take every sort of trouble off your hands; all -you have to do is to give him plenty of rope. He has his peculiarities, -but he is honest in his way, and he did wonders at the East End, where -he nearly killed himself by overwork. You won't keep him long, you -know, for Puffin's a man certain of good preferment. He'll fill your -church, and if anything will stop the insidious progress of dissent in -the place, it's Puffin." - -"But, my dear fellow, we are very comfortable as we are. I hate a -clerical firebrand. Why can't we rub along comfortably for the rest of -my time?" - -"The days of rubbing along, Dodd, are gone by. As the bishop puts it, -the Church in these latter days must be a Church militant, or it will -cease to exist." - -"But it needn't become a Church pugnacious for all that," said Dodd. - -"My dear fellow, if we were certain that I should be archdeacon for ever -you might, as you put it, go on rubbing along. But the king who knew not -Joseph has arrived. Our spiritual head is a man who will stand no -nonsense. If you don't follow his lead, he will look upon you as -refractory. Don't be refractory, Dodd; try Puffin. You will find him a -perfect panacea." - -"But I don't believe in panaceas," said Dodd; "the fellow will set the -whole place by the ears before he has been here a month. Why, in this -village the aggrieved parishioner does not even exist. If a man doesn't -like the church he takes sittings in the chapel, and there is an end of -the thing." - -"My dear fellow, you mistake the matter altogether. Now-a-days, a real, -good, wrong-headed aggrieved parishioner is exactly what you do want. He -keeps you before the public, and brings you to the favourable notice of -your spiritual head." - -"But look at the fuss, the letters, and the lawsuits." - -"With a new bishop, Dodd, and a man like Puffin at your back, though -there would be lots of fuss, it need not trouble you. Puffin would write -all the letters; and as for the lawsuits, you would win them, and the -costs would not come out of your pocket. Puffin, of course, sails rather -close to the wind, if I may be allowed the expression, but he knows -exactly how far he can go. In fact, Dodd, though he puts his candles -upon the altar he never lights them, except at evensong, and then he -knows he can do so with impunity." - -And then they gradually began to talk about the wine. - -The result of this conversation was that the Reverend John Dodd hastened -to secure the services of that energetic priest the Reverend Barnes -Puffin. - -Mr. Puffin arrived at the Vicarage looking very much like an ordinary -clergyman, save that the round black felt that he wore had a brim of -portentous width; and Mrs. Dodd noticed with some astonishment that the -white tie, which all clergymen of her acquaintance habitually wore, was -conspicuous by its absence, and that the new curate appeared to have put -on his collar wrong side before. At first it was a mystery to her how -he could have got into that collar. There was certainly no visible means -of entrance in front. Puffin wore his hair very long indeed, while the -whole of his face was clean shaven. Mrs. Dodd, too, gave a start when he -proceeded to address her as "his dear sister;" but she was still more -astonished when he removed his long clerical great-coat and she saw that -the Reverend Barnes Puffin was clad in a long black garment with -innumerable little buttons running from his neck to within two inches of -the ground. Around his waist was a long black sash with a silken fringe. -As he gave the vicar's wife his arm, when they went in to dinner, he -suddenly produced from his pocket a little square cap, which he placed -upon his head. He did full justice to the stewed eels, with which the -meal commenced; but he never removed the little cap during the whole of -the entertainment, nor could the vicar and his wife persuade him to -partake of any of the numerous dainties which composed the rest of the -feast. At first he said he wasn't hungry. A curate who refused _entrees_ -was a novelty to Mrs. Dodd. - -"I fear you are not well, Mr. Puffin," she said as he declined woodcock -on toast. - -"Dear Mrs. Dodd, I remember that it is the Eve of St. Radegonde, Virgin -and Martyr." - -The vicar and his wife looked at one another; but they respected Mr. -Puffin's prejudices, and ceased to press him. - -The next day the reign of the Reverend Barnes Puffin commenced. The old -church, where service had been held as seldom as possible from time -immemorial, was now thrown open daily for matins and evensong. At first -there was no congregation; but the Reverend Barnes Puffin looked up all -the old pensioners, particularly the old women who were in receipt of -parish relief at home, and in his persuasive but forcible way he made -all these poor old people understand that their comforts, for which -they had hitherto given nothing in return, would depend upon good -behaviour, that is to say, going to church. Nor did Mr. Puffin confine -his ministrations to the lower orders. How he managed it I don't know; -but before he had been three months in the place most of the younger -ladies in the parish flocked to the services. I suppose he made love to -them in a quiet, clerical sort of way. The Misses Sleek, looking as -plump and pretty as ever, but dressed with a prim demureness which -considerably astonished their father, were among his first converts; and -they used to hurry to church on foot twice a day with praiseworthy -regularity. They considered themselves well rewarded if the curate -walked home with them occasionally to dinner, and so beatified The Park -by his presence. But Mr. Puffin egregiously failed with Miss Grains. -She, too, had felt inclined at first to place her conscience in Mr. -Puffin's hands; but young Mr. Wurzel, an easy-going fellow enough at -most times, objected to Puffin's addressing his affianced bride, save -from the pulpit, as "his dear sister." He had even told Miss Grains that -he looked upon Mr. Puffin as a "philanderer," and that "he didn't hold -with philanderers." So Miss Grains made no alteration in her costume, -and she turned a deaf ear to Mr. Puffin's ecclesiastical authority. - -It was not long before King's Warren Church rejoiced in a surpliced -choir. There was rather a martial clang of hob-nailed boots during the -numerous processions of the choir on Sundays; but the service was -undoubtedly much more imposing than in the old days. Mr. Puffin did -wonders with the small material at his command. He would have made an -admirable stage-manager. He never missed a possible effect, and he -considerably astonished the King's Warreners when he preached his first -funeral sermon. He was a good preacher, and always held the attention of -the congregation. But perhaps some few of them smiled when he led up to -the fact that the silver cord was loosed and the golden bowl broken, in -an ornate and sensational harangue reaching an unexpected climax by -tilting over the tumbler at his side, which fell with a crash and was -shivered in a thousand pieces on the floor. There were no sleepers in -King's Warren Church when the Reverend Barnes Puffin graced the pulpit -after that. And yet Puffin was a sincere man, and worked energetically -according to his lights. - -But it was an evil day for the Reverend Barnes Puffin when he felt it to -be his duty to attempt the conversion of Lucy Warrender. She was the one -black sheep of the fold, for she had committed the unpardonable sin--she -had laughed at Mr. Puffin. A girl may differ with a modern parson, she -may argue with him; nay, she may refuse to argue with him at all, but -she must not laugh at him, and Lucy had done this. Had she not -irreverently compared him to Samson, and wickedly declared that she -would like to be a Delilah to shear with her own hands his too redundant -locks? Had she not told him that it was rude to wear the little square -hat, which he persisted in calling a _baretta_, in the presence of -ladies? Had she not openly asserted her belief that he wore a hair shirt -and scourged himself in private? These are only a few of the many crimes -of which Miss Warrender had been guilty. It was evidently the duty of -the Reverend Barnes Puffin to convert Miss Warrender without loss of -time. - -Puffin was always well received at The Warren; he amused the squire by -the seriousness of his arguments about trifling things. For every thing -that he did, for every little bob, bow or gesture, the Reverend Barnes -Puffin had a very good reason. Nothing that he did was trifling; it was -always symbolical of something. According to him, for every movement of -his body there was a ritual reason why. It became a sort of custom at -The Warren that as soon as dessert was upon the table, the Reverend -Barnes Puffin was allowed to mount his hobby-horse and wildly career. He -liked to give what he called a little information on sacred things, and -he made the most of his opportunities, for he never had a long innings, -as he always retired with the ladies. - -One evening the Reverend Barnes Puffin was seated in the drawing-room at -The Warren conversing with the cousins. Fanchette, in all the pride of -her Norman costume, was bringing the little Lucius to bid his mother -good-night. Now Fanchette, from his cassock, his sash, his _baretta_, -and the collar which had so puzzled poor Mrs. Dodd, had always looked -upon the Reverend Barnes Puffin as a veritable Catholic priest, and -respected him accordingly. She made him a succession of low courtesies, -and placing the little Lucius in his mother's arms, she advanced towards -the curate in a respectful manner. To his intense astonishment she -suddenly dropped on her knees at his side, seized his hand, and covered -it with kisses. Then, in fluent patois, she demanded his blessing. But -the curate, unfortunately, did not understand a word she said. Like most -curates, he was accustomed to the blandishments which are invariably -lavished by the female sex on these most fortunate of men. Interesting -penitents had made eyes at him, had squeezed his hand at parting with -unnecessary pressure, had loaded him with slippers, vestments, and socks -and comforters knitted by their own fair fingers. They had even obtained -interviews, and had wickedly taken the opportunity of the _tete-a-tete_ -to make violent love to him; but never, in the whole course of his -clerical experience, had any of his "dear sisters" suddenly dropped on -their knees at his side and violently kissed his hand. Puffin was by no -means a vain man. But what could he think? Here was a foreign woman, of -prepossessing appearance, administering sounding osculations to his -unwilling fingers. - -"Ladies, dear ladies," he said, as he rose to his feet, the _bonne_ -still clinging to his hand and kissing it furiously, "this is most -irregular." Here he strove with gentle dignity to try to withdraw his -hand, but all to no purpose. "Ladies," he said, blushing violently, and -speaking of Fanchette as if she had been an infuriated bull-terrier, -"call her off. Please call her off." - -But the cousins were far too amused at the incident to come to his -assistance. Georgie could not forbear a smile, while Lucy burst into -inextinguishable peals of silvery laughter. - -"She wants your blessing, Mr. Puffin, that's all," said Lucy at length. - -"Then she should come to church, Miss Warrender," exclaimed Mr. Puffin, -to whose hand the _bonne_ clung, alternately kissing it and gazing up at -him with imploring eyes. - -"She thinks you are a Catholic priest," exclaimed Lucy. - -"This is too horrible," cried the Reverend Barnes Puffin, as he vainly -struggled to release the imprisoned hand. - -"Ah, _mon pere_," vociferated the _bonne_. - -"Goodness me, she says I'm her father; pray explain, dear ladies. Is her -mind affected?" - -And then Miss Warrender did explain to her. - -On hearing that the unhappy curate was not a priest of her own Church, -but only, as Lucy had expressed it, a heretical Protestant pastor, -Fanchette's demeanour changed altogether. - -"_Ah, gredin, farceur, monsieur est en travesti. Saperlotte_," she -added, and here she snapped her fingers in the astonished curate's face, -and abruptly left the room. - -The curate sank into a chair and wiped his brow with his -pocket-handkerchief. - -"Goodness me, ladies," he said, "what a terrible person! I assure you I -didn't mean to exasperate her." - -From that day Fanchette ceased her respectful obeisances to the curate, -but his visits to The Warren, where he was always a welcome guest, -became gradually more frequent. - -It is human nature after all ever to strive after the impossible, and -Mr. Puffin recognizing in Miss Warrender a young lady who was -essentially of the world worldly, naturally determined to attempt her -conversion. But the spirit of contrariety is ever strongly developed in -the female breast. As the parson became more pertinacious, Miss -Warrender, who was at first rather bored than otherwise by his -eloquence, resolved upon reprisals. - -"I'll bet you a new bonnet," she had said to Haggard, "that I make the -Celibate propose to me." - -"Not he, my dear," said Georgie's husband with a laugh. "Puffin's not -altogether a fool after all; he's got the run of his teeth in this -house, and he won't care to lose it by making an ass of himself." - -"My dear Miss Warrender, my husband's curate considers himself as vowed -to heaven," said Mrs. Dodd, who was present. - -"They all do, Mrs. Dodd, till they find metal more attractive. I daresay -even Mr. Dodd considered himself at one time as vowed to heaven." - -"There is no analogy, Miss Warrender, between my husband's case and that -of Mr. Puffin. When Mr. Dodd proposed to me, Miss Warrender, he did so -as a beneficed clergyman; and he proposed to the daughter of a dignitary -of the Church. Had Mr. Dodd been a curate, he would not have so far -forgotten his position as to have been guilty of so presumptuous an -act." - -"But I'm only Squire Warrender's niece, Mrs. Dodd; there would be no -presumption in my case." - -"Don't buoy yourself up with false hopes, Lucy. Were Mr. Puffin to be -guilty of such unseemly folly, it would be my duty, as his vicar's wife, -to seriously remonstrate with him; and should he prove obdurate, even to -dispense with his services. The position of a clergyman's wife, Lucy -Warrender, is full of difficulty and responsibility," she added -sententiously. - -"That's what makes me long for it so, Mrs. Dodd. I yearn to feel myself -lifted out of the common ruck of women." - -"You are unmaidenly, Lucy Warrender," said the vicar's wife, instantly -assuming her favourite tone of a Lord Chief Justice. - -Miss Hood smiled, for she felt that the badinage was sober earnest to -Mrs. Dodd; but she made no remark, for Lucy was long ago out of leading -strings. - -When the vicar's wife reached her home, she sent for Mr. Puffin. After -she had shaken hands with him, she came to the point at once. - -"I trust you are comfortable here, Mr. Puffin," she said, "and that you -find King's Warren a congenial sphere." - -"I do indeed, dear madam," replied the curate. "We have already -accomplished much, but there is yet an abundant field of work in the -place. I am very happy here." - -"I have a dreadful communication to make to you, Mr. Puffin. A member of -the congregation has confided to me the disgraceful fact of her personal -infatuation for my husband's curate." - -"This is sad, Mrs. Dodd, this is very sad; but it is not wholly -unexpected. Clergymen, as you are aware, dear madam, are constantly -exposed to these annoyances in the course of their