UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 BOOK CARD 
 
 Please keep this card in 
 book pocket 
 
 cn co 
 en 2? 
 cr> m 
 cn 
 
 cn iS 
 
 cn (C 
 cn X 
 cn 
 
 cn S2 
 co ^ 
 cn g 
 
 . an 
 
 C-3 
 
 cn 3? 
 
 r 
 I 
 
 U) 
 
 u 
 
 -J 
 
 Ji 
 a 
 
 □ 
 1 
 
 u 
 ~j 
 -J 
 
 a-: 
 
 Cn S 
 
 en 
 
 OS S 
 
 cn jJ3 
 
 cn 35 
 
 1 < — 5 
 
 cn ^ 
 cn " 
 
 _ 
 
 ccn -T.' 
 
 CO ^ 
 
 cn '4- 
 cn 5 
 cn Z 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 ENDOWED BY THE 
 DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC 
 SOCIETIES 
 
 PR5842 
 .W8 
 7 
 1890 
 
This book is due at the WALTER R. DAVIS LIBRARY on 
 
 the last date stamped under "Date Due." If not on hold, it may 
 
 be renewed by bringing it to the library. 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 RETURNED 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 RETURNED 
 
 
 ww 
 
 
 
 -* 
 
 FEB 01 2ff 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 FORM NO 513, 
 REV. 1/84 
 
 
 
 
Digitized by 
 
 the Internet 
 
 Archive 
 
 
 
 in 2013 
 
 
 
 
 http://archive.org/details/orvillecollegeOOwood 
 
ORVILLE COLLEGE, 
 
7 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 ft tT ale. 
 
 liY 
 
 MRS. HENRY WOOD, 
 
 AUTHOR QV 
 
 "EAST LYNNE," 44 THE CHAN3INGS," 4 ' JOHNNY LUDLOW," ETC. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 RICHARD BENT L E Y AND SON, 
 puWMjrrs in ©r&mars to Jjcr fKajestg tfje ©mm, 
 
 1890. 
 
 (All rights reserved,) 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 , «o« . 
 
 CHAPTER t»AGR 
 
 I. In the Plantation ... ... ... 1 
 
 II. The New Boy ... 22 
 
 III. Sir Simon Orville ... ... ... 43 
 
 IV. Sir Simon's Reward ... ... ... 02 
 
 V. Mother Butter's Lodgings ... ... 80 
 
 VI. Mr. Gall Abroad ... ... ... 98 
 
 VII. Mr. Lamb improves his Mind ... ... 121 
 
 VIII. A Loss ... ... ... ... HO 
 
 IX. Christmas-Day ... ... ... 157 
 
 X. Miss Rose's Love-Letters ... ... 175 
 
 XL A Fainting-Fit ... ... ... ... 194 
 
 XII. In Oxford Street ... ... ... 208 
 
 XIII. Cross-Purposes ... ... ... ... 228 
 
 XIV. Across the Water ... .... ... 242 
 
 XV. Dick's Rescue ... ... ... ... 207 
 
 XVI. The Duel 284 
 
 XVII. Mr. Leek in Convulsions... ... ... 303 
 
 XVIII. Told at Last ... ... ... 324 
 
 > 
 
VI 
 V 1 
 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Sir Simon's Visitor 
 
 e • i • 
 
 .. 342 
 
 XX. 
 
 Mil Trace explains ... 
 
 ft t • ■ 
 
 361. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 The Outbreak 
 
 * • " • 
 
 .. 382 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Before the Examiners 
 
 
 409 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Falling from a Pinnacle 
 
 > • • • 
 
 .. 12 1 
 
 "V * A r TXT 
 
 XXIN . 
 
 In the Quadrangle ... 
 
 * • *•! 
 
 I Kj 
 
 XXV. 
 
 At Peace 
 
 t t • • 
 
 4d3 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 The End 
 
 t t t • • 
 
 462 
 
 » 
 
ORVILLE COLLEGE, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IN THE PLANTATION. 
 
