with doubts and fears. He writes to her. She does not answer. His anxiety becomes a madness; and forthwith he sets off in pursuit of her. Is there anything in all this to brand him as an outcast from humanity?"

66

Why, look at the folly of it! If the girl had proper spirit, would it not drive her into refusing him altogether?"

"Foolish, my dear, yes! but not criminal. Now the whole of you seem to look on Arthur as a monster of wickedness, because he is anxious to marry the girl he is fond of.”

My Lady alters the disposition of the thin tracery of silver cord which runs through the dark masses of her hair, and as she thus manages to shelve the subject, she says

66

I suppose we shall have a pleasant time at dinner. Arthur will be fiercely amusing. Plenty of sarcasm going about. Deadly looks of hatred. Jokes as heavy as that one Bell talks of—that was carried to the window by four men, and killed a policeman when it tumbled over."

My Lady is gently reminded that this story was told of a German, before the date of Bell's conversion; whereupon she answers coolly

"Oh, I do not suppose that Count von Rosen is like all Germans. I think he is quite an exception-a very creditable exception. I know I have never met anyone the least like him before."

"But heroes were not common in your county, were they?"

"They were in yours," says Tita, put ting her arm within mine, and speaking with the most gracious sweetness; "and that was why they took no notice of you."

We go downstairs. At the head of the large dining-room, in front of the fireplace, a young man is standing. He has a time-table in his hand, which he is pretending to read, and his hat is on his head. He hastily removes that most important part of an Englishman's attire, when my Lady enters the room, and then he comes forward with a certain apprehension and embarrassed look on his face. If he had been grow

ing nervous about his reception, there was nothing, at all events, to be feared from Queen Titania, who would have welcomed the *** himself with an effusive courtesy, if only she had regarded it as her duty.

"Oh, Arthur," she says, her whole face lighting up with a gladness which amazed even me, who am accustomed to watch her ways, "I am really delighted to see you. to come and spend the on so short a notice. not taken you away engagement?"

How good of you evening with us I hope we have from any other

"No," says the young man, apparently very much touched by this kindness, "and-and-it is I who ought to apologize for breaking in on you like this."

"Then you will spend to-morrow with us also?" says my Lady, quite pleasantly. Indeed, there is nothing like facing the inevitable with a good grace.

"Yes," says Arthur, rather humbly, "if you think I'm not intruding."

"Why, your coming will be quite a relief. I should never have forgiven you if you had been in our neighbourhood without coming to see us."

You might think that this little speech was of the nature of a fib. But it was not, just at that moment. When people are absent, Tita is about as cool, and accurate, and severe in her judg ment of them as any woman can be; and she is not disinclined to state her opinion. But once they come near her

and especially if she has to play the part of hostess, and entertain them-the natural and exuberant kindness of the woman drives her into the most curious freaks of unconscious hypocrisy. Half an hour before she had been talking of Arthur in a way that would have considerably astonished that young man, if he had known; and had been looking for ward with dismay and vexation to all the embarrassments of his visit. Now, however, that he was there-thrown on her mercy as it were-she showed him a quite inordinate kindness, and that in the most honest way in the world. A couple of minutes sufficed to convince

Arthur that he had at least one firm friend in our household.

He began to look anxiously towards the door. Presently, a voice that he knew pretty well was heard outside; and then ominous conjunction! the Lieutenant and Bell entered together. Von Rosen had held the door open for his companion, so that Bell advanced first towards our visitor. Her face was quite calm and a trifle reserved; and yet every one could see that as she shook hands with the young man, there was a timid, half-concealed look of pleasure and welcome in her eyes. He, on his part, was gloomily ceremonious. He scarcely took any notice of the greeting which the Lieutenant carelessly addressed to him. He accompanied us over to the table, and took a seat on the right hand of Tita, with a silence that portended evil. We were likely to have a pleasant evening.

Had he possessed a little more worldly prudence or savoir faire, he would now have made some light excuse for his being present. He ought, for form's sake, to have given us to understand that, as he was obliged to be in Oxford, he had come on by rail to pay us a visit. But as it was, no explanation was forthcoming. Our Apemantus had apparently dropped from the skies.

He

looked very uncomfortable; and replied in monosyllables to the various and continuous remarks that Tita addressed to him. He had never spoken to Bell, who sat next him, and who was herself silent. Indeed, the constraint and embarrassment from which she was suffering began to vex the Lieutenant, who strove in vain to conquer it by every means in his power.

The barometer steadily fell. The atmosphere grew more and more gloomy, until a storm of some sort was inevitable. The anxious efforts of Queen Tita to introduce some cheerfulness were touching to see; and as for Bell, she joined in the talk about our journey, and what we had seen, in a series of disconnected observations that were uttered in a low and timid tone, as if she was afraid to draw down lightning from the thunder-clouds.

Lieutenant von Rosen had at first addressed a word or two to our guest; but finding the labour not productive, he had dropped him entirely out of the conversation. Meanwhile Arthur had drunk a glass or two of sherry. He was evidently nettled at finding the Lieutenant almost monopolizing attention; for Tita herself had given up in despair, and was content to listen. Von Rosen was speaking as usual of the differences between English and German ways, and social aims, and what not, until at last he drifted into some mention of the Republican phenomena that had recently been manifested in this country.