ministrations. You -allude, I conclude, to the younger Miss Sleek. I have noticed latterly -her marked assiduity in attendance at church--the most unseasonable -weather has failed to keep her away. I half feared that it would be so. -Alas, girls are apt to forget the priest in the man. But this is a new -kind of experience to me, Mrs. Dodd, for I have found that they usually -first confide their folly to the object of their aspirations." - -"No, Mr. Puffin, it is not Miss Sleek to whom I allude; nothing would -surprise me with regard to her. There is no folly that young persons in -her class of life might not be guilty of. It is not the younger Miss -Sleek, though she is an ambitious girl, but the squire's near relative -who has confessed a wicked passion for my husband's curate." - -"Gracious me," cried Mr. Puffin. "Can you possibly allude to young Mrs. -Haggard?" - -"Mr. Puffin, you forget yourself. No, it is Miss Warrender who has -confided to me her infamous secret." - -Mr. Puffin turned pale, then he blushed to the roots of his hair; he -sighed deeply, and then he simpered. The vicar's wife drummed -impatiently upon the table. - -"Oh, Mr. Puffin," she said, "you don't mean to say that you reciprocate -this? How often have you protested to me that you were a Celibate, a -priest; and now you do nothing but sit and snigger. I'm grieved; I'm -disappointed in you, Mr. Puffin." - -"Dear Mrs. Dodd," said the poor parson, "your communication has taken me -by surprise. At first it horrified me. I am a priest, Mrs. Dodd," he -said, "it is true; but, alas, I also remember that I am a man." He -buried his face in his hands. - -Mrs. Dodd sat immovable, looking at the curate with an astonished gaze; -and then she suddenly left the room and slammed the door violently. - -The transformation was as thorough as it was sudden; the Reverend Barnes -Puffin had entered that room the humble coadjutor of the vicar's wife; -as he left it, he felt his soul soar into higher regions: as Orientals -put it, "his head was touching the skies." Mrs. Dodd looked out of her -breakfast room window to watch the departure of him who she mentally -termed "the fallen man." - -But the fallen man considerably astonished her by the change in his -appearance. Mr. Puffin, who was accustomed to walk slowly and with -downcast eyes, as became a celibate priest, now strode down the drive; -he didn't walk, he strode. He swung his walking-stick defiantly in the -air, and to her astonishment Mrs. Dodd perceived that, ere he left the -place, he committed the brutal act of beheading one of her favourite -poppies with a sort of swashbuckler-stroke that would have done credit -to a Life Guardsman. - -Flutter on, happy clerical butterfly, your bliss will be of short -duration; for that careful entomologist, Miss Lucy Warrender, is -already preparing the sharp needle that shall transfix your little -triumphant heart. - -Puffin, as he passed through the village, returned the many salutations -he received with joyous bows, and the wiseacres noticed that his broad -brimmed clerical hat was now worn with a triumphant cock. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - MR. PUFFIN HUNTS A BUTTERFLY. - - -The Reverend John Dodd had been more than satisfied with his new curate. -At first the long cassock, the flowing robes, and the rather eccentric -"make up" of the man had been a daily outrage to the vicar's idea of -decency. Mr. Puffin was not the first curate in the vicar's experience -who had sought notoriety by a fantastic dress; but Mr. Puffin worked -hard in the parish, Mr. Puffin was eloquent, and the vicar felt certain -that the Established Church in King's Warren was gaining ground. He was -rather gratified than otherwise to hear that Mr. Puffin had begun to -waver in his ideas about celibacy. Puffin as an engaged man might be -somewhat less divine, but he would be assuredly more human. Dodd himself -didn't see why Mr. Puffin should not become the husband of Miss -Warrender. Puffin was a clergyman, and a gentleman; and the Reverend -John Dodd rubbed his hands as he thought of the inevitable struggle for -mastery which would take place between the pair should the marriage ever -come off. And after all, more unlikely things than this marriage had -happened. Miss Warrender certainly had had her fling, but a girl can't -go on having her fling for ever, and the vicar chuckled as he thought of -Lucy as the Celibate's wife. Unconsciously perhaps the curate had -assumed an air of superiority to his vicar, for as a Celibate he would -naturally look down upon him as a being of a coarser clay, a mere -earthen pot; but this had only amused his good-natured chief, and the -Reverend John Dodd smiled as he thought of the gentle vengeance he might -have, when the enamoured Puffin should take him into his confidence. - -He sat down to dinner in the best of tempers. When he perceived that he -was to be regaled with a veal sweetbread with brown sauce, his eyes were -lighted up with a merry twinkle. But he felt that there was something in -the wind; he knew that that delectable propitiatory sacrifice was only -offered to his critical palate on his birthday, when his wife was in a -particularly good temper, or when she had a favour to ask. As he looked -at the partner of his earthly joys, it was plainly apparent to him that -Mrs. Dodd was ruffled; it was not his birthday, so he had a second -helping of the delicacy and made up his mind to yield to the inevitable -demand with the best possible grace. But not till they were alone did -his wife unbosom herself. - -"John," she said, "I've come to the conclusion that Mr. Puffin must -leave us; a curate ceases to be of use in a parish the moment he makes -himself ridiculous, and Mr. Puffin tells me that he is determined to -make a fool of himself. I could have passed over his peculiarities, -John," she said, "and his eccentricities in dress; I could even have -forgiven his long hair, in consideration of the immense amount of work -he manages to get through; but he is about to render himself unsuitable. -I approve of ambition in a clergyman; my dear father is an ambitious -man, and he has prospered, though not perhaps according to his great -deserts; but worldly ambition, the thirst for gold, is unbecoming in a -clergyman. To my mind, it is painfully apparent that Mr. Puffin, who -ought to be actuated by far higher motives, is prepared to sacrifice -himself to Lucy Warrender, who is a most objectionable young person, in -order to secure at some future time the presentation to the living of -King's Warren." - -The vicar laughed. - -"I mean to live for the next twenty years, my dear, and if Puffin -intends to put up with twenty years of Lucy Warrender for the sake of -this living, though it is a fat one, I shall consider that the labourer -will have been worthy of his hire." - -"Don't be profane, John," said the lady reprovingly. - -"To do Puffin justice, I don't think he is mercenary. Lucy has probably -turned his head." - -"John, Mr. Puffin is not of an inflammable nature." - -"All curates are of an inflammable nature, my dear; why you turned my -head in your time." - -"I trust, Mr. Dodd, that my mental qualities attracted you, and not mere -physical beauty." - -"Of course, my dear, of course; but you were a monstrous fine woman -then, and for the matter of that, you are still, Cecilia," said the -vicar, as he helped himself to a third glass of his '47 port. - -His wife smiled and smoothed her cap ribbons. - -"Don't exceed, John," she said, with a warning gesture, "or Mr. Puffin -may not have to wait twenty years for his preferment after all. You must -admonish him, John; a man of his principles, his pretended principles, -is not suited for married life. He told me himself, that ever since his -ordination he has assumed what he calls a priestly garb. I ask you, -John, how could he be married in a cassock? How could he go on his -honeymoon in it?" - -"Well, he could leave it off, my dear." - -"But he has declared to me that he never would leave it off. How often -has he sneered at ordinary clerical attire, though he has never dared to -suggest that you should masquerade in, what he calls, proper -ecclesiastical costume." - -"There may be reasons, my dear; he may have bandy legs." - -"His legs are perfectly indifferent to me, Mr. Dodd. If he wishes to -marry, he should dress like other people." - -"You should suggest that to Lucy Warrender, my dear." - -"If I thought for a moment, Mr. Dodd, that there was a possibility of -his being the means of rescuing the girl by his own self-sacrifice, I -should not say one word; if he has a taste for martyrdom, it would not -be for me to interfere; but I know that Lucy is only wickedly -encouraging him for the sake of winning the bet of a new bonnet from her -cousin's husband. You must warn and admonish him, John, or he must go. -Stacey would have been a far more suitable partner for him." - -"Why didn't you suggest it, my dear?" - -"It is not my duty to secure a husband for my sister-in-law, Mr. Dodd." - -"You thought it was, in the squire's case, Cecilia." - -But the vicar's wife let the taunt pass by unnoticed. - -"If you don't admonish him, John, I must. It will be a thankless office, -for the wretched man seems bent on his own destruction." - -"Well, he has chosen a particularly pleasant form of suicide, Cecilia." - -"Flippancy, Mr. Dodd, is not becoming in a clergyman," said his wife -with a ruffled air, "and it is not good taste for a clergyman to openly -express his admiration for his female parishioners to his wife, and so -violate the sanctity of his own fireside." - -"I'm not going to make or meddle in the matter, Mrs. Dodd," said her -husband. - -"'Tis a vicar's duty to protect his curate, Mr. Dodd." - -"Not when the curate is perfectly well able to take care of himself, my -dear. Besides, there is another point of view; Lucy might do worse." - -"Well, John," she replied, "I shall say no more. I can only hope that it -is not in a spirit of professional jealousy that you allow this poor -thoughtless young fellow to rush to his doom." And then she rang for -coffee. - -Next day the Reverend Barnes Puffin lunched at The Warren. Being a feast -day he did full justice to the meal. He was overflowing with good -spirits, and as soon as lunch was over he seized the first opportunity -of securing a _tete-a-tete_ with the squire's niece. As Miss Warrender -took the arm of the clergyman, she cast an amused and meaning glance at -Haggard. Little by little the pair wandered away into the secluded rose -garden, and the Reverend Barnes Puffin felt that he had got his chance. - -"Do you care for parish work, Miss Warrender?" said the Celibate, after -a few commonplace phrases. - -"To tell you the truth, Mr. Puffin, I don't know; I have never tried." - -"It is a great privilege, you know," he said. "Has it never occurred to -you, my dear Miss Warrender, that it might be your vocation, your -natural aim in life." - -"No, I don't think it ever has, Mr. Puffin," she said. "I did know a -girl once, one of my school friends, she joined a sisterhood; you know I -fancy it was the dress attracted her. She joined a sisterhood, but they -made the poor thing wear dreadful thick shoes like a man's, and she had -to scrub floors, which spoilt her pretty hands; poor child, they have -remained red ever since, and she was glad to marry an army doctor and go -to China with him. I suppose red hands don't matter in China," the girl -said meditatively. "No, I don't think I should care to scrub floors, Mr. -Puffin," and she spread out her taper fingers as though for her own -inspection. - -The curate admired the fingers, and observed with satisfaction that they -were undecorated by a prohibitive ring. - -"There are other spheres, dear Miss Warrender, than sisterhoods. Our -friend Mrs. Dodd has found a happy and congenial one here in King's -Warren." - -"But then she is a clergyman's wife, Mr. Puffin, and a privileged -person." - -"It is a privilege, Miss Warrender, a great privilege. I'm glad it -commends itself to you as such." - -"Oh, yes; Mrs. Dodd is much to be envied, but then Mrs. Dodd is a very -clever woman; she, Mr. Puffin, has caught her hare." - -"And having caught him, Miss Warrender, she has accommodated him to her -own taste." - -"Hers is a master mind, Mr. Puffin." - -"It is perhaps as easy, my dear young lady, to rule by love as to rule -by fear." - -"And much nicer, I should think, Mr. Puffin." - -The curate blushed, and then he made an audacious statement. - -"Mine is a very accommodating nature, Miss Warrender." - -"That's very fortunate for you, Mr. Puffin, for you must have so much -to put up with from the poor people." - -"I have lately been engaged, Miss Warrender, in a very serious mental -struggle. I am afraid I have been arrogant. I am afraid that I have -boasted and bragged to my friends and to my parishioners that I was not -as other men are, that my whole soul was given up to duty, that I was a -Celibate, not merely from vocation but from inclination. But my feelings -have undergone a change. At first, dear Miss Warrender, I was -overpowered by a sense of what I considered my own degradation, but that -feeling has entirely passed away. I confess to you that when I first -came here I considered myself on a higher platform to that of most men, -and I supposed that in obstinately refraining from the ordinary lot of -clergymen, I mean marriage, that I was exercising a considerable degree -of self-abnegation, in fact that I was leading a higher life. I now see -that all this was a wicked error. The Church enjoins penance, and I -have come to the conclusion from my intimate acquaintance with the -sufferings of my unfortunate vicar, that instead of making a sacrifice -in abstaining from matrimony I was actually guilty of profound and -calculating selfishness. I see, too, that a married clergyman in giving -up the idea of celibacy secures at least one efficient coadjutor in his -parish work. As you know, Miss Warrender, I am in the habit of acting -upon my convictions." - -"Then of course, Mr. Puffin, you will at once seek to secure the hand of -some particularly objectionable person, in order to render the touching -martyrdom you speak of the more meritorious?" - -"No, Miss Warrender, I shall not look upon that as a bounden duty. My -position as a Celibate has many advantages from a professional point of -view, for the female portion of my parishioners are enabled to look upon -me as one of themselves." - -"Oh, I don't quite think that, Mr. Puffin; of course there is -something--well, epicene about your dress, but then to some minds, you -know, the clerical dress has a great attractiveness. Why the Louis -Quatorze abbes, that we see so much of in comic opera, were terribly -wicked people, you know, Mr. Puffin, and _they_ clung very tightly to -the clerical dress, and so did Tartuffe for the matter of that." - -"Dear Miss Warrender, the cleric garb is but a delightful reminiscence -of a past time; there is nothing ridiculous in it. You have the same -thing in the Blue Coat boy, and there is assuredly nothing ridiculous in -a Blue Coat boy." - -"Quite the contrary, Mr. Puffin; it is rather romantic than otherwise, -but I can't fancy a full-grown man in yellow stockings, and -a--hem--undivided skirt. By the way, Mr. Puffin, I can give you a -suggestion: if you did really carry out your ideas and marry after all, -you might adopt the Blue Coat costume as a sort of sign of your -apostacy, a kind of _san benito_; you would still be retaining the -mediaeval idea, you see, and be thoroughly distinguishable from Tartuffe -and the