seems," Mrs. Dodd misunderstood him,
naturally enough. She thought the heartless young
man had sent some excuse; had chosen to let his
sister die neglected rather than face Julia: "As
if she would leave her own room while he was in
my house," said Mrs. Dodd, with sovereign
contempt. From this moment she conceived a horror
of the young man. Edward shared it fully, and the
pair always spoke of him under the title of "the
Wretch:" this was when Julia was not by. In
her presence he was never mentioned. By this
means she would in time forget him, or else see
him as they saw him.

And as, after all, they knew little to Mr.
Hardie's disadvantage, except what had come out
of "the Wretch's" mouth, and as moreover their
hearts were softened towards the father by his
bereavement, and their sight of his misery, and also
by his grateful words, they quite acquitted him of
having robbed them, and felt sure the fourteen
thousand pounds was at the bottom of the sea.

They were a little surprised that Mr. Hardie
never spoke nor wrote to them again; but being
high minded and sweet tempered, they set it
down to all-absorbing grief, and would not feel
sore about it.

And now they must leave the little villa where
they had been so happy, and so unhappy.

The scanty furniture went first; Mrs. Dodd
followed and arranged it in their apartments.
Julia would stay behind to comfort Edward,
inconsolable herself. The auction came off. Most
of the things went for cruelly little money
compared to their value: and with the balance the
sad young pair came up to London, and were
clasped in their mother's arms. The tears were
in her tender eyes. "It is a poor place to receive
my treasures," she said: Edward looked round
astonished; "It was a poor place," said he,
"but you have made a little palace of it, somehow
or another."

"My children's love can alone do that,"
replied Mrs. Dodd, kissing them both again.

Next day they consulted together how they
were to live. Edward wished to try and get his
father into a public asylum; then his mother
would have a balance to live upon out of her
income. But Mrs. Dodd rejected this proposal
with astonishment. In vain Edward cited the
'Tiser that public asylums are patterns of
comfort, and cure twice as many patients as the
private ones do. She was deaf alike to the 'Tiser
and to statistics. "Do not argue me out of
my common sense," said she. "My husband,
your father, in a public asylum, where anybody
can go and stare at my darling!"

She then informed them she had written to
her Aunt Bazalgette and her Uncle Fountain,
and invited them to contribute something towards
David's maintenance.

Edward was almost angry at this. "Fancy
asking favours of them" said he.

"Oh, I must not sacrifice my family to false
pride," said Mrs. Dodd; "besides, they are
entitled to know."

While waiting for their answers, a word about
the parties, and their niece.

Our Mrs. Dodd, born Lucy Fountain, was left
at nineteen to the care of two guardians: 1, her
Uncle Fountain, an old bachelor, who loved
comfort, pedigree, and his own way; 2, her Aunt
Bazalgette, who loved flirting, dressing, and her
own way; both charming people, when they got
their own way; verjuice, when they didn't; and
egotists deep as ocean.

From guardians they grew match-makers and
rivals by proxy: Uncle schemed to graft Lucy on
to a stick called Talboys, that came in with the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, known in
pedigrees as "the Norman Conquest." Aunt, wife of a
merchant of no Descent, except from a high stool,
devoted her to Richard Hardie. An unlooked-
for obstacle encountered both: Lucy was not
amorous. She loved these two egotists, and their
quadrupeds; but there she stopped dead short.
They persisted; and, while they pulled her to
and fro and ruffled her native calm, David Dodd,
first mate of the Something or other, East India-
man—brown cheek, honest speech, heart of gold
—fell deep in love and worshipped her at a
distance. His timidity and social insignificance
made him harmless; so egotist Fountain had him
in to dessert to spin yarns; egotist Bazalgette
invited him to her house to flirt with. At this
latter place he found Hardie and Talboys both
courting Lucy; this drove him mad, and in his
fury he popped. Lucy declined him secundum
artem: he went away blessing her, with, a manly
sob or two. Lucy cried a little and took a feminine
spite against his rivals, who remained to
pester her. Now Talboys, spurred by uncle, had
often all but popped; only some let, hindrance,
or just impediment had still interposed: once her
pony kept prancing at each effort he made towards
Hymen; they do say the subtle virgin kept probing
the brute with a hair pin, and made him caracole
and spill the treacle as fast as it came her
way. However, now Talboys elected to pop by
sea. It was the element his ancestors had
invaded fair England by; and on its tranquil bosom
a lover is safe from prancing steeds, and the
myriad anti-pops of terra firma. Miss Lucy consented
to the water excursion demurely, designing
to bring her sickly wooer to the point, and so
get rid of him for ever and ever. Plot and counter-
plot were baffled by the elements: there came an
anti-pop out of the south-west called a gale.
Talboys boated so skilfully that he and his intended
would have been united without ceremony by
Father Nep. at the bottom of the British Channel,
but for David Dodd, who was hovering near in
jealous anguish and a cutter. He saved them
both, but in the doing of it missed his ship, and
professional ruin faced him. Then good-hearted
Lucy was miserable, and appealed to Mr.
Bazalgette, and he managed somehow to get David
made captain of the Rajah. The poor girl thought
she had squared the account with David; but he
refused the ship unless she would go halves, and
while her egotists bullied and vexed her, he