Now what conceivable connection is there between the irritation of an anxious lover and Republicanism? Master Arthur had never alarmed any of us by professing wild opinions on that subject or on any other. We never knew that the young man had any political views, beyond a sort of nebulous faith in the Crown and the Constitution. Consider, therefore, our amazement when, at this moment, he boldly and somewhat scornfully announced himself a Democrat, and informed us that the time was come for dismissing old superstitions and destroying the last monopolies of feudalism. There would be a heavy account to settle with the aristocracy that had for generations made laws to secure its own interests, and tied up the land of the country so that an idle population had to drift into the big towns and become paupers. All this was over. New times were at hand. England was ripe for a new revolution; and woe to them that tried to stem the tide!

The explanation of which outburst was merely this that Arthur was so angry and impatient with the state of things immediately around him, that he was possessed with a wild desire to upset and destroy something. And there is nothing so easy to upset and destroy, in rhetoric, as the present political basis of this country.

Well, we looked at the lad. His face was still aglow; and there was something of triumph as well as of

fierceness in it. The hero of the old Silesian song, when his sweetheart has forgotten the vows she made, and the ring she gave him is broken in two, would like to rush away into battle, and sleep by camp-fires, under the still night. But nothing half so ordinary would do for our fire-eater, who, because he could not very well kill a Prussian lieutenant, must needs attack the British Crown. Was there any one of us four inclined to resent this burst of sham heroics? Was there not in it something of the desperation of wretchedness that was far more entitled to awaken compassion? Had Arthur been less in love, he would have been more prudent. Had he controlled his emotions in that admirable fashion with which most of our young gentlemen now-a-days seem to set about the business of choosing a wife, he would not have made himself absurd. There was something almost pitiable in this wild, incoherent, ridiculous effort of a young man to do or say something striking and picturesque before the eyes of a girl whose affections he feared were drifting away from him.

The Lieutenant, to whom this outbreak was particularly addressed, took the affair very good-naturedly. He said, with a smile

"Do you know who will be the most disappointed, if you should have a Republic in England? Why, the Republicans that are very anxious for it just now. Perhaps some of them are very respectable men-yes, I believe that; but if I am not wrong, the men who make the great fuss about it in your nation are not like that. Agitators-is not that what you call them? And, if you have England a Republic, do you think the government of the country will be given to those noisy persons of the present? No-that is not possible, I think. When the Republic comes, if it does come at all-and I do not know how much force is in this demonstration-all your great men, your welleducated men, your men of good position and good breeding and good feeling they will all come forward,

as they do now, to see that the country is properly governed. And what will become of the present Republicans, who are angry because they cannot get into Parliament, and who wish for a change that they may become great persons? When you take away the Crown, they will not all be kings, I think there is too much of good sense in this country, and of public spirit, that makes your best men give up their own comfort to look after the governmentand so it will be then."

:

"I hope there will be no violent change in our time, at least," said Queen Tita.

"Madame is anxious about the Church, I know," remarked the Lieutenant, with great gravity; but he looked at Bell, and Bell could not altogether conceal a smile. Arthur, watching them both, noticed that little bit of private understanding; and the gloom on his face visibly deepened.

This must be said, however, that when an embarrassing evening is unavoidable, a dinner is the best method of tiding it over. The various small incidents of the feast supply any ominous gaps in the conversation; and there is, besides, a thawing influence in good meat and drink which the fiercest of tempers finds it hard to withstand. After the ebullition about Republicanism, Arthur had quieted somewhat. By the time we had got down to the sweets, and perhaps with the aid of a little champagne-the lad never drank much at any time, I ought to say-his anger had become modified into a morose and sentimental melancholy; and when he did manage to speak to Bell, he addressed her in a wistful and pathetic manner, as if she were some one on board a vessel and he saw her gradually going away from him, her friends, and her native land. One little revelation, nevertheless, comforted him greatly; and lovers apt to magnify their misfortunes will note that he might have enjoyed this solace long before if only he had exercised the most ordinary frankness.

"You got a letter I sent you to

Oxford, I suppose?" he said, with a studied carelessness.

"Yes," said Bell, with a little conscious colour in her face, as she bent down her eyes.

"I am glad I had the chance of seeing you to-night," he continued, with the same effort at self-possession, "because I-I fancied you might be unwell-or some accident happened-since you did not send the telegram I begged of you."

Here an awful moment of silence intervened. Everybody trembled for Bell's reply, which might provoke the catastrophe we had been seeking to postpone.

"It was only yesterday forenoon I got your letter," Bell says, apparently feeling the silence uncomfortable; "and-and I meant to have answered it to-night"

"Oh, you were going to answer it? he says, with his face suddenly getting bright.

"Yes," she says, looking up with some surprise. "You did not suppose I wouldn't answer it?"

In fact, that was just what he had supposed, considering that she had been grievously offended by the tone of his letter.

"I meant to have let you know how we all were, and how far we had got," says Bell, conveying an intimation that this sort of letter might be sent by any body to anybody.