wicked abbes we were talking about." - -"In matters of dress, Miss Warrender, did I become a married man I -should naturally defer to the wishes of my wife." - -"You don't mean to say that you would dress like other people?" - -"Yes, Miss Warrender, I should do so, though it would not be without a -pang that I should relinquish what I look upon as the true clerical -garb." - -"Don't think of it, Mr. Puffin, don't think of it, for an instant. The -noble savage in his war-paint, his wampum, his feathers and his scalps, -is a dignified object; but dress him in a suit of common clothes and cut -his hair and he ceases to be interesting." - -"Do you really think, Miss Warrender, that I should lose influence if I -adopted the costume of ordinary life, should I enter upon the perilous -sea of matrimony?" - -"Well, Mr. Puffin, if you dressed like other people and married, I don't -see how, to use your own expression, 'the female members of your -congregation could continue to look upon you as one of themselves,' -because if they did, you see you would be only Mrs. Puffin's sister -after all." - -"Yes, I am afraid that is the _reductio ad absurdum_. But we are -wandering away, Miss Warrender; it was about my heart, and not about my -garments, that I sought to converse with you." - -"Oh, Mr. Puffin, I should make the worst of confidants; I never by any -chance keep a secret." - -"And yet I am ready to trust your discretion, Miss Warrender." - -"I confess you rouse my curiosity. Do I know the lady?" - -"Yes, Miss Warrender, she is your best friend and your worst enemy." - -"Now you intrigue me, Mr. Puffin, for all my acquaintances address me as -their dearest Lucy, and as for my enemies--I've guessed it, Mr. Puffin. -I never had an enemy till Mr. Sleek's hay making. I suppose Miss Connie -Sleek is the bride-elect. Let me congratulate you, Mr. Puffin, but do -tell me one thing, it is so interesting--what are Miss Sleek's ideas -about the clerical garb?" - -"I fear you wilfully misunderstand me, Miss Warrender. My aspirations -are higher. I do not think Miss Sleek would ever be the ideal wife for a -clergyman." - -"You mystify me, Mr. Puffin." - -Mr. Puffin possessed a copy of the "Bab Ballads." He remembered two -lines in them that gave him that hope which they say springs eternal in -the human breast. - - "It isn't so much the lover who woos, - As the lover's way of wooing." - -He remembered that Mr. Gilbert's successful lover came to the point at -once, so, to use a hunting simile, he sat well down in his saddle, and -he hardened his heart. - -"Dear Miss Warrender," he said, and there was a certain amount of -dignity about the man, despite his long hair and his eccentric -appearance, "I am only a working clergyman, but I am a gentleman; and I -wish you, for both our sakes, to share my lot." - -Here Lucy Warrender cast down her pretty eyes and smiled, for she felt -that she had won Haggard's new bonnet fairly and honestly. - -The parson continued, taking heart of grace from the false little smile -upon her lips: - -"I'm going to ask you to give up a great deal for the sake of religion, -and for my sake, Miss Warrender. I'm going to ask you to give up the -world, its frivolous enjoyments and its pleasures, and to tread with me -a thorny and toilsome path which leads to higher things. I know my -presumption, Miss Warrender. I know that in trying to do good according -to my lights I often merely succeed in making myself ridiculous. If I am -ridiculous in your eyes, Miss Warrender, you can have but one answer to -give me. But my proposition to you is at least disinterested. I know you -will believe that. I don't ask you for an answer now, Miss Warrender. I -should scorn to snatch a favourable answer from an inexperienced girl." - -Lucy gave another little smile. - -"Think over what I have said, dear Miss Warrender; if you feel equal to -making the sacrifice, so do I. Take time to think it over." - -"No, Mr. Puffin. I have been foolish and wicked, perhaps, if I have -unknowingly encouraged you; but you have spoken honestly enough to me, -and the least you deserve is an honest answer. I am not fit, Mr. -Puffin, to be any man's wife--any honest man's wife--least of all a -clergyman's." - -Lucy felt that she had said a little too much, so she hastened to -qualify it. - -"I am but a worldly girl. I love pleasure and dissipation; it is my -nature--a nature I can never change. Look on me, Mr. Puffin, as wholly -unworthy of you. Were you to marry me, Mr. Puffin, you would commit an -act that we should both repent. You would degrade yourself to my level; -and, God knows, mine is a very low level. Take my answer as it is meant -Mr. Puffin, in seriousness, and as irrevocable. Forgive me, Mr. Puffin, -and do me one favour. I am utterly bad, Mr. Puffin, but try not to think -unkindly of me, for I have no friends; and, as you told me just now, I -am my own worst enemy." - -Tears were standing in the pretty eyes. Lucy Warrender was not acting -now. - -The Reverend Barnes Puffin did not press his suit further. - -"Good-bye, Miss Warrender," he said, in a choking voice. "But never say -you have no friends. We may never meet again. I have merited my rebuff, -but I thank you for your forbearance. And if you ever need a friend, you -have a faithful one in me." - -He pressed her hand and took his leave. As he walked out of the rose -garden with a dejected air, it was very evident that his wooing had not -prospered. But Lucy Warrender never asked Haggard to pay his lost wager. - -The Reverend Barnes Puffin bore his misfortune like a man. He felt that -Lucy's determination was final, and that it would be hopeless to try his -luck again with her; but she hadn't laughed at him, and that was -something. Still, Mr. Puffin felt that it behoved him to leave King's -Warren. Just as it is a matter of tradition, an un-written law, that a -ministry when beaten on a great political question goes out of office, -so it is the custom among curates who have been unsuccessful in their -love affairs in the parish, _if the parish is aware of the fact_, to -tender their resignation. The curate sought an interview with the -Reverend John Dodd and announced his decision. The vicar did not attempt -to combat it. A celibate clergyman has many advantages; but a celibate -clergyman who is prepared to renounce his principles ceases to inspire -respect among the female portion of his congregation. As a Celibate, -rapturous maidens will go on sighing and weeping for him, for while he -represents the Unattainable there is something almost saint-like about -him; but as a curate who has been refused by a member of his own -congregation, the nimbus suddenly disappears from his brow; he ceases to -be a modern apostle, and turns out to be an ordinary and unsuccessful -fisherman after all. And this is one reason why the modern fisherman -always carries a creel. Isaac Walton was contented to bring home the -spoils of his art strung upon an osier; but the modern creel conveys an -impression of dignity; the natural supposition is that there is -something in it, hence its popularity. - -So the Reverend Barnes Puffin went back to hard work at the east end of -London, and after a time attained the preferment which the archdeacon -had prophesied; but he still retains the celibate garb, and in his -dreams he sees a glorified Lucy Warrender--fair hair, brown eyes and -all--and the lovely vision is quite sufficient for him. He thinks of her -as he fondly fancied her, and looks on her as a sort of guardian angel -still. Who shall grudge him the fond delusion? - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - A RATHER SHADY CHARACTER. - - -The lower middle classes are a never-failing stalking-horse; we can all -afford to laugh at them as ridiculous, vulgar, improvident and wicked. -Even the mock hero, the good young man who tries to raise himself, has -something comic in him. But we haven't seen anything of the lower orders -in this history as yet, and it is only incidentally that we quit King's -Warren for the grimy neighbourhood of St. Luke's. Just behind the great -hospital for lunatics is Matilda Street. They are all private houses in -Matilda Street, and from the number of brass plates it seems at first a -professional sort of neighbourhood. Most of the houses are evidently -occupied by at least three families, for the right-hand doorpost nearly -always contains three bells, one for each floor. But the brass plates -are not those of lawyers and doctors; many of them indicate the places -of business of working jewellers and watchmakers, and the latter -predominate; dial painters, engine turners, escapement makers, swivel -manufacturers and so on, _ad infinitum_. Then there are pianoforte -tuners, and dealers of many sorts. Those of the plates which have only a -surname upon them, indicate that the place is a lodging house. Though we -are in the black heart of London, in one of the darkest, poorest and -most melancholy quarters, there is a great deal of window gardening -going on; plants of every kind and sort may be seen on the window -ledges, from ground floor to attic; the humble Creeping Jenny is a great -favourite, and it seems to thrive wonderfully in the damp thick -atmosphere. Some of the ground floor windows are discreetly screened by -wonderful specimens of lank spindly geraniums--hapless plants which -have never been known to bloom, but whose sickly-looking leaves of -abnormal pallor struggle towards the light, what little there is of it. -Matilda Street, being in the heart of St. Luke's, naturally contains -many fanciers. Numerous bow-windowed, brass-bound cages, each with its -little bit of turf, are hung outside the windows in all directions, and -the imprisoned skylarks they contain warble away merrily, giving quite a -rural air to Matilda Street, E.C. Seedy-looking men and boys, carrying -tiny square cages carefully tied up in handkerchiefs, are continually -popping in and out; these are the chaffinch fanciers, and each cage -contains a sightless songster, who at his master's command is prepared -to pour forth his simple rural melody at any hour of the day or night in -a long unbroken series of cheeps and chirrups. In Matilda Street lives a -trainer of piping bullfinches, a man who has passed his whole life -turning a melodeon and teaching his pupils the tune of "Rule, -Britannia." Dog-breeding and dog-dealing are favourite occupations in -Matilda Street; mysterious men emerge at dusk, leading dogs and carrying -them in their arms, their pockets, or their bosoms, to exhibit them at -numerous local shows held in neighbouring pot-houses. The little back -yards--they call them gardens in Matilda Street--are filled with sheds -and wondrous home-made constructions, in which fancy poultry and rabbits -are kept. Even the roofs of the houses bristle with pigeon-lofts and -artful-looking structures for the capture of wandering birds. Should a -stray pigeon alight on one of these contrivances, attracted by the hemp -seed which is profusely scattered thereon, or by the presence of a decoy -securely fastened by the leg, a sudden click may be heard, and the bird -finds himself in an instant imprisoned in an artful arrangement of wire -walls, which has closed on him with the rapidity of a conjuring trick. -Matilda Street is a decidedly poor neighbourhood; but, strange to say, -it is a favourite "pitch" for the bogus starving British workman and his -interesting family, when he is upon what he terms the "kinchin lay." The -man generally goes barefoot, his face is half covered by a stubbly crop -of bristles, which pathetically indicate that he cannot even afford the -cheap luxury of the British workman--a ha'penny shave. He doesn't let -his beard grow--that would look far too comfortable; artful gashes in -his trousers exhibit his knees, which appeal in a startling manner to -the feelings of the benevolent; either elbow is clasped to show how he -suffers from the inclemency of the weather; by his side walks his -pattern wife, who always wears a large white apron; she invariably -carries an infant of tender years; at either side of the pair march the -rest of the family. They keep to the centre of the road; the woman -watches the windows of one side of the street, the man those of the -other; and from morning till night they howl a single verse of some hymn -with monotonous obstinacy, varying it with a plaintive lament that -"They've got no work to do." They are quite right in choosing places -like Matilda Street, for there is little or no traffic to interrupt the -effect of the procession; besides, in such a place as this no policeman -would interrupt them; and, strange to say, it is in shy and poor -neighbourhoods that the "kinchin lay" reaps its richest harvest. - -Matilda Street is essentially a shy neighbourhood--perhaps that is why -the tenant of number 13 has chosen it as his residence. On the -door-plate of number 13 is the simple inscription, "Parsons, agent." -It's rather a puzzle to make out what Mr. Parsons is agent for; no -clients ever come to see him, and he seems to pass the greater part of -his day in smoking a pipe and reading a newspaper. But Mr. Parsons has -his profession--he was born in it, so to speak, and his father was a -professor before him; but his father failed, and his father's -unfortunate failure has been a lesson to him. The real fact is that Mr. -Parson's father was a burglar of the fine old school. His was a life of -vicissitude; and though an ambitious and fairly successful man, the law, -against which he had waged war for many years, got the better of him at -last; and after having passed nearly forty years of his life in Her -Majesty's jails, death at length prevented his obtaining the -ticket-of-leave he had almost earned, and his consequent return to -business. - -It is all very well for the majority of us to wonder why Mr. Parsons -didn't attempt to earn an honest livelihood, but we must remember that -he had been brought up to a profession of which most people disapprove -from his earliest infancy. As quite a little fellow he had accompanied -his father on many a successful nocturnal expedition; it had been his -duty to keep watch for the guardians of public order, and to signal -their approach. He had been taught to rapidly dispose of precious -plunder in a neat little crucible, plunged in a fierce fire of coke; as -he got bigger, he it was who sat ready at the corner of the street in a -tax-cart, prepared to rapidly drive off with the "swag" when of a bulky -nature. - -But though Mr. Parsons, Senior, had been a clever professor of the -predatory art, though his triumphs had been numerous and his operations -exceedingly brilliant and extensive, he could not be called a success. -To pass forty years of one's life in jail, to be perpetually blackmailed -by one's accomplices, to obtain only a small proportion of one's -legitimate earnings from those rascals the "fences" or dealers in stolen -property, and at last after all to die in prison, is not a brilliant -prospect. Now Mr. Parsons the son was a philosopher. On his father's -death he found himself the possessor of a complete and almost perfect -set of what may be termed his father's trade utensils. There was also a -little secret hoard of valuable gems. Mr. Parsons put his burglarious -implements in a place of safety; he lived abroad upon the proceeds of -his little fortune for some years; and when he came back to England his -own mother, if she had been alive, would not have known him. Then he -settled down at number 13, Matilda Street, and commenced the practice of -his profession upon principles of his own: not