 The sunset of a September evening was shining 
 on the fair grounds around Orville College, light- 
 ing up the scene of stir and bustle invariably pre- 
 sented on the return of the boys to their studies 
 after the periodical holidays. A large, comfortable- 
 looking, and very irregular building was this 
 college. Only a moderately sized house originally, 
 it had been added to here and enlarged there at 
 different times, as necessity required ; with regard 
 to convenience only, not to uniformity of architec- 
 ture. The whole was of red brick, saving the 
 little chapel jutting out at one end ; that was of 
 white brick, with black divisional strokes, as if 
 the architect had wished to make some distinc- 
 tion by way of reverence. The head -master's 
 house faced the lawn and the wide gravel 
 
 Orville College. 1 
 
2 
 
 OKVILLE COLLEGE, 
 
 carriage-drive that encircled it ; the school apart- 
 ments, ending in the chapel, were built on the 
 left ; the sleeping-rooms and domestic offices 
 were on the right. It was only a private college 
 — in fact, a school — founded many years ago by 
 a Dr. Orville, and called after him; but it 
 gradually became renowned in the world, and 
 was now of the very first order of private 
 colleges. 
 
 Situated near London, in one of the large and 
 unoccupied tracts of land lying between the north 
 and the west districts, nothing could be seen near 
 it but green fields when the college was first 
 erected. It was still in a degree isolated, but time 
 had wrought its natural changes ; a few gentle- 
 men's houses had grown up around, and a colony 
 of small shops came with them. The last 
 improvement, or innovation, whichever you 
 like to call it, had been a little brick railway- 
 station. The rushing trains, which seemed to be 
 always passing, would occasionally condescend 
 to halt, and pick up or set clown the Orville 
 travellers. In want of a name, when the houses 
 spoken of began to spring up, it had called itself 
 Orville Green — as good a name for the little 
 suburb as any other. 
 
 Dr. Brabazon, the head-master, stood at the 
 
IN THE PLANTATION. 
 
 3 
 
 door to receive his guests. It would have been 
 more consistent possibly with the reserve and 
 dignity of a head-master, to have ensconced 
 himself in a state chair within the walls of his 
 drawing-room or library, and given the boys a 
 gracious bow as each introduced himself. Not so 
 the doctor. He was the most simple-mannered 
 man in the world — as these large-hearted and 
 large-minded men are apt to be — and he stood 
 at the hall-door, or went to it continually, with 
 a hearty smile and outstretched hands for each 
 fresh arrival. A portly, genial man, of nearly 
 sixty years, with an upright line of secret care 
 on his brow that sat ill upon it, as if it had 
 no business there. 
 
 The boys on this occasion came up, as usual, 
 to the front, or doctor's entrance ; not to their 
 own entrance near the chapel. The number of 
 students altogether did not exceed a hundred. 
 About forty of these were resident at the head- 
 masters ; the rest — or nearly all of them — were 
 accommodated at the houses of the masters, and 
 a very few — eight or ten at the most — attended 
 as outdoor pupils, their friends living at hand. 
 No difference whatever was made in the educa- 
 tion, but these last were somewhat looked down 
 upon by the rest of the boys. They arrived 
 
4 OEVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 in various ways : some driven from town in their 
 fathers' handsome carriages, some in cabs ; some 
 used the new rail and walked from it, some had 
 come by omnibus. Dr. Brabazon received all 
 alike, with the same genial smile, the same 
 cordial grasp of the hand. He liked all to make 
 their appearance on the eve of school, that the 
 roll might be written and called : the actual 
 business beginning on the morrow. 
 
 A pair of beautiful long-tailed ponies, drawing 
 a low four-wheeled open 'carriage, came round 
 the gravel sweep with a quiet dash. The 
 driver was a well-grown youth, who had entered 
 his eighteenth year. He had high, prominent 
 features of an aquiline cast, and large sleepy 
 blue eyes : a handsome face, certainly, but spoilt 
 by its look of pride. His attention during his 
 short drive — for they had not come far — had 
 been absorbed by his ponies and by his own self- 
 importance as he drove them. It was one of 
 the senior boys ; Albert Loftus. By his side sat 
 another of the seniors, a cousin, Raymond Trace, 
 a quiet-looking youth of- no particular complexion, 
 and his light eyes rather sunk in his head ; eyes 
 that he had a habit of screwing together when 
 at his studies. He had been reading a book all 
 the way, never once looking up at his cousin, or 
 
IN THE PLANTATION. 
 