Nevertheless, Arthur greatly recovered himself after this assurance. She had not broken off with him, after all. He explained that the letter must have been delayed on the way, or she would have got it the day before. He drank another glass of champagne, and said, with a laugh, that he had meditated surprising us, but that the design had failed, for everyone seemed to have expected him.

"I only came down this afternoon; and I suppose I must go back on Monday," he remarked, ruefully.

This looked so very like a request for an invitation that I was bound to offer him a seat in the phaeton, if he did not No. 150.-VOL. XXV.

mind a little discomfort. You should have seen the look of amazement and indignation which my Lady darted across the table at this moment. Fortunately, Arthur did not notice it. He said he was very much obliged-he feared he would have to return-if he went with us for a day or two, he would inconvenience us sadly-but he would consider it before Monday morning.

After dinner, Von Rosen got up and proposed that he and I should go down to the billiard-room-which is in the end of the building abutting on the stable-yard-and smoke a cigar. Surely generosity could go no further. Arthur looked surprised; and wore quite a pleasant smile on his face when we rose and left.

But perhaps it was merely selfishness that caused our Uhlan to leave the field; for as we two went down the passage, and made our way up to the spacious room, he said—

"I am rather sorry for mademoiselle. She does not seem to be very glad to meet her old friend-perhaps because he is not in a good temper. That is why I did say we should go and play billiards-there will be a chance of explanation and to-morrow he will be all right. It is foolish of him to be disagreeable. All this time of dinner, I was thinking to myself how well he might make himself agreeable if he only wished-with knowing all the polite phrases with ease, and being able to talk without thinking. For me, that is different, you know. I am bound in by stupid limits; and when I think to say something nice to anyone-then I stop because I know nothing of the wordsjust like at a wall."

He sent the red ball up and down the table in rather a peevish manner; he felt that Arthur had an advantage perhaps.

"But you talk English remarkably well."

"But I have remarked that you English always say that to a foreigner, and will not tell him when he is wrong. I know I am often wrong-and always about

I I

your past tenses-your 'was loving' and did love,' and 'loved' and like that; and I believe I am very wrong with always saying 'do' and 'did,' for I studied to give myself free speaking English many years ago, and the book I studied with was 'Pepys' Diary,' because it is all written in the first person, and by a man of good station. Now I find you do not say 'I did think,' but I thought,' only it is very hard to remember. And as for pronunciation, I know I am very wrong."

Well, he certainly had marked forms of pronunciation, which I have considered it unnecessary to reproduce in recording his talk. He said I hef' for I have,' and 'a goot shawt' for a good shot.' He also made occasional blunders in accent, through adopting the accent of the Latin word from which the English word is derived. But what were such trifles to the main fact that he could make himself understood?

"But this is very strange," he said; "how much more clearly Mademoiselle speaks than any English lady, or any English person I have known yet. It is very remarkable to me, how I have great difficulty to follow people who talk like as if they had several tongues rolling in their mouth-and others speak very fast-and others let the ends of the words slide away-but Miss Bell, she is always clear, distinct, and very pleasant to hear, and then she never speaks very loud as most of your people do to a foreigner."

Perhaps," I say, "there is a reason for Bell's clearness of speech."

"Why?"

"Perhaps she takes pains to be very distinct in talking to you, while she manages not to show it. Perhaps other people can notice that she speaks with a little more deliberation to you than to anyone else."

Von Rosen was obviously much struck.

"Is that possible?" he said, with his eyes full of wonder. "I have not noticed that she did talk slow to me."

"No-she conceals it admirably; but

It is not

all the same such is the fact. so much slowness as a sort of careful precision of pronunciation that she af fects-and you ought to be very grateful for such consideration."

"Oh, I think it is very good of hervery good indeed-and I would thank her for it-_____”›

"Don't do that, or you will have no more of it. And at present my Lady is catching up a trick of talking in the same way.

"It is very kind," said the Lieutenant, turning to the table with rather a thoughtful manner. "You would not have expected a young girl like that to be so reflective of other people."

Then he broke the balls; and by fair strength of arm screwed the white into the corner pocket. Nobody was more astonished than himself, except the marker. It was, indeed, the first losing hazard he had ever made; never having played before on a table with pockets. His next stroke was not so successful; and so he consoled himself with lighting a Partaga about eight inches in length.

"At all events," he continued, "your language has not the difference of Sie' and du,' which is a great advantage. Oh, it is a very perplexing thing sometimes. Suppose you do know a young lady very well, and you have agreed with her in private you shall always call each other 'du;' and then before other people you call her 'Sie'—it is very hard not to call her 'du,' by mistake, and then everyone jumps up, and stares at you, and all the secret is known. That is a very terrible thing."

"And please what is the interesting ceremony with which you drink brüderschaft with a young lady? The same as usual?-a large jug of beer-your arms intertwined

"No-no-no!" he cried. "It is all a mystery. You shall not know any. thing of that. But it is very good-it is a very pleasant thing-to have brüderschaft with a young lady-although you drink no beer, and have no ceremonies about it."

"And what did Fräulein Fallersleben's