as a mere mercenary -occupation, but as a fine art. Mr. Parsons kept well away from his -father's old haunts and from the perfidious acquaintances who had -degraded him and been the cause of his ultimate ruin. Mr. Parsons had no -low tastes; he disliked drink and bad company; he had but one ambition, -and that was to obtain a comfortable competence from the skilful -exercise of his profession. He wisely concluded that it is not -sufficient to commit a successful burglary, if you are afterwards found -out. He was a careful student of the police reports and the trials at -the Central Criminal Court, and the more he studied those interesting -records, the more he became convinced of the wickedness of human nature, -the inefficiency of the police, and the tendency of accomplices to -"split." Mr. Parsons, then, being a thoroughly practical man was also a -theorist; he made several determinations, which he strictly kept to. In -the first place, he came to the conclusion that a suspect is always -watched, and that accomplices, however useful, are extremely dangerous. -So he determined to carry on his profession upon strictly business -principles. Wise man that he was, he appreciated the fable of the hare -and the tortoise. It was better, he thought, to earn a safe and -comfortable living; and he determined, should he ever be so fortunate -as to make a great _coup_, to immediately retire from business. He -trusted to his own clear head, his own clever fingers, and himself. So -he habitually worked alone. He passed his afternoons in "looking round." -His operations were very carefully planned, and generally successfully -carried out. - -It will be seen from all this that Mr. Parsons was no common criminal, -but he was a dangerous man for all that; for on his nocturnal -expeditions he was in the habit of carrying an ugly sheath knife, not as -a weapon of offence, be it remembered, but purely as a last resource for -the protection of his own personal liberty. - -It was a fine summer afternoon, and Mr. Parsons was lounging through one -of the better streets of St. John's Wood; that neighbourhood, -sarcastically designated "the shady grove of the Evangelist," had -peculiar attractions for Mr. Parsons; it is wealthy, the large houses -stand mostly in their own grounds, and the big well-kept gardens offer -favourable hiding-places to the midnight thief. Mr. Parsons lounged -along, peacefully smoking a briar-root pipe; the houses where the paint -was shabby or the gardens were ill-kept did not attract his attention; -these signs were quite sufficient for him, and in his mind he put their -owners down as "electro." Other houses which were guarded by dogs also -failed to interest him, but Mr. Parsons took more than a passing glance -at Azalea Lodge. - -Azalea Lodge stood back some twenty feet from the road way; the entire -outside of the house was painted or grained; there was a great deal of -gilding on the railings, a large gas lamp of the latest construction was -fixed over each of the polished oak gates that formed the entrances to -the little carriage-drive; the carriage-drive itself was asphalted, and -clean as a new pin; the shrubs in the small front garden were -expensive ones, and well pruned and trimmed; beyond the porch -projected a rather elaborate glass structure set in ornamental iron -work, and the centre of the well-whitened stone steps was covered with -striped horsehair matting. Flowering shrubs in pots were ranged up these -steps, while the sides of the porch proper were crammed with them. -Elaborate floral decorations were on every window-ledge; not mere plants -in pots, but great blocks of colour artfully arranged: scarlet geraniums -and calceolarias with glossy-leaved fuchsias of many hues blazed in -frames of blue lobelia, while dwarf ivies, nasturtiums and the pretty -variegated periwinkle hung down in thick festoons, hiding the window -sills. The beds in the front garden were made to show up in startling -contrast to the closely-shaven turf by means of cocoanut fibre, into -which potted flowering plants were plunged in reckless profusion. In one -window of the drawing-room was a quasi-oriental _jardiniere_ in which -stood a large orchid covered with delicate blooms of mauve and yellow; -in the next appeared the top of a parrot's cage of plated metal, on -which sat a tame white cockatoo, who seemed to enjoy the splendour by -which he was surrounded. The very linings of the curtains were of rich -corded silk, and a half open window showed in the dim vista a distant -vision of the heavy frames of numerous oil paintings. From top to bottom -the bedroom windows were discreetly screened by lace curtains tied up -with coloured ribbon. - -All these pretty things have taken somewhat long to describe, but the -eagle eye of Mr. Parsons took them all in at a glance. A fishmonger's -cart stopped at the side door, and Mr. Parsons noticed with satisfaction -that a fine piece of salmon and a lobster were taken into the house by -the purveyor's assistant. Mr. Parsons continued his walk as far as the -next house, which proved to be an empty one and in the hands of the -painters; their ladders and paint pots stood about in every direction, -but the workmen themselves had evidently gone to dinner. Mr. Parsons -shook out the contents of his pipe, pocketed it, and walking up to the -hall door, which stood invitingly open, confidently entered the empty -house; he walked into the drawing-room and on to the open Italian -balcony beyond it, which commanded a view of the grounds of Azalea -Lodge, and then Mr. Parsons stood wrapped in meditation. Something that -he saw at a heavily-barred window on the ground floor of Azalea Lodge -evidently gave him food for reflection. On a table covered with green -baize lay a quantity of elaborate specimens of the silversmith's art, -racing cups and trophies, vases and statuettes of burnished silver were -there in profusion, and a heap of leathers and brushes showed that they -were undergoing the process of cleaning. The eyes of Mr. Parsons -sparkled with satisfaction; he looked round to see if he was observed. -There wasn't a soul in sight. And then Mr. Parsons did a very curious -thing; he gave a low growl, then a little yelp, and then an aggressive -bark like an irritated dog. Then he began to bark again in a louder and -still more defiant manner. But there was no answer to the strange -challenge. Mr. Parsons gave a satisfied smile, walked quietly out of the -empty house, re-lighted his pipe and resumed his walk. - -It's hardly likely that Mr. Parsons thought of renting the empty house -next door to Azalea Lodge, but he walked past at least four times that -afternoon. He went home to Matilda Street on the top of an omnibus, and -then, like a respectable man as he was, he sat down to a good -substantial tea. - -Before commencing a campaign a great general sits down to think it out. -This is exactly what Mr. Parsons did. The tenant of number 13, Matilda -Street had declared war against Azalea Lodge. From what he had seen, Mr. -Parsons had no doubt whatever in his own mind that, should his campaign -prove successful, he would secure the competence he had yearned for, for -so many years and be able to retire from business altogether. - -That night Mr. Parsons visited a public house, paid for a glass of ale, -and consulted the directory. He found that Azalea Lodge was occupied by -Lord Hetton; the name seemed familiar to him; he turned to the landlord, -who was a well-known sporting character, and sought for information. - -"Lord Hetton's a political chap, ain't he, Mr. Mason?" said he, -addressing the great man with much humility. - -"Not as ever I heard of; why his lordship's a racing man. Every one -knows Lord Hetton--him as owned Dark Despair, and lost the Derby once by -a short head." - -"Oh, that's him, is it?" replied Mr. Parsons, "and what's his address -when he's at home?" - -"How should I know his address?" said the landlord. "If you wants to -call on him, you might try the Jockey Club, or I shouldn't be surprised -if you was to find him at Tattersall's of a Sunday afternoon; that sort -mostly shows up there. What might you want with him?" - -"Oh, it's no great matter," replied Mr. Parsons; "it's only a little bit -of business about a dog," and then he changed the conversation. - -"Racing plate," he thought, "there is never any mistake about that; -that's the real genuine article, thank goodness." And then Mr. Parsons, -who was of a sentimental turn of mind and a humble patron of the drama, -sauntered off to the Britannia Theatre, at Hoxton, and derived no small -degree of mental comfort in four hours of the sorrows of "Ada, the -Betrayed." - -It has been said that Lord Hetton was an economical man; every farthing -that he could scrape together invariably went to settle his accounts -with his trainer. He had begun life as a pigeon, to all appearances he -would end it as a hawk. Dark rumours of shady things which had been done -in his name rendered men shy of backing his horses. Scandal had said -that the boy who rode Dark Despair, when that animal was beaten on the -post, had pulled the great raking chestnut by his lordship's orders. But -though Lord Hetton had done many shabby things in his time, it was by no -fault of his that Dark Despair failed to win the blue ribbon of the -turf. It is quite possible that the boy who rode the animal had made a -mess of the race at the critical moment, or he may even have been "got -at," but that was not Lord Hetton's opinion or that of his astute -trainer; and the same stunted youth still always rode in his lordship's -colours in any big event in which Lord Hetton's animals might be -engaged. Owner and trainer had neither of them been to blame in the -matter; his lordship had honestly backed Dark Despair, and had had -considerable difficulty in meeting his engagements at the time. There -had even been an execution in Azalea Lodge. Azalea Lodge was the one -luxury that his lordship permitted himself; he looked upon it as his -home, and the titular mistress of Azalea Lodge had been the original -cause of all his differences with his father. Hetton was quite a boy -when he first fell into the toils of the syren; he was not quite fool -enough to marry her, his fear of the old lord prevented that; for her -sake Lord Hetton declined to marry; for her sake he was shut out from -society; and he was a man to be pitied after all, for he hadn't a friend -in the world, and it was with the greatest difficulty that he succeeded -in satisfying her numerous extravagant demands for money. The lady was -_passee_, vulgar, and her temper was almost diabolical; but she still -retained her hold upon Lord Hetton's affections. She had succeeded in -riveting the fetters which bound Lord Hetton to her in a rather original -manner--by an act of generosity for which none of her acquaintances -would have given her credit, least of all his lordship. When he made his -great _fiasco_ with Dark Despair, and the execution was already in -Azalea Lodge, by an impulse of generosity the lady had driven over to -Messrs. Israels, and had pledged with them her entire collection of -valuable jewelry. She had handed the cheque to Lord Hetton, and he did -settle at Tattersall's on the fatal Monday following the race. Lord -Hetton was agreeably astonished; he found, much to his surprise, that he -had one real friend in the world. Is it then to be wondered at that from -that day Lord Hetton clung to his only friend, and that he looked upon -Azalea Lodge as his home? Things went better with Lord Hetton, and he -settled Azalea Lodge and its valuable contents upon the object of his -gratitude. - -When anything remained to him after paying his trainer whenever he made -a _coup_, or landed a good stake, he invariably made a thank-offering at -the shrine in St. John's Wood. It was all very wrong, and very wicked, -no doubt, but after all it was perhaps very natural. - -It was nine o'clock one Sunday night, and Mr. Parsons was very busy -indeed--he was preparing for the war-path. On his table were arranged a -number of polished steel implements, which looked like surgical -instruments; they were burglar's tools. Half-a-dozen handy bits of -candle and a box of silent matches were quickly placed in his pocket; a -piece of strong Manilla cord some four yards long, with a sharp -three-pronged hook at the end of it, was wrapped around his waist, -beneath his virtuous waistcoat; his plain tweed coat carried numerous -canvas bags lined with washleather in its back. It was a wonderful coat -with innumerable pockets in the inside; in each of these mysterious -receptacles he placed one or other of the implements of his trade; a -short crow-bar in three pieces, which could be screwed together, formed -the last of these, while a big bunch of skeleton keys, a phial full of -oil and another of acid were slipped into his waistcoat pockets. He -popped a pair of loose felt slippers into his hat, calmly lighted his -pipe and proceeded to Old Street. He then called a hansom cab and told -the driver to take him to the Swiss Cottage. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - ESAU WAS THE FIRSTBORN. - - -"Are you trying to tell his fortune, Georgie?" said Haggard as, cigar in -mouth, he entered his wife's little boudoir. - -The young mother was sitting in an American rocking-chair, her baby in -her lap. The little creature stared at her in that peculiar way which -infants do when they are being "amused." It wasn't altogether a -meaningless stare, for what it meant was very obvious indeed; this -peculiar look is a threat, and may be translated thus: - -"If you do not give me your entire attention, and become thoroughly -absorbed in me, I will rend the air with eldritch screams, and my -piercing cries shall give you the headache you deserve." - -"I think I was making a fool of myself, Reginald," said young Mrs. -Haggard; "I certainly was predicting all sorts of good fortune for him, -in baby language." - -"Yes, baby language as you call it, is one of women's ridiculous fads; -the child learns it, and he'll have to unlearn it again to pick up the -Queen's English. You don't mean to say that you believe in palmistry, -Georgie?" continued Haggard. - -"Well, everybody says there's something in it, Reginald; besides, it's -only an old belief revived, and it's better fun than spirit-rapping, -thought-reading, or Madam Blavatsky." - -The husband sat down, and critically inspected the child. - -"Poor little devil!" he said; "he's like a young bear with all his -troubles to come. I'll tell you his fortune, Georgie. If he's got brains -he'll have to go and live in the Law Courts, pinching and screwing to -make both ends meet, starving his belly to feed his back, working early -and late, and hoping for the briefs that never come. Perhaps he'll -drift into something, or finding that he can't earn a farthing he may -turn paper stainer in despair, and gradually get a crust by writing dull -farces or novels that nobody reads; in fact he may become a modern Grub -Street free lance. If he is a humbug he'll go into the Church; or he may -want to wear a red coat, or a blue one, and vegetate on his pay and the -trifle he would get from me." - -"Poor little fellow," said his wife; "but what has he done to be -disinherited?" - -"He's committed the crime of existing, my dear," replied the husband. -"Can't you see, dear, that every farthing we have in the world will have -to go to Lucius, for he will be the head of the family. Gad," he said, -"he may be a peer of the realm, though that's a rather unlikely -contingency. This child, Georgie, is not born