purchased his estate till quite recently. He came from St. Jean des Moulins, a small French town, where he had formerly been engaged in business, and realised a considerable sum of money. It was there that he was supposed to have formed the acquaintance of Melanie's father. Mr. Dalrymple had never married, and Mr. Baldrick slily advised me, when my acquaintance with him was assured, to ask to see his collection of stereoscopic pictures, which was the rarest and finest in the country. In the drawing room, after coffee, there was a good deal of merriment and conversation about a certain joke which had been played off upon my friend Peter some time previously to his marriage, and which Mr. Baldrick had threatened to immortalize for the pages of the "Weekly Wonder," a magazine which my readers will doubtless remember either to have taken in, or to have been taken in by the same themselves. It was settled, as a proper punishment, that the writer. should read his narrative to us all without delay, and listen with becoming patience to the whole of the stormy criticism and abuse which he might probably deserve. That we had no occasion to spare him may be readily guessed by the following shamefully free sketch, taken, by permission, from his manuscript. CHAPTER X. THE VISIT OF PETER SPRIGGS TO A REAL LIVE ACTRESS! "Je suis bien indigné de voir tant de caprices: THE scene of my story opens in a drawing room, tolerably well furnished, in a provincial town. The dramatis personæ are evidently of the middle classes: a rather prim young lady so far as dress is concerned, but having a most pleasing expression of countenance, rises from her piano, the better to continue a somewhat warm discussion with her brother, a young fellow dressed in the extreme of the fashion, sporting an incipient moustache and wearing so much jewellery as to hover on the verge of bad taste. A truce to description, let the puppets speak for themselves. "I don't think it's kind of you Alfred, I don't indeed-you are for ever abusing Peter Spriggs behind his back, and yet to his face you make a com panion of him, why it's hypocrisy and dissimulation and I don't know what." "Poor Peter Simple," began the young man with a most provoking air, "if he could defend himself so well as somebody I might mention, few of us would attack him; but he is such a queer fellow, such an incredible muff. Oh! Oh! Oh!" "And I'll tell you what it is, sir, it's a great deal better for a young gentleman to be sitting at home with his mother and sisters, or playing the flute, or going out to some useful lecture, than being always away, no one knows where, like you are coming home with such a noisy set of companions; and whenever Lizzie or I want you, always some engagement 'to have a weed with a fellow' or 'try your pease and cues' whatever that means." "It's all very well, Maggie, but you're a girl, and don't know what life is, and the responsibilities of brothers; I've no objection to Peter, in fact he's a capital dummy to shy at, stands a joke pretty well, makes plenty of amusement for us; but the idea of your being engaged to him now is what I can't get over, don't quite know whether to laugh or to be savage about it, sometimes a little of both shouldn't be a brother, Maggie, if I didn't warn you against the snare' as Tom Baldrick says." ; "You need not quote Baldrick's opinions to me, you know he is so conceited and so proud you can't keep in with him yourself, and as for Peter, there's that consistent steadiness of character in him-" M "Ha! ha! ha! If you will have it you must. Steadiness indeed, you can lead Spriggs into anything. He went to the pigeon match the other day with that Dick Balderstone, a fellow that I wouldn't be seen with, though I'm not a proud chap, and no ways particular." "You may depend upon it then that he had a reason for going, perhaps it was to study human nature, as he has told me he often does; a very important subject too, Alfred." 66 Well, amongst a lot of pigeon-fanciers Peter's nature will be pretty well studied, whatever he may think of his comrades. But all he talks about now is the prima donna at the theatre-the Signorina Janeta Jessami." "Nonsense, Alfred; how can you invent such things. Mr. Spriggs seldom goes near the theatre. He says there is never anything worth seeing at provincial theatres; and, in fact, that he disapproves of the present system altogether." Alfred knew his advantage; for his sister had been brought up very strictly, and her prejudices were by no means in favour of theatricals, or their supporters; so he went on "Well, I don't think it right for any fellow to go and engage himself to a girl, and then fall in love with the first actress he meets, afterwards—if that's what you call consistency!" "I won't hear anything more about it, sir, unless you will prove what you say; which of course cannot be done. How do you know that Mr. Spriggs is in love with Mademoiselle Jessami? You men seem to talk anything that comes uppermost; and, as for gossip you are ten times worse than any girl!" "I'll bet you a pair of gloves that before tomorrow's out Spriggs will call on the Jessami. He is sufficiently over head and ears for that any how!" "I don't believe anything of the kind," said Maggie, evidently losing her temper. "Don't ask me to bet, sir! How dare you tease me with such foolish tales." "Maggie, Maggie; don't go out; wait a minute. You know Sarah, the laundress, don't you?" "Well; what has that to do with it ?" Why, she lives next door-I mean next door to Saunders's, where the Jessami lodges while she's down here. Now, I'll tell Sarah to be on the lookout. And if she should sce Mr. Spriggs call, to come and tell you so. You'll believe it, won't you ?" Yes, I will, if Sarah tells me. She's a thoroughly honest woman, of that I am certain; but it will be a long while before she sees Peter at Miss Jessami's door." And yet, from the expression of her countenance, as she retreated from the room, and the subdued word, "Oh, if he does," that fell from her lips. as she passed out, it appears very probable that her fears were just a little awakened. As for the mischief-loving Alfred, he smothered a laugh until fairly out of the house, and then went sniggering and ruminating along the street until he |