 5 
 
 the road, or the ponies, and answering in civil 
 monosyllables when spoken to. 
 
 Behind sat another and younger college boy, 
 Master Dick Loftus. Master Dick possessed very 
 little pride indeed, and was a contrast to his 
 brother. He had amused himself, coming along, 
 with a pea-shooter, and had hung out a flag be- 
 hind — the driver and Mr. Trace being in happy 
 ignorance of these exhibitions. A groom in plain 
 livery, very nearly exploding with suppressed 
 laughter, made the fourth in the pretty carriage. 
 
 " Well, Loftus, I'm very glad to see you : you're 
 rather late, though, considering you are so near," 
 was the doctor's greeting. " How are you, Trace? 
 Dick, you rebel, I hope we shall have no trouble 
 this term." 
 
 The doctor laughed as he said it. Dick, a red- 
 faced, good-humoured boy, met the hand and 
 laugh readily. He knew that, with all his 
 faults, he was a favourite. 
 
 " Sir Simon's compliments, sir, and he will do 
 himself the pleasure of calling shortly," said Mr. 
 Loftus. " Dick, take those things away." 
 
 Mr. Loftus had slightly altered the phrase- 
 ology of the message : " My respects to Dr. Braba- 
 zon, and I'll give him a look-in soon," was the one 
 Bent. The groom had been depositing a few 
 
6 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 things on the ground, and Dick was loading 
 himself, when a close carriage drove in. A lady- 
 sat within it in solitary state, and a young 
 gentleman sat on the roof backwards. 
 " Halloa ! It's Onions ! " 
 
 The remark came from Master Dick Loftus. 
 He summarily dropped the things, went out, and 
 began a dance in honour of the new arrival. 
 Loftus the elder seized a square parcel done up in 
 brown paper, and disappeared, leaving the other 
 things to their fate. " Onions" got down by the 
 chariot-wheel, and shook hands with Dick. 
 
 They called him Onions as a sort of parody on 
 his name " Leek." The college was in the habit 
 of bestowing these nicknames. Joseph Leek, at 
 any rate, did not mind it, whatever others, thus 
 distinguished, might do, and would as soon be 
 called Onions as Leek, at any time. Nothing 
 upset his temper or his equanimity. He was one 
 of the coolest boys that ever entered a school, 
 and was a universal favourite. His father, 
 General Leek, was in India ; his mother, Lady 
 Sophia, whom Dr. Brabazon was now assisting 
 from the carriage, was an invalid in the matter 
 of nerves, and always thankful to get the boy to 
 school again the first day of term. 
 
 The pony-carriage drove off ; Lady Sophia 
 
IN THE PLANTATION. 
 
 7 
 
 Leek's carriage was not long in following ; other 
 carriages, and cabs, and flies came and went ; and 
 then there was a lull in the arrivals. Dr. Braba- 
 zon was standing at his drawing-room window 
 (a pretty room on the right of the hall), and was 
 trying to call to mind how many were still 
 absent, when he saw some one else approaching, 
 a small black travelling-bag in one hand, and 
 dressed from head to foot in a suit of grey. 
 
 11 Who's this ? " cried he to himself. " It looks 
 too tall for Gall." 
 
 Too tall certainly for Mr. Gall, who, though the 
 senior boy of the college, was undersized. And 
 too old also. This gentleman looked two or 
 three-and-twenty ; a slender man of middle 
 height, with pale, delicate features, and a sad 
 sort of look in his pleasant dark eyes. 
 
 " It must be the new German master," thought 
 Dr. Brabazon, and he hurried out to meet him. 
 
 The new German master it was, Mr. Henry. 
 There was a peculiar kind of timid reticence in 
 his manner which seemed foreign to him, for 
 his face was a candid, open face, and his voice 
 was frank. Dr. Brabazon put it down to the 
 natural shyness of one who has resided abroad. 
 Mr. Henry, of English birth, had been chiefly 
 educated in Germany. He spoke German as a 
 
8 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 native, Frencli also : for some few years he had 
 been a professor at the University of Heidelberg, 
 and had come from there now, strongly recom- 
 mended to Dr. Brabazon. 
 