in the purple, as is his -elder brother; the one is clay, the other china." - -The young mother nervously clutched the child to her breast and -smothered him with kisses. - -"Make the most of him, my dear, lavish your affection upon him. Unless -the squire means doing something for him, his fortune is what I have -predicted. Younger sons in England, George, have to live on monkey's -allowance--more kicks than halfpence, and if there are half-a-dozen more -of them, poor little chaps, the fewer halfpence they will get and the -more kicks." - -Careless idle words, spoken jestingly, but every one of which went home -like a barbed arrow to the mother's heart. As she buried her face in the -child's neck, she thought of her vow of eternal secrecy to her cousin. -It had been extracted from her when under the influence of intense fear -and horror. Her cousin had only forced a solemn promise from her with -the intention of covering her own ignominy. It would have needed more -than even the diabolical ingenuity of a Machiavel to have extorted from -any mother her adhesion to a conspiracy for the ruin of her own child. -But now she saw to her horror that each and every child she might bear -to her own husband would, as a matter of course, be practically -disinherited in favour of the little bastard. At that instant, there -dawned on her for the first time the remote possible contingency of the -child who was supposed to be Haggard's firstborn son ultimately -inheriting the Pit Town title; that troubled her far less than do the -probabilities of his ultimate succession to the Woolsack affect young -Mr. Briefless when he is first called to the bar. But that each and -every one of her children should by her own deliberate act, and for the -benefit of an interloper, himself but a child of shame, be deprived of -what was legitimately their own, their share of their father's heritage, -did seem a very bitter cup. - -"I can tell you one thing, Georgie," said her husband; "your father's -quite of my mind in the matter, and it is our universal respect for the -law of primogeniture that has made England what she is. It's a sort of -natural law of selection, and the survival of the fittest. The eldest -son must be taken care of at the expense of the rest; he is the tribal -chief, his brothers and sisters are but his henchmen and his slaves. -Why, look at the French; since the Code Napoleon, which chopped up the -land into little blocks and gave each child his share, there have been -no great families in France. Money a young fellow can squander, but he -cannot get rid of his ancestral acres, when they are tightly tied up to -come to his eldest son. There's no way out of it, Georgie; the -Warrenders and the Haggards wouldn't content themselves with turning in -their graves, they'd haunt the pair of us, if we hesitated to do the -regulation thing." - -On hearing these words, which for the first time in her life brought -the real state of things home to her, it is hardly an exaggeration to -say that young Mrs. Haggard's heart died within her. Was it not her duty -to her child, to her husband, and to herself, to instantly make a clean -breast of the whole mystery? Perhaps it was, but she struggled fiercely -against the natural impulse to adopt this simple course. The fact has -been insisted upon that secrecy was foreign to Georgie Haggard's nature; -she hated deception and the very idea of anything which was underhand. -Had she given way to her natural impulse, and then and there told her -husband the truth, the dark web of intrigue which surrounded her -innocent life would have been torn aside and dispersed at once and for -ever. But with Georgie, unhappily for herself, her promise bound her as -tightly as the most terrible oath. She had promised never to reveal -Lucy's secret, and come what might, should this moral Juggernaut crush -her, her child, and her offspring yet unborn, yet she would be true to -it; her word, once plighted, should be kept to the bitter end. - -"I think it's cruel, Reginald," she said, and the tears were in her -eyes, "cruel and wicked too. What has he done, poor little fellow, that -he should be made to inherit a sort of curse?" - -But before her husband could answer this very natural objection, the -door was flung violently open and the child Lucius, his face suffused -with angry colour, bounced into the room. To his breast he clutched a -tiny white kitten, it was quite young, its eyes not being yet open. - -"Dad," he cried in a tone of rage, "Auntie says I shan't see the tittens -drowned. I do want so much to see them drowned. I hate Auntie Lucy, and -I hate Fanchette." - -Fanchette now appeared upon the scene, indignant and out of breath. The -child, tossing the kitten from him, sprung upon Haggard's lap, and again -expressed his intense desire to be present at the execution of the -kittens. - -"Dad," he said in a tone of affectionate entreaty, "I never seed a -titten drowned." - -Perhaps it was natural after all. Just in the same way as an adult goes -to an execution, because he "never has seen one, you know"--he forgets -that it is "a thing to shudder at not to see"--so the little Lucius was -anxious to assist at the immolation of the kittens. - -"No, my man, you mustn't be cruel," and then Haggard attempted to argue -with the child. But the little fellow pleaded, looking up into Haggard's -face with his big brown eyes. - -"Me tiss oo, dad," he said, and he did so vehemently. Haggard stroked -the child's long golden curls, and placed him gently on the floor. - -"Can't be done, my man," he said. At once the child's face changed and -became frightful to behold; the corners of his mouth went down, the -whites of his eyes became injected, the tears coursed freely down his -cheeks, he clenched his little fists and screamed aloud in his rage and -fury. - -"Debil!" he shouted in his passion, and he shook his fists at Haggard in -impotent rage. - -"Take him away, Fanchette," said Haggard with a laugh. - -The _bonne_ smiled and caught the infuriated child up in her arms. - -"_Ah ma foi, monsieur_," she exclaimed, "_apres tout, c'est naturel, il -aime le spectacle, le beau bebe_." - -"Well, he's not to have the spectacle, mind that, Fanchette." - -The child and the one kitten undoomed to a watery grave were carried off -by the _bonne_. - -"That chap's a devil of a temper, Georgie," said the husband with a -laugh. "Case in point, my dear," he continued; "we keep one kitten and -drown the rest, and there doesn't seem anything very horrible about it -after all; and that's what we of the upper classes, Georgie, have -morally to do with our own offspring. It's on exactly that same -principle that little Lucius will have to get our money and our land, -while _that_ poor little chap and his brothers and sisters, if he should -have the misfortune to have any, will have to rub along as best they -can. You and I, Georgie, will have morally to perform the functions of -the stony-hearted gardener." - -Haggard kissed his wife, then he ran his hand meditatively over the -infant's soft scalp; he began to whistle a tune, and left the room. - -It may be very unnatural, it may be very inartistic, but this being -merely a veracious chronicle, it has to be told that Georgie loved the -little Lucius quite as much and with exactly the same affection that she -felt for the infant she fondled on her lap. Totally inexplicable, you -will say; but so it was. - -Georgie had never grudged to the little Lucius his share of her own and -her husband's affection. She and her husband were young people; they -might have a large family growing up round them, but they were wealthy, -and they had large expectations, so that a child more or less to people -in their position in life did not very much matter. But to give a little -stranger a full share in the domestic pie is one thing, and to rob one's -own children for the sake of the same little stranger is another. The -more Georgie thought the matter over the more monstrous and impossible -seemed her position. She would make an appeal to her cousin's mercy, to -her cousin's sense of justice. But she felt morally certain that Lucy -would never consent to an _eclaircissement_, or to the making a clean -breast of the whole long-buried scandal to her cousin's husband. - -Gradually the infant on her lap, her husband's legitimate heir, dozed -gently off; Mrs. Haggard placed him in his cot and proceeded to darken -the room; as she did so the door opened and her cousin's smiling face -appeared. - -"I want to talk to you, Lucy; I want to talk to you about baby," said -Georgie with gravity. - -"Nothing the matter with him, dear, I hope, is there?" - -"Oh, he's well enough as to his bodily health. It's his future I'm -alarmed about. What do you suppose my husband told me to-day, Lucy? He -told me, as a matter of course, that my baby was to be sacrificed to -Lucius, because, forsooth, Lucius is the elder. I nearly told him then, -Lucy. I _must_ tell him, I shall have to tell him sooner or later." - -"And when you do so, Georgie, you will have the satisfaction of seeing -the last of your cousin. When I told you that I would fling myself into -the lake if you betrayed me, it was not the mere idle vapouring of a -foolish girl. I said it, and I meant it. Do you think for one single -instant that your husband would keep my secret? The scandal has blown -over, Georgie; you and I are its sole depositories. My secret and my sin -are both dead, buried for ever in the silent past. You swore you would -never betray me, Georgie, and having sworn it you must keep your oath. -Don't think for an instant that any ambition on my part, Georgie, makes -me wish to see Lucius supplant your children. Oh that he were only dead, -then at all events I should be safe." - -Gradually, however, the girl became calmer, her manner to Georgie got -softer and more caressing. "Keep my secret, Georgie dear," she said; -"it'll be another twenty years before your children are men and women. I -may be dead before that, please God I shall. Anyhow there'll be quite -time enough to take your husband into our confidence, if it must be so. -But I couldn't face him yet, and I couldn't face uncle. I must hold you -to your promise, Georgie. You swore never to betray me, and you never -shall." - -Reginald Haggard's wife pleaded with the girl; she argued, she -entreated, but she never threatened. - -"It may come out after all, Lucy," she said, "and then think of the -shame, the disgrace and the scandal." - -"The only way in which it could come out, dear, would be if Capt knew -something about it. He evidently has no suspicion, or he would have come -to us for hush-money long ago. Besides, Georgie, there's hope left to me -yet," and here the girl's face grew almost diabolical as she hissed -across the table in a low whisper, "_Lucius is but a little child, dear; -he may die!_" - -"I can't believe, Lucy, that the worst of mothers could deliberately -wish for her own child's death. You took a base advantage of my -affection in entrapping me into a promise of secrecy." - -"An oath, my dear." - -"An oath or a promise, whichever you like, Lucy. I'll keep your secret, -you may rely on that, whatever it may cost me. But I love the child -(and you know you can trust me, Lucy Warrender), so be you sure of this. -You dared to wish for the child's death. Should any danger menace him -from you--you his own mother, worthless woman that you are--that instant -your secret shall be a secret no longer. I will sacrifice my own -happiness, the future of my own children, to you; for your sake I have -deceived my husband, and I will go on deceiving him, but I will protect -the child's life from you, Lucy Warrender, at whatever cost. Your very -presence is a danger to him. After what you've told me, it is impossible -that you and he can live under the same roof. You hate him, your own -unhappy friendless child. I banish you from his presence, Lucy, from -this day forth." - -Lucy Warrender gazed at her cousin in astonishment; their _roles_ were -changed; no longer young Mrs. Haggard looked at her cousin with patient -pleading eyes; her foot beat the floor with suppressed excitement, and -though she never raised her voice, she continued in an angry but -determined tone: - -"Yes, Lucy, you must go, and quickly; you shall no longer poison my home -with your presence. You have brought sufficient misery to me and mine." - -There was a something in the way young Mrs. Haggard had spoken that -convinced Lucy Warrender of her sincerity. - -Her cousin turned and left the room without a word. - -That same evening Miss Warrender announced her intention of making a -long-postponed visit to some friends in town. In vain her uncle -remonstrated, and pointed out that her presence was expected with the -rest of the family at Walls End Castle. - -"I couldn't stand it, uncle," she said; "we are quiet enough and dull -enough here, heaven knows; but a month at the Castle would be too -dreadful. Besides it is Georgie who is the old lord's favourite. I don't -think I'm in his good books at all. I've put off and put off this visit -so long, that if I don't make it now, I never shall. And even London out -of the season is to my mind preferable to the oppressive magnificence of -the Castle. Lord Pit Town is Reginald's relative, not mine; I should -only be in the way, Uncle." - -And so it was arranged. - -Lucy went to her friends in town, and from their house she commenced a -round of visits. She corresponded regularly enough with her cousin, and -there was nothing very remarkable about the letters that were -interchanged. Not one word was dropped by either cousin on the subject -of the family secret. Perhaps a letter written about this time from Lord -Spunyarn to his friend Haggard may throw a little light upon the way in -which Miss Warrender amused herself. - - "The Club House, - "Royal Yacht Squadron, Ryde. - "13th August, 18--. - - "DEAR HAGGARD, - - "Here I am swaggering about this place in a blue coat and brass - buttons, like the other sham sailors. I'm quite out of the hunt - here, however, for I can't pretend to understand the jargon of - the thing. Old and new measurements, tonnage, time allowances - and movable ballast, are all a sealed book to me. Of course I go - on to the balcony with the other idiots to stare at the matches, - and, like them, I have to pretend to manifest an intelligent - interest. - - "To use a nautical simile your wife's cousin is 'carrying on' - here. If I didn't know her so well I should think she meant - marrying. Half the men here, including old Marlingspike, the - venerable commodore, dance attendance upon her from morning till - night, and she certainly looks a very bright little, tight - little craft in her nautical get-up, which is the regulation - thing with the women here. They say that little Jack Hornpiper - proposed to her the other day; it looks rather like it, for he - has suddenly started for a lengthened cruise in the - Mediterranean. - - "I suppose by this you have begun wiring into Pit Town's grouse, - though I hear he does not keep a very big head of game on the - place. When Hetton comes into it, it won't be much better, for - of course all his spare cash will go in horses. I too have an - invite for Walls End, but it is only just for the festivities, - which everybody declares are given in honour of your wife and - her boy, and to spite Hetton. He, of course, is furious. He - swore at first he wouldn't put in an appearance at all, but a - good many of the people here are going, and Hetton'll have to - show, if only to keep his Jews quiet. The Barringtons, who as - you know were never great favourites, have been quite the rage - here since Miss Warrender's arrival. They are asked everywhere - and go everywhere for the lady's sake, which is very good of - them. The Charmington is going to astonish us all in a - three-nights engagement at the local theatre; her benefit is - announced under the special patronage of H.R.H. She has gone off - terribly, but her hair is more luxuriant and golden than ever. - - "Miss Warrender bids me tell you that she shall make a final - attempt to _rescue_ Hetton on her arrival at Pit Town's place. - For your sake, old fellow, I hope she won't succeed, but I have - known more unlikely things happen even than this. - - "Sincerely yours, - "SPUNYARN." - -Lucy Warrender enjoyed herself thoroughly during her stay at Ryde. Mr. -Hornpiper's misfortune had been a true bill. Lucy Warrender encouraged -everybody, and it was not her fault if enthusiasts like little Hornpiper -cut short the delightful period of their acquaintance with the lady by -proposing to her. - -It has been said that a ship is a prison, to which is added the -possibility of being drowned; this is particularly the case in regard to -a yacht. Theoretically, yachting is a delightful pastime; practically, -it is an exceedingly expensive foible, combining the maximum of probable -discomfort and boredom with the not unremote contingency of possible -danger. Given the most delightful weather, a big and well-found yacht -and a really good cook, given that the cruise has been a short one, that -everybody has done his or her best to make things comfortable; yet how -uncommonly glad we all are to bid our host and his dear delightful -daughters good-bye--and how uncommonly glad they must be to see the last -of us. If any of our friends were to invite us to come and stay with -them and eat tinned provisions for a fortnight, we should indignantly -decline, but if we are asked to do it on board a friend's yacht, we -accept with effusion, and for at least a week or two before we brag of -the high old time we are going to have. I am afraid Lucy Warrender and -her friends the Barringtons were only fine-weather sailors after all, -but they were very popular. - -There was no false pride about Lucy Warrender. When she met her old -friend and rival, Mrs. Charmington, upon the pier, she shook hands with -her at once. In the days when Mrs. Charmington was a leader in society, -little Jack Charmington, her husband, had been tacitly ignored; but now -his wife was very glad indeed to have him constantly at her elbow, and -she introduced him to everybody. - -"You must know Jack, Miss Warrender," she said, as they shook hands. "I -don't know what I should do without him, my dear," she continued. "He -always leads the applause in front, you know, and he talks to the -professional people for me, when I have the misfortune to meet them in -the daytime." - -"Doosid responsible position, Miss Warrender, I can tell you; one needs -a constitution of iron, Miss Warrender; they're so awfully hospitable, -that talking with them first always means drinking with them afterwards. -It's bad enough for my wife to have quitted the scenes of her former -triumphs for the coarser joys of the play-house. But dramatic talent, my -dear young lady, will assert itself. If my wife had been Empress of all -the Russias, sooner or later her destiny would have declared itself, and -she would have sought the only sphere which could content a woman of her -talent and ambition." - -Now Mrs. Charmington's talents as an actress were microscopical. She was -good looking, she had a decently good memory, and she was a dogged, -plodding woman, with a good eye to the main chance. Her principle was to -buy a fairly good article, to pay a good price for it, and then to make -her little experiment upon the body of the vile, by hacking her piece -through the provinces, say for six months; and then producing it for a -short London season. There is no doubt that by time and patience it is -possible to get even a little child to recite a piece of poetry with a -certain amount of effect, and so it was with Mrs. Charmington. It must -be remembered first, that Mrs. Charmington did not buy rubbish. She went -to the great Mr. Breitmann, and she made a bargain with him. Breitmann -was a man of five-and-forty; he stood six feet in his stockings, he was -fair, with a quantity of light curly hair, and he had big fat fingers, -which were perpetually playing upon an imaginary pianoforte; when they -weren't running over an invisible keyboard, Mr. William Breitmann was -engaged in extending them separately, one after the other, in a -succession of violent cracks. Now the reason Mrs. Charmington went to -Mr. Breitmann was, that Breitmann was a particularly independent person, -who declined dancing gratuitous attendance upon Mrs. Charmington or -anybody else. In vain had she favoured him with a royal command, -written upon crocodile paper, headed by a magnificent monogram, -illuminated in many colours, in which Mr. Breitmann was informed that -"Mrs. Charmington would be pleased if Mr. Breitmann would kindly call -upon her on Tuesday, at three, as she wished to talk over a matter of -business with him." A rude and cruel answer, short and to the point, -came by return of post: - - "MADAM, - - "I have no business with you. - - "Yours obediently, - - "W. BREITMANN." - -Then she sent an ambassador. Jack Charmington called four times upon the -dramatist at his club, but even then, after bribing the page boy to -indiscreetly admit that the great Breitmann was on the premises, he -still found him sufficiently difficult to approach. As Jack stood in the -little bare den marked "Strangers' Room," he heard voices in loud -talking, with occasional shouts of laughter; then he heard a gruff and -angry voice grunt in an irritated manner, "Charmington, what is -Charmington? I don't know Charmington. Tell him to go to----." And here -a door slammed violently. - -The page boy entered the strangers' room and communicated to Mr. -Charmington the fact that the great man was busy. - -"Did you tell him I wanted to see him on business?" - -"They all say that, sir," replied the boy; "he's a very busy gentleman -Mr. Breitmann, sir, if you please." - -Charmington then sat down and wrote a polite note, in which he informed -Mr. Breitmann that he desired a short interview with him on a matter of -vital importance to them both. A second half-crown was administered to -the page boy, and in a few moments the door of the strangers' room was -violently flung open, and Mr. Breitmann himself suddenly burst in. -Breitmann never entered a room, he always burst in. The suddenness of -his entry startled Charmington considerably; he was still more -astonished at the tone in which Breitmann addressed him. That gentleman -carried poor Jack's note in his hand. - -"What is your vital business, sir? I have no vital business with you." - -"My wife wrote to you, Mr. Breitmann, yesterday, asking you to call on -her." - -This only seemed to exasperate Mr. Breitmann still more. - -"I have no business with your wife. I am not a ladies' man. Why should I -call on your wife when I have no business? What do you mean by coming -here and bullying me because I won't call on your wife?" - -"My wife is a very prominent person, Mr. Breitmann." - -"I have seen your wife, sir, and if you wish, I will tell you what I -think of her." - -He hardly gave poor little Charmington time to assent to this -proposition, when he continued, his voice changing from a shout to a -scream: - -"Sir, your wife is a fool!" Then he proceeded to crack his fingers -violently, one after another. "Now, sir," he continued, "I wish you -good-morning; my time is fully occupied in my businesses and in -protecting my copyrights." - -He was about to rush from the room. - -"It's about that I wanted to see you," said Jack. - -"Have you been infringing my copyrights then?" replied the other in a -terrible voice. - -"No, I want to buy one," said Charmington. - -"Ah," replied Breitmann, in a calmer tone, "then you _have_ business. -Sit down. What do you want to buy?" - -"Well, I don't exactly know," replied Charmington. - -"Well, tell me how much you want to spend, five thousand--ten thousand?" - -And then they went to business. It was explained to Mr. Breitmann that -Mrs. Charmington was anxious to purchase one of his new and original -dramas, one of those extraordinary combinations of melodramatic -impossibility, which however appeal, and not in vain, to the eye and to -the heart, which never fail to fill the pockets of their fortunate -purchasers, and which have rendered the name of Breitmann a household -word. - -For thirty years it had been Mr. Breitmann's misfortune to fight -incompetency in some shape or other. It had fallen to his lot to -manipulate vast armies of theatrical supernumeraries and to teach them -to perform the apparently impossible feat of being in two places at -once. Mr. Breitmann's struggles with the British super had taught him -one great secret: the British super, like the British donkey, never does -what he is told until the person in authority over him loses his temper. -So Breitmann, to avoid loss of time, used to begin by losing his temper -at once; so terrible were his ebullitions of wrath, that nobody ever -attempted to argue with him, and he always carried his point. Finding -his tactics invariably successful within the walls of the theatre, he -adopted them with similar success in ordinary life, and the time he -saved was enormous. - -His negotiations with Mrs. Charmington, her husband and her solicitor, -were over in forty-eight hours; a satisfactory bargain was concluded -between them for the purchase of "Ethel's Sacrifice," a melodrama of -thrilling interest, originally written as a novel by Robinson. Robinson -had submitted the manuscript to Breitmann, and then for a fortnight the -pair had "collaborated." What took place during that dreadful fortnight -is only known to the two collaborators. Robinson at its commencement was -a bright-eyed young fellow, full of enthusiasm, poetry and romance; at -the end of the fortnight all the enthusiasm, poetry and romance had been -knocked out of him. "Ethel's Sacrifice" had been altered, tinkered, -transposed, cut and filled with comic incidents of the most every-day -description, incidents from which the poetic soul of the unhappy -Robinson revolted. Then "Ethel's Sacrifice" was gabbled through one -summer's evening at a remote provincial theatre, and "Ethel's -Sacrifice," by Messrs. Robinson and Breitmann, became a marketable -security, duly protected by act of parliament. A nervous invalid left -London for prolonged mental rest and change of scene--that was Robinson; -his collaborator calmly returned to his multifarious business -engagements and the onerous duties of the protection of his innumerable -copyrights. - -Now Mr. Breitmann not only sold "Ethel's Sacrifice" to the Charmingtons, -but he sold them the benefits of his own personal skill in its -production. When the bills said that "Ethel's Sacrifice" was produced -under the personal supervision of Mr. William Breitmann, the knowing -ones jumped at once to the correct conclusion that "Ethel's Sacrifice" -would be a success. Mr. Breitmann had stipulated with Mrs. Charmington -that he should not deliver to her the complete drama until she herself -was letter-perfect in the title _role_. - -"You're never perfect, you know," he had said to her, "and you won't be -till you've played the thing in the provinces for six months; that's the -curse of amateurs, they never are perfect." - -"But I'm not an amateur, Mr. Breitmann," the lady had retorted -indignantly. - -"Pardon me, dear lady," he said, "but you are nothing else. You have -played four original parts, specially written for you mind, in the -whole of your stage experience; of course you're an amateur, but you are -a big success. And," and here he cracked his fingers very slowly, "you -are a fine woman, yes, a fine stage presence of a woman," said he -appreciatively, as he looked her all over, much as a dealer might look -over a horse--a dealer who was selling a horse, not a dealer who was -buying one. - -Mrs. Charmington fought hard to get hold of the beautiful type-printed -copy of "Ethel's Sacrifice," which young Robinson, in elaborate morning -costume and a flower in his button-hole, had read to her so -delightfully; but all in vain. Mr. Breitmann kept it carefully locked up -in one of the numerous tin boxes which made his rather grim-looking -study so much resemble a lawyer's office. - -"You'll find this quite enough to occupy you for the next three months, -my dear," said Breitmann decisively, using the affectionate method of -address invariable in the profession. - -The part, which was a formidable little volume, was just about twice as -long as the Church catechism. To do Mrs. Charmington justice she set to -work with a will; she was actually letter-perfect when the play was read -to her company for the first time by Mr. Robinson at the Stoke Pogis -theatre, where the talented little band of actors that supported Mrs. -Charmington were playing at the time. - -"At ten on Monday, if you please, ladies and gentlemen," said Robinson, -"we will rehearse Acts I., II. and III. Mr. Breitmann will be present." - -Everybody was punctual, and Mr. Breitmann _was_ present. For five mortal -hours he abused the company individually and collectively; he pervaded -the theatre, he shrieked from the lighted rake of gas jets which -illuminated the centre of the stage, he objurgated from the author's -table, he used the most horrible language when he suddenly appeared in -the stalls, he had the presumption to order Mrs. Charmington not to -"mince," and he told her that "it wasn't a time for mincing;" he -insisted on the minuet in the second act being repeated six times, and -then he informed the infuriated stage manager that "it wasn't good -enough even for Whitechapel." But the climax was reached at Mrs. -Charmington's great scene with her leading man, at the conclusion of the -third act. Ethel (Mrs. Charmington) has to fling herself into the arms -of her confiding husband; she proceeded to do so in her usual -perfunctory and society manner. - -"Good heavens! madam," shrieked the indignant Breitmann, "that won't do. -Stand here," said he in his ferocious voice, "and look at me." He rushed -at the leading man, he plunged his face into that gentleman's shirt -front, he gripped the gentleman's muscular shoulders with tremendous -energy, and his back went up and down with convulsive sobs. - -"There, ma'am," he said triumphantly; "try again." She tried again, but -Breitmann vociferated all the more. - -"It's no good, my dear; you must clutch and nestle. I wouldn't give -that," and here he snapped his fingers, "for a woman who can't clutch -and nestle; try it with me." - -Breitmann took up the position of the leading man. Mrs. Charmington gave -one tearful glance at her husband, then she rushed into Breitmann's arms -and did her best to clutch and to nestle. But he was not even then -satisfied. - -"Go home, my dear," he said, "and practise it with your husband." - -What a situation for one who has been a queen of society. When Mrs. -Charmington, almost heart-broken, reached her lodgings she informed her -husband that it was more than she could bear. - -"The idea of the wretch actually teaching me my business before my whole -company, and then ordering me to go home and learn to 'clutch and -nestle.'" - -"Dev'lish sensible idea I think, Julia," said Charmington, who was in -love with his wife before all things; "you can't do better than begin at -once," and the little man drew himself up to his full height of five -foot six and extended his arms like a mechanical doll. - -"Don't remind me of my humiliation, Jack; it's too much, too much to -bear," and the beauty flung herself into an easy chair and burst into -floods of tears. - -But Julia Charmington, wise woman that she was, did as she was bid; she -clutched and she nestled all that afternoon, and she had her reward. For -six whole months she delighted all the great provincial towns and -watering-places of the United Kingdom with "Ethel's Sacrifice," and she -reaped a golden harvest. When she came to town for the season she -scored a decided success, and all the leading Dailies joined in the -chorus of adulation. The fair Julia got a good round sum from the -photographers for the right to represent her in her four elaborate -costumes; the particular triumph of the sun-artist being the -representation of her nestling and clutching scene. Even the dramatic -critic of the great morning journal went into ecstasies over this. - -"Mrs. Charmington," he said, "has made real progress. It has been the -fashion to go to see this lady from curiosity, but last night she scored -a genuine success in 'Ethel's Sacrifice,' a thrilling melodrama by -Messrs. Breitmann and Robinson, which was seen in London for the first -time. The house was crowded with the well-known faces so familiar to us -at all important _premieres_. In her great scene in the third act, Mrs. -Charmington took every one by surprise. Thoroughly spontaneous and -unaffected, quite free from staginess and straining after effect, the -audience thoroughly appreciated the genuine burst of feeling of the -young wife," and so on, and so on, for a column and a half. - -Messrs. Breitmann and Robinson bowed their thanks to an enthusiastic -call; and Breitmann, his face wreathed in smiles and cracking his -fingers violently, as was his custom, whispered to his collaborator, -"She's only a 'mug,' after all, my boy, but I'm proud of her; it's the -nestling and clutching that fetched them." And then he went off to the -Convivial Cannibals, where he ate an enormous tripe supper, and was more -jovial and violent than ever. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - IN ST. JOHN'S WOOD. - - -Lord Hetton was certainly a long-suffering man. It has been stated that -the temper of the mistress of Azalea Lodge was almost diabolical; there -was nothing the pair didn't quarrel over. I believe, originally, their -quarrels were about nothing at all, the mere disagreements of lovers -that are but a renewal of love; the best-tempered and most virtuous have -been known to fight even during their honey-moons: but it is a -dangerous practice, for use is second nature, and quarrelling, like -dram-drinking, grows upon one, and after a while becomes a necessity. I -verily believe had the inhabitants of Azalea Lodge not both been members -of the cultured classes that murder would have been done. But just as -they quarrelled, abused each other, and hurt each other's feelings as -much as possible, so they were each in the habit after a pitched battle -of leaving the field in possession of the victor. - -On the very day that Mr. Parsons had left Matilda Street to proceed on -business to the Swiss Cottage, one of these numerous pitched battles had -taken place; the lady had been vanquished, and she, her maid, and her -jewel-case had left for Brighton by the evening train. Lord Hetton sat -alone and tried to do justice to a _recherche_ little dinner, but he -failed, for Hetton was jealous and unhappy; and as he looked at the -vacant chair opposite him, the triumphs of his undeniable cook turned to -Dead Sea apples in his mouth, for, in his mind's eye, he saw the -mistress of Azalea Lodge dining in solitary grandeur in the coffee-room -of a fashionable Brighton hotel, the cynosure of many an admiring eye. -Lord Hetton did not enjoy his dinner. - -These two unfortunate people, if the truth be told, really did love each -other very sincerely. As has been said the lady was Lord Hetton's only -friend; of this she had given him very tangible proof in the hour of his -need, and on her part she owed everything she had in the world to his -lordship; but each of the pair was haunted by a special terror--the lady -by the fear that Lord Hetton might marry, his lordship by the dread that -the lady might actually carry out her frequent threat that the next time -she left him it would be never to return. Poor wretch, he would only -have been too glad to have married her, but that outraged society would -have been instantly vindicated by the stoppage of his allowance from the -old earl. - -Lord Hetton sat and meditated by his study fire. "By Jove!" thought he, -"it would serve her right if I really did pay her off and married. I -ought to, if it were only to keep out that fellow Haggard and his -brats." - -It was ten o'clock. Azalea Lodge was a well-regulated household. The -parlourmaid placed the spirit stand upon the table, and asked his -lordship if he had any further orders. Within half-an-hour the four -women servants of Azalea Lodge were fast asleep, and the thick -baize-covered door, which separated the servants' quarters from the rest -of the house, was securely fastened. And now Lord Hetton sat down to his -writing-table, and he wrote a letter to the solicitor of the mistress of -Azalea Lodge. This was the letter, which was short and to the point: - - "Azalea Lodge. - - "SIR, - - "I shall be glad if you will call upon me here, as I am desirous - of washing my hands of your client and of all the associations - of this place. - - "Yours faithfully, - "HETTON." - -Now Lord Hetton when he wrote this letter had not the slightest idea of -carrying out the threat contained in it; it was merely his way of -expressing his displeasure--the quickest means he knew of causing the -return of the fugitive from the seaside. It was upon the lines of this -letter that he composed a second epistle full of indignant -recrimination, in which he announced that this, the last rupture, must -be final. "I have long determined," he said, and he chuckled as he wrote -the words, "to shake myself free from what was after all but a boyish -infatuation at the commencement, an entanglement which I feel we both -have been anxious to terminate for some time. Your solicitor will inform -you that I have requested him to take the necessary steps." And as he -folded the letter and placed it in its envelope he smiled. "She'll get -it by the mid-day delivery to-morrow, if they post it the first thing in -the morning, and she'll probably come back in a towering passion by the -four express. I wish she was here now," he continued with a sigh. Lord -Hetton yawned, he looked at his watch, and then he stamped the letters -and laid them out for posting, but circumstances intervened which caused -those two letters not to leave Azalea Lodge. - -Lord Hetton lighted his candle and went to bed. In half-an-hour he was -sound asleep, and a dead silence reigned in Azalea Lodge. The crickets -chirped merrily upon the hearth of the housemaid's pantry, where the -remains of a fire still smouldered. But what is that monotonous grating -sound which continues with mechanical regularity? It isn't a kettle -boiling, though it sounds rather like it, for there is an occasional -squeak and then the noise suddenly ceases altogether, only to recommence -again. - -Mr. Parsons on reaching the Swiss Cottage had walked straight to Azalea -Lodge. He entered the front garden of the empty house next door to it, -which was still in the hands of the workmen. He flung his three-pronged -hook over the high wall which separated Azalea Lodge from the empty -house. Quickly, noiselessly, and without effort Mr. Parsons reached the -top of the wall; then he removed the three-pronged hook, fixed it on the -near side of the wall, and descended by means of the friendly rope -attached to it into the grounds of Azalea Lodge. He left the rope -hanging, for the return journey might possibly have to be accomplished -in a very hurried manner. When Mr. Parsons stood safely within the outer -defences of the fortress which he had assailed he proceeded to -deliberately remove his boots. The big list slippers which he put on -were perfectly noiseless; they are the professional foot coverings -common to the British thief and to the ghost of Hamlet's father. Then he -walked straight to the pantry window, and shading his eyes with his -hands, carefully took stock of the interior. Mr. Parsons lost no time; -and, skilled mechanic that he was, commenced his work at once. Gripping -his file firmly in both hands, and carefully lubricating its keen edge -with oil, he commenced operations vigorously upon the massive bar of -soft iron, which with five others protected the pantry window; the bar -was at least an inch in diameter and was quite seven feet long. It took -Mr. Parsons a good twenty minutes' hard work to cut through, and beads -of perspiration stood upon the brow of that clever operator long before -the job was finished. Mr. Parsons replaced his files in their special -receptacles in his many-pocketed coat, then he seized the -massive-looking bar just above where he had divided it, he placed a foot -against the window-ledge and tugged with all his might. It's easy enough -to bend a poker between the bars of a kitchen range; it is true that the -kitchen poker is not an inch in diameter, but then neither is it seven -feet long. Mr. Parsons wrenched away with a will, and soon the great bar -was bent almost to a right angle. Mr. Parsons slipped a small palette -knife between the sashes, but Azalea Lodge had been fitted up regardless -of expense, and the window-catch was a patent one which resisted the -efforts of Mr. Parsons; but that gentleman was equal to the occasion; he -took out a piece of diachylon plaister, apparently from the small of his -back, really from one of the numerous receptacles of his professional -coat; he carefully affixed and smoothed the plaister over the top centre -pane of the lower sash, and then he rapidly drew a glazier's diamond -round the pane. Spreading his left hand out upon the middle of the -plaister he struck a smart blow upon his fingers with his right fist; he -had smashed the window, but without noise--there was no crash or rattle -of falling glass. With deliberate care Mr. Parsons effected an opening -in the broken window, in a workmanlike manner, large enough to admit his -right hand, and then with a smile he gently opened Sharp's Patent Safety -window-catch. Mr. Parsons now raised the window-sash with ease, and, -taking his boots in his hand, effected his felonious entry, leaping -lightly and noiselessly into the room. Mr. Parsons placed his boots in -the fender to warm, for nothing is more unpleasant to a careful man than -the putting on of cold boots. And now Mr. Parsons proceeded to carefully -and deliberately wash his hands and to remove from them the grimy traces -of his honest labour; then he lighted a short piece of candle--the match -he used gave forth no warning sound. He examined the lock, the key was -in the door, the projecting end of it he seized with a pair of -peculiarly-made forceps, the key turned noiselessly and with ease. Mr. -Parsons ascended the kitchen stairs and proceeded straight to the -dining-room, for he was no vulgar thief to whom the contents of the -larder of Azalea Lodge would present attractions, but an industrious -tradesman and a keen man of business. - -Mr. Parsons was occupied for at least half-an-hour in the dining-room, -for in the massive oak sideboard he found a good deal of portable -property; the patent locks soon yielded to his skilful attack, and the -spoons and forks were rapidly packed by him into the smallest possible -compass and placed in a bag of suitable size. But Mr. Parsons looked in -vain for any sign of the racing plate which had attracted his attention -upon his first visit to Azalea Lodge. He placed the bag containing the -plunder upon the hall table, and then, his lighted end of candle in his -hand, he ascended the stairs. When he reached the first floor he heard -the regular breathing of the sleeping Lord Hetton; he carefully removed -his lordship's boots from the mat and gently tried the door, blowing out -his candle as he did so, for the landing was illuminated by a flicker -of gas, and had his lordship awakened, the light would have betrayed the -intruder. The burglar entered the room without noise, and the heavy -breathing of the sleeper continued without intermission. Mr. Parsons -looked around him; his eyes at once alighted on the object of his -search; in a corner of the room stood a large safe of painted iron of -the most recent construction--Chubbs' Patent Safety. Mr. Parsons was -quite aware of what Chubbs' Patent Safety meant; he knew full well that -a Chubbs' safe would successfully withstand his attempts for a period of -twenty-four hours at least, and that picking the lock would be quite a -hopeless matter. But Mr. Parsons did not despond; he knew that owners of -safes generally keep the key upon their persons. He looked towards the -sleeper; upon a small table at the bedside lay his heavy gold Frodsham -chronograph, to the massive chain of which was attached a long slender -steel key. The burglar possessed himself of the watch and appendages, -knelt down in front of the safe, which yielded to the key, and in a few -moments the Toiler of the Night was busy with Lord Hetton's racing -trophies. There they lay, the glittering, precious baubles, the prizes -for which their owner had schemed ever since his early manhood, the -useless cups, vases, &c., which had cost their fortunate proprietor far -more than their weight in purest gold. The feelings of Mr. Parsons may -be better imagined than described; they must have somewhat resembled -those of Ali Baba when the treasures of the Forty Thieves first met his -astonished eye. Is it to be wondered at then that Mr. Parsons lost his -head for the moment, and that though his eyes were busily employed he -forgot to use his ears; he forgot to note that Lord Hetton's breathing, -which was a heavy snore when he entered the room, was now inaudible. - -His lordship, who had been sleeping heavily, had not exactly awakened, -though had he been addressed at the moment he would probably have -answered coherently enough; the fact was that he had been sound asleep -and dreaming a pleasant dream, and in a state of semi-consciousness he -was trying to recall the delightful vision, but it was gone for ever, -and he appealed to his memory in vain. Lying perfectly still on his -back, his lordship half-opened his eyes, and they rested upon the top of -Mr. Parsons' head, which exactly intervened between them and an object -they were accustomed habitually to rest upon, namely, the bright gilded -handle of the Chubbs' safe. But the sleepy eyes closed again, and -reopening half mechanically sought the missing handle. Lord Hetton now -opened his eyes widely enough, and almost thoroughly awake stared, -without moving his head, in search of the accustomed object. He saw the -top of the safe, but he failed to discern the gay lines of green paint -and gilding which decorated the door; then it slowly dawned upon Lord -Hetton's mind that he was no longer dreaming, or even dozing, but that -he was almost wide awake, and that the door of his iron safe was open. -And then his lordship became seriously alarmed. Not that he was by any -means a coward, but it is alarming to awaken from one's tranquil -slumbers and to feel that one may have to fight for one's life and -property against possible unknown odds, and without one's clothes. A man -may feel very brave indeed with his boots on, but take away his clothes -and it considerably reduces his courage. As Lord Hetton became gradually -thoroughly wide awake, he grew alive to the fact, not only that the safe -door was open, but that (what the Divorce Court calls) "a person -unknown" was tampering with its contents. Now perhaps the most prudent -thing that Lord Hetton could have done would have been to have gone to -sleep again, but it never for one moment occurred to his mind to allow -himself to be robbed with impunity. Thoroughly awake at last, Lord -Hetton could with difficulty contain his rage, and it was only by a -powerful exertion of his own will that he did restrain himself from -rushing from his bed and attacking the intruder with his naked fists. -But, he reflected, the thief or thieves were probably armed; he -remembered too that there was no assistance to be obtained in the house -itself, and that there was no means of arousing the neighbourhood. And -then Lord Hetton's mind, which was a cool one, came to a determination. -Very slowly indeed, and perfectly silently, Lord Hetton gradually -stretched out his arm from the bed towards the little table upon which -his watch had lain; but it was not upon the top of the table that his -extended fingers attempted to grasp the object which they sought, but on -a ledge several inches beneath. On that ledge lay a loaded six-chamber -revolver. His lordship's fingers gradually closed upon the butt of the -weapon, gradually and noiselessly he raised it, and with his thumb he -proceeded to cock it. - -There was an ominous click. - -His lordship sprang from the bed, pistol in hand. - -The man Parsons started to his feet with equal celerity, and the two men -stood glaring at each other. - -There was an appreciable instance of silence, and each of the -adversaries could hear the loud beating of his own heart. - -"You infernal villain, if you don't surrender, I'll blow your brains -out," hissed his lordship. - -The burglar made no reply, but placed his right hand in his bosom, and -in an instant his keen cruel sheath knife was raised high above his -head, and without a word, like an infuriated tiger, he rushed upon the -sporting nobleman. - -Lord Hetton pulled the trigger, there was a sharp click, that was all. -His lordship swore a bitter oath, as it flashed through his mind that in -his excitement of rage and indignation he had forgotten to withdraw the -safety catch. - -There was no time to do it now, for the burglar was upon him. Hetton -struck the man furiously in the face with the butt of the pistol, but -the thief succeeded in avoiding the full force of the blow, and used his -knife with murderous dexterity. The pistol dropped from his lordship's -failing hand, each man had the other by the throat, and the thief -continued to mercilessly hack and stab, for he knew that he was fighting -for liberty, and even life. Gradually he forced his victim down upon the -floor, he placed his knee upon his chest, and tightened his cruel grip -upon the throat of the fallen man. They still glared at each other and -struggled on in horrid silence, but gradually the convulsive clutch of -Lord Hetton's fingers relaxed, the glare of rage and hate disappeared -from his eyes, and its place was taken by a dull leaden stare. For Lord -Hetton was dead. - -But not for several minutes did the burglar relax his grip of the dead -man's throat; and then it dawned upon him that he was a murderer, that -in a few short hours justice would be upon his track; and he shuddered -with mingled horror and remorse as he mechanically wiped the blade of -his knife between his fingers, ere he returned it to its sheath. - -The man Parsons had been cool and collected enough before, but now he -trembled, and he hurried out upon the landing with anxiety, to listen if -there was any movement in the house. The struggle had been fierce, but -there had been no noise. The murderer was considerably reassured, as he -marked the dead silence that reigned in the place, and then he turned -again towards the door of the fatal bedroom. He hesitated to enter it, -for the wretch, though full of brute courage, feared to look again upon -the face of the victim he had done to death. But there was nothing else -for it; he entered the room in fear and trepidation, he gathered up his -plunder with a shaking hand, and carefully secured it in a Gladstone bag -which lay in the dressing-room; on it were the initials of the master of -Azalea Lodge. Last of all he thrust the watch and chain of the murdered -man into his pocket; then he looked upon the ground and saw with horror -the marks of his own guilty foot-prints in hideous red blurs upon the -gay carpet. He removed his tell-tale felt slippers, and the bag in one -hand, the slippers in the other, and holding the end of the bit of -candle which he had re-lighted high above his head, he regained the -hall. He carefully placed the little parcel which he had left upon the -hall table in the bag, and stuffing a sheep's skin mat and the -blood-stained slippers in as well, he succeeded in deadening the -jangling noise made by the plate. He snatched down an Inverness cape -which hung in the hall and flung it over his arm, and on tiptoe he -gained the housemaid's pantry in safety; he put on his boots and washed -his blood-stained hands. Then he strode down the garden of Azalea Lodge, -carrying in his hand the rope and three-pronged hook by which he had -entered the premises. He scaled several walls with cat-like celerity, -and then secreted himself among the shrubs of the front garden of a -house in a main road of St. John's Wood. From this hiding-place he saw -with satisfaction the infrequent policeman pass on his nocturnal round; -then he put on the Inverness cape, which gave him a rather distinguished -appearance, and walked boldly forth, carrying his Gladstone bag. He -hailed the first hansom he met and drove to Charing Cross; there he took -another cab to Matilda Street. He dismissed the man at the corner, and -reached his lair. - -Here the man Parsons disappears from our story. Early dawn saw him on -board the Antwerp boat, and he reached the Continent in safety. No doubt -he had his reward, in this world or the next. - -And so Lord Hetton died, unlamented save by his lonely old father at -Walls End Castle and by the woman who firmly believed that the very last -determination of his life had been to cast her off as a worn-out garment -and to "wash his hands" of her for ever. Save to these two persons, and -to those who had had the misfortune to back Lord Hetton's nomination for -the coming Derby, his death made no difference to anybody. We have -forgotten Reginald Haggard; he, lucky fellow, of course benefited, for -it brought him one step nearer to the Pit Town title. - -It was after all but a vulgar tragedy, though it made considerable noise -at the time. - -When, in the early morning, the housemaid at Azalea Lodge found her -pantry door unlocked, she was alarmed; and when she saw that the window -was open and that one of the protecting iron bars had been wrenched -aside, she very nearly fainted. In her tribulation she hurried to her -fellow servants and informed them of her startling discovery. The four -women were terribly frightened, and it was only after a considerable -amount of persuasion that the cook consented to put on her bonnet and go -in search of the police. While she was absent the three other women -fortified themselves in the kitchen and awaited her return in fear and -trembling. Constable Bulger, 130 D, was soon upon the scene; he examined -the pantry window from the outside, he looked very wisely indeed at the -foot-prints in the soft gravel path, and directed that they should -remain undisturbed; and then he entered the house and proceeded to -interrogate the servants. - -"Anything missing, ladies?" he said. - -No, nothing was missing in the basement, and the policeman and the -frightened maids ascended to the hall, where the parlourmaid instantly -detected the absence of the Inverness cape. - -"There's more gone than that, miss," said Constable Bulger. "They don't -effect a forcible entry now-a-days for the sake of a coat or two; we'd -better look in the dining-room." - -The parlourmaid flung open the shutters and drew up the blinds, letting -in the bright sunshine. As the girl turned from the window she gave a -succession of eldritch screams and went off into violent hysterics; for -she saw that the doors of the massive sideboard were standing wide open -and that the empty plate-basket lay upon the floor. Constable Bulger was -perfectly satisfied in his own mind that the parlourmaid, at all events, -had had nothing to do with the burglary which had evidently been -committed. For portly 130 D prided himself, and perhaps with some -justice, on his intimate knowledge of the ways of women. He knew -perfectly well that the dreadful laugh was not simulated, and he was -quite aware of the appropriate remedies. - -"Let her lie flat on the floor, ma'am," he said to the cook, "and just -you run for a little water, miss, and be spry," was his command to the -frightened housemaid, who, pale as ashes, was standing in the doorway. -"Is his lordship at home?" said Bulger. "I'd better see him at once. -Just run up and say I am here," added he. - -But not one of the women stirred; all three redoubled their assiduities -to the recovering parlourmaid, but each firmly declined to quit the -dining-room, on the ground that "it wasn't a woman's place." - -"Just keep your eye on the roadway, one of you," said the constable, -"the sergeant'll be passing directly, and if you see him you'd better -call to him." - -And then Constable Bulger undid the button of his truncheon case, not -that he expected to find any one on the premises, but it was as well to -be prepared for the worst, and he then ascended the stairs. One of the -bedroom doors was wide open, and a horrid sight met his astonished eyes. - -On the floor lay the murdered master of Azalea Lodge. The face looked -like a waxen mask; the lips were bloodless and of an ashen grey, -slightly parted, leaving the regular teeth of the dead man painfully -apparent. The eyes were wide open and had a terror-stricken look; but -the hands were clenched. The dead man lay in a pool of blood, with which -his white nightdress was stained in many places. - -The constable drew his truncheon, looked under the bed and into the -dressing-room; a glance at the open safe told him that it had been -rifled. Then, without in the slightest degree disturbing the dead man -or his surroundings, the constable left the room, locking the door and -placing the key in his pocket. He made a perfunctory search through the -rest of the house, though he knew full well that the murderer had fled; -and as he descended the stairs and rejoined the frightened women, his -sergeant, whom the cook had hailed from the dining-room window, appeared -upon the scene. - -In a whisper Bulger communicated to him what had taken place; but while -he was yet speaking shrieks and cries were heard from the dining-room. -Both men hurriedly entered it. The parlourmaid, mad with terror, was -struggling with the other women. - -"They have murdered him," she shrieked. "Oh God! they have murdered -him," she reiterated, as she pointed to a great pink stain upon the -ceiling. - -There was no need to break to them the dreadful news now. The girl -continued to shriek and point at the awful stain for some minutes, and -then went off in a dead faint. - -All that morning a little crowd stopped to whisper and point at Azalea -Lodge. In vain a special policeman entreated them to move on; they -merely passed over to the other side to point and whisper in mingled -excitement and curiosity. The red-coated newsvendors did a thriving -trade in the neighbourhood on that day. - -"Special edition. Frightful murder of a nobleman by burglars. Flight of -the murderers. Further horrible details." The red-coated men's harvest -was a precarious one, and they made the most of it; they even succeeded -in selling some of their papers at a shilling a-piece. But the -purchasers were disappointed, for though the newspaper reporters had -swelled their description of what they called "The Tragedy in High Life -in St. John's Wood," into two columns of leaded type, yet nothing more -was to be gained from it all than that the heir to the Pit Town title -had been brutally murdered by a midnight thief, that the assassin had -escaped with his plunder, and as yet had succeeded in baffling the -efforts of the police. - -Ere nightfall every police station in the metropolis displayed a -hand-bill headed by the startling word "MURDER," in big black letters, -and offering a reward for the apprehension of a man wearing an Inverness -cape and carrying a Gladstone bag. For days the police stations were -besieged by anxious informers, desirous to give information about men -with Gladstone bags and Inverness capes. Both cabmen came forward, and -the murderer was traced as far as Matilda Street, but here the scent -failed utterly; and though the old lord offered a further and larger -reward, and smug-looking men, in slop clothes and billycock hats, hung -about Matilda Street at all hours of the day and night, yet they failed -to come upon any trace of Lord Hetton's murderer. - -Twelve good men and true, his lordship's butcher, baker and candlestick -maker and nine others of the same kidney, found a verdict of "Wilful -Murder;" and two days after the inquest the body of the unhappy nobleman -was conveyed to Walls End Castle and interred with due pomp in the -family vault. The old lord, Mr. Haggard of the Home Office and Reginald -Haggard, followed it to the grave. - -Mr. Haggard had had a rather painful interview with a lady dressed in -deep mourning in the dining-room of Azalea Lodge, on the morning of the -removal of his lordship's body. The lady's grief was evidently -unfeigned. When Mr. Haggard had informed her that the dead man had left -her all he had to give, she was in no way consoled, and merely continued -to sob and wring her hands in the bitterness of her grief. - -A fortnight afterwards Azalea Lodge was in the hands of an auctioneer. -The first-rate modern furniture, by Gillow, was eagerly inspected by the -curious, and fetched fancy prices. Six months afterwards Lord Hetton's -very existence was forgotten, save by his father and a lady dressed in -deep mourning, who gambled with feverish energy at Monte Carlo, vainly -striving, poor thing, in that way to drown the remembrance of the past. - -The wicked man's epitaph, as a rule, may be generally appropriately -written in the pithy words "He was, and is not." Like a stone dropped -into the water he disappears and leaves no trace. - - - END OF VOL. II. - - -PRINTED BY -KELLY AND CO., GATE STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS, W.C.; -AND MIDDLE MILL, KINGSTON-ON-THAMES. - - - - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -Most of the apparent printers' errors have been retained. A few have -been changed, including the one listed below. - -Line 3920 in Chapter X where a comma was inserted in the phrase 'he -would secure the competence he had yearned for, for so many years'. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PIT TOWN CORONET, VOLUME II (OF -3)*** - - -******* This file should be named 42168.txt or 42168.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/2/1/6/42168 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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