 " I am very glad to see you," said the doctor, 
 taking his hand in his simple, cordial manner. 
 " Welcome to England ! I have been expecting 
 you since the morning." 
 
 " We had a bad passage, sir ; the boat was 
 many hours late. It was due at ten this morn- 
 ing, and we only got in an hour or two ago." 
 
 The words were spoken without any foreign 
 accent. Not only that : the tone was particularly 
 refined. The fact gave satisfaction to Dr. Bra- 
 bazon, who liked his pupils to be surrounded by 
 good associations in all ways. 
 
 " Will you kindly tell me where I am to 
 lodge ? " 
 
 "Here, for a few days," said Dr. Brabazon. 
 " As you were so complete a stranger, we thought 
 you might best like to choose, yourself, your own 
 lodgings. It is some years since you were in 
 England, I think ? " 
 
 " Nine years, sir." 
 
 " Nine years ! Dear me ! You have not 
 many friends, then, I conclude, in your own 
 country ? * 
 
IN THE PLANTATION. 
 
 9 
 
 Mr. Henry shook his head. " Few men are 
 much more friendless than I am." 
 
 And the accent sounded friendless. There was 
 something singularly attractive about this young 
 man, in his gentle manner, his sensitive shyness 
 (for so it seemed), his sad, earnest brown eyes : 
 and Dr. Brabazon's heart went out to him. 
 
 " You shall be shown your room, Mr. Henry," 
 he said, " and then my daughter will give you 
 some tea." 
 
 Later, Dr. Brabazon took him through the 
 passages, on either side of which were rooms 
 appropriated to particular studies, to the lofty 
 hall, which was the principal schoolroom. A 
 long room, with high windows on one side of it ; 
 the masters' desks in the angles of the room, and 
 the long desks of the boys ranged against the 
 sides. Dr. Brabazon's place was at the upper 
 end, in the centre, facing the door, so that he 
 commanded full view of all. Three masters lived 
 in the house ; the Beverend Mr. Jebb ; Mr. Baker, 
 the mathematical master ; and Mr. Long, who took 
 English generally, some of the natural sciences, 
 and was supposed to superintend the boys out of 
 hours. Mr. Jebb assisted Dr. Brabazon with the 
 classics, and the latter took divinity. The other 
 masters lived out. Dr. Brabazon introduced Mr, 
 
10 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Henry to the clergyman and Mr. Long, and left 
 him. Mr. Baker was not there. 
 
 The boys were renewing private friendships, 
 telling tales of their holidays, hatching mischief 
 for the coming term, criticizing a few new-comers, 
 and making a continuous hum. Their ages 
 varied from ten to eighteen. On the whole, they 
 seemed rather a superior set ; for one thing, the 
 terms were high, and that helped to keep the 
 school select. 
 
 A sudden " Hiss-is-s," from the lips of Master 
 Richard Loftus — or, as he was called in the 
 school, Loftus minor — suppressed almost before 
 it was heard, caused the group, of whom he was 
 the centre, to look round. 
 
 " What is it, Dick ? " 
 
 " Don't you see ? " whispered Dick. " A nice 
 amount of brass he must have to show himself 
 here again! Look at him, Onions; he looks 
 more of a sneak than ever." 
 
 Onions lifted his eyebrows in his cool, but not 
 ill-natured manner, as he surveyed the boy 
 coming in. It was Edwin Lamb. His hair was 
 a fiery reel, and his eyes were not straight ; not 
 for that did the boys dislike him, but because he 
 had been found out in one or two dishonourable 
 falsehoods (they brought it out, " lies "), and was 
 
IN THE PLANTATION. 11 
 
 more than suspected of carrying private tales to 
 Mr. Long. They called him " Le Mouton," " The 
 Sneak/' "Jackal;" in short, there was a great 
 amount of prejudice against him, more, perhaps, 
 than the boy really deserved. 
 
 "Don't let a fellow speak to him! Don't 
 let's " 
 
 "Hold your tongue, Loftus minor. Allow 
 bygones to be bygones. Time enough to turn 
 against Lamb when you find fresh cause." 
 
 The rebuke, spoken civilly, came from Ray- 
 mond Trace, who happened to overhear, and who 
 never willingly offended any one. Not that Trace 
 was a favourite in the college; none of them 
 liked him much, without being able to explain 
 why. Dick Loftus turned with a quick, scared 
 look, wondering whether Mr. Trace had also 
 overheard a private colloquy he had been hold- 
 ing with a chosen companion, Tom Smart. He 
 did not answer Trace; as a rule, the younger 
 fellows had to obey the seniors. 
 
 At the sound of a bell, they began to hurry 
 into a small place, called the robing closet, where 
 their caps and gowns were kept. Putting on 
 the gowns, and carrying the caps in their hands, 
 they went to the call-room, waiting there to be 
 marshalled into chapel. The caps, or trenchers, 
 
12 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 were always used ; the gowns were worn in 
 cliapel and on what might be called state occa- 
 sions, such as the examinations, also at lectures ; 
 sometimes they wore them out-of-doors, but not 
 ordinarily in school, nor when they were at play. 
 The masters' gowns, worn always in public, were 
 of the same make as the boys' ; the caps were all 
 alike in form, but the masters' were distinguished 
 by a scarlet tassel in addition to the black one. 
 
 It was a small pretty chapel, the size of an 
 ordinary room, the lectern slightly raised, and a 
 standing desk for the lessons. The senior boys, 
 meaning those of the first desk, read the lessons 
 in turn. Part of the service was intoned, part 
 read, part sung. Mr. Long, a good musician, 
 took the organ to-night, and Dr. Brabazon, as 
 usual, was in the reading-desk. Mr. Loftus, as 
 first senior present, left his place to read the first 
 lesson. He read very well ; clearly and dis- 
 tinctly, though somewhat coldly. Raymond 
 Trace read the second lesson. His voice was 
 subdued ; its accent to some ears almost offen- 
 sively humble — offensive because there was a 
 ring in it of affected piety that could never be 
 genuine. No such voice as that, no such as- 
 sumption of humility, ever yet proceeded from 
 a truly honest nature. 
 
IN THE PLANTATION. 
 
 13 
 
 " That young man is a hypocrite ! " involun- 
 tarily thought the new master, Mr. Henry. 
 u Heaven forgive me ! " he added, a moment 
 after ; " what am I, that I should judge another ? " 
 
 He did not know the name of the reader ; he 
 did not yet know the name of any one of the 
 boys surrounding him ; but he had been studying 
 their faces, as it was natural he should do, con- 
 sidering that he had come to live amongst them. 
 Instinct led Mr. Henry to study the human 
 countenance — to be studying it always, uncon- 
 sciously ; and it rarely deceived him. 
 
 On ordinary evenings, supper was served 
 immediately after chapel, but on this, when 
 neither things nor scholars had shaken down 
 into their routine, there appeared no sign of its 
 being ready. Several of the fellows were still 
 expected, and the discipline, obtaining generally, 
 had not commenced. Two of them, at any rate, 
 took some undue advantage of it. Going out 
 after chapel was against the rules ; perhaps 
 Master Dick Loftus considered he might, on this 
 night, break it with impunity. 
 
 Hanging up his gown in its place, he went 
 stealing along the passages again towards the 
 chapel, carrying a brown-paper parcel, which he 
 tried to cover with his trencher, lest curious 
 
14 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 eyes might be about. His friend Smart went 
 stealing after him, and they turned off through 
 a door into an open quadrangle ; on three sides 
 of which ran a covered gallery or passage, with a 
 brick floor and Gothic pillars, called the cloisters ; 
 on the fourth side were the great gates that 
 formed the scholars' entrance. A truck of luggage 
 was coming in from the railway-station ; Dick 
 and the other slipped past it. 
 
 Now what had these two got in that parcel, 
 guarded with so much care ? Mischief, you may 
 be sure. It was the parcel that Loftus major 
 had picked up on his arrival, and taken off to 
 his room, and it contained nothing less than a 
 pair of pistols. Mr. Loftus had recently purchased 
 these pistols ; he thought their acquisition one 
 of the greatest feathers his cap could display, 
 and had not resisted the temptation to take 
 them with him to show to his companions. Of 
 course some secrecy had to be observed, for Dr. 
 Brabazon would as soon have allowed him to 
 bring a live bear into the college, and the case 
 they lay in had been well wrapped in wadding 
 and otherwise disguised. Loftus minor, Master 
 Dick, who was burning to finger these pistols, 
 and had not yet obtained the ghost of a chance 
 to do it, thought he saw it on this evening. He 
 
IN THE PLANTATION. 
 
 15 
 
 found out where his brother had placed them, 
 brought them down, hid them whilst he went 
 into chapel, made a confidant of Smart, and the 
 two stole out with them. They had no particular 
 motive in taking the pistols out, except that 
 there was little opportunity for a private leisurely 
 view indoors. 
 
 Crossing the wide road, they plunged into 
 what was called the plantation, a large plot of 
 ground intersected by young trees; or, rather, 
 trees that had been young, for they were grow- 
 ing to a sheltering size now. A cricket-field lay 
 to the left, beyond the end chapel window; the 
 station was in the distance, houses were dotted 
 about; none, however, in the immediate vicinity. 
 It was a moonlight night; and the boys chose 
 an open place amidst the trees, where there was 
 a bench and the moonbeams were bright ; there 
 they undid the parcel, and touched the spring of 
 the box. 
 
 Bright beams beyond doubt ; but not so bright 
 to the four admiring eyes as the pistol barrels. 
 Never had such pistols been seen, although 
 Loftus major— as Master Dick communicated in 
 open-hearted confidence — had only given an old 
 song for them at some pawnbroker's. They 
 lifted, they touched, they stroked, they cocked, 
 
16 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 they took aim. The caps were on ; and it was 
 only by an amount of incomprehensible self- 
 denial, that they did not fire. But that might 
 have betrayed all; and Dick Loftus, though 
 daring a great deal in a harmless sort of w r ay, 
 did not dare that. Dick fenced with the one, 
 Smart with the other ; they were like a couple 
 of little children, playing with sham swords. 
 
 All in a moment, Dick caught sight of a 
 trencher, poking itself gingerly through the 
 trees, and regarding them. A master's trencher, 
 too, for the two tassels, one over the other, were 
 distinctly visible. With a smothered cry of 
 warning to his companion, Dick vanished, carry- 
 ing his pistol with him. Smart, nearly beside 
 himself with terror when he comprehended the 
 situation, vanished in Dick's wake, but in his 
 confusion he dropped his pistol into the sheet of 
 wadding on the bench. 
 
 The coast clear, the spy (an unintentional spy, 
 it must be confessed) came forward. It was not 
 a master ; it was one of the boys, who, in 
 coming out, had unwittingly caught up a 
 master's trencher in mistake for his own. He 
 took up the pistol and examined it — he turned 
 over the wadding, on which it lay, and the 
 brown paper, and the case ; scrutinizing all care- 
 
IN THE PLANTATION. 
 
 17 
 
 fully in the moonlight, and coming on a written 
 direction at last. 
 
 " Oh, indeed ! * Albert Loftus, Esquire ! ' What 
 does he want with pistols ? Is he thinking to 
 shoot any one of the fellows ? And Mr. Dick 
 has stolen a march on him, and brought them 
 out, has he ? " 
 
 He took up the pistol, looked at it again, 
 held it for a minute critically before him, taking 
 aim, and fired it off. The answer to it was a 
 human cry and a fall ; the charge, shot or bullet, 
 whichever it might be, had taken effect on some 
 one only a few paces off. The culprit remained 
 perfectly still for one minute ; possibly scared at 
 what he had done ; he then quietly put the 
 pistol on the case, crept off on tiptoe amidst the 
 trees, and — came face to face with the new 
 master, Mr. Henry. 
 
 Mr. Henry was on his road to the station to 
 order his luggage to the college. He had left 
 it on his arrival, not knowing where he was to 
 lodge. Dr. Brabazon had offered to send a 
 servant, but Mr. Henry coveted the walk in the 
 cool, lovely night; he and his head were alike 
 feverish from the effects of the sea-voyage; so 
 they directed him through the plantation, as the 
 nearest way. 
 
 Orville College. 2 
 
18 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Face to face. But only one glimpse did Mr. 
 Henry catch of the boy's face, for a hand was 
 suddenly raised to cover it, even while he took 
 flight. A moan or two, and then a shout for 
 assistance— as if the sufferer, on second thoughts, 
 deemed it would be better to shout than to 
 groan, guided Mr. Henry to the spot. He was 
 lying close by, in a path of the plantation, a boy 
 of some sixteen years, whose trencher showed 
 that he belonged to Orville College. 
 
 rt Who is it ? " asked Mr. Henry. 
 
 " Talbot," shortly answered the boy. " I say, 
 though, who are you ? How came you to shoot 
 me?" . 
 
 " It was not I who did it. I heard the shot 
 as I came up. Where are yoxi hurt ? " 
 
 " In my leg, I think. I can't move it. I only 
 got in by this train, for I missed the one in the 
 afternoon, and was running through here, full 
 pelt, when some one takes a shot at me! Cool, 
 I must say ! " 
 
 The master raised him, but the right leg 
 seemed almost helpless, so he laid him down 
 again, and ran to the college for assistance. But 
 as he was turning away, the white wadding on 
 the bench caught his eye, and he found the pistol 
 and its accessories. These he carried with him. 
 
IN THE PLANTATION. 
 
 19 
 
 Dick Loftus, hiding in the distant trees, could 
 bear the suspense no longer. Something was 
 wrong ; some untoward event had occurred ; and 
 he came forward in disregard of Smart's prayers 
 and entreaties. Dick was of an open honourable 
 nature, in spite of his pursuit of mischief and his 
 impulsive thoughtlessness : he never hesitated to 
 take his escapades on himself, when real necessity 
 arose. 
 
 I'm blest ! Why, it's the earl, Smart I " he 
 shouted out. " It's the Earl of Shrewsbury." 
 
 " Is that you, Dick ? " exclaimed the wounded 
 boy, looking up as Dick bent over him in the 
 moonlight. "Did you do it ? " 
 
 <( No, I didn't," said Dick. " I say, old fellow, 
 is it much ? I wish his pistols had been buried 
 before I'd brought 'em out ! " 
 
 "How was it all? Whose are the pistols?" 
 questioned Talbot. And Mr. Dick, in an ecstasy 
 of contrition, but vowing vengeance against the 
 shooter, whoever it might be, entered on his ex- 
 planation. To do him justice, he gave it without 
 the least reserve. And Tom Smart, who was 
 skivering amidst the trees, daring to stir neither 
 one way nor the other, lest he should be seen, 
 and who had not heard the salutation, wondered 
 whether Dick would keep his word, and not 
 
20 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 mention his name in connection with the 
 calamity. 
 
 A commotion arose in the college when Mr. 
 Henry returned with the news. One of the 
 gentlemen had been shot in the plantation ! — 
 shot by a fellow-student ! It was incredible. 
 Mr. Henry quietly gave Dr. Brabazon an account 
 of the whole, as far as he was cognizant of it : 
 how that he had heard a shot quite close to him, 
 followed by a cry, and had caught a glimpse of 
 a youth stealing away. He gave no clue as to 
 who it was, apparently did not know, and of 
 course could not know that it was he who fired ; 
 he recognized him as belonging to Orville College 
 by the cap. It was only a hurried explanation ; 
 there was no time to waste in question and 
 answer ; Talbot must be seen to. 
 
 He was brought in on a hurdle, and a surgeon 
 was summoned. On the first day of this boy's 
 entrance at the college, when Dr. Brabazon, the 
 roll before him, asked his name, the answer 
 was, " James Talbot." " James Talbot, Earl of 
 Shrewsbury ? " jokingly responded the doctor, in 
 allusion to one noted in English history; and 
 from that hour Talbot had gone by no other 
 name in the school. Of a good-natured, generous 
 disposition, he was ever ready to do a kindly 
 
IN THE PLANTATION. 21 
 
 action, and was liked immensely. Not that he 
 had much to be generous with ; his father was a 
 banker's clerk, very poor, struggling with life, 
 and pinching hims'elf in all ways to keep his son 
 at Orville College. 
 
 Not during the first confusion did a suspicion 
 that the offending pistol could have any con- 
 nection with a certain brown-paper parcel up- 
 stairs, penetrate to the brain of Loftus major : 
 not until Dick's name rose into prominence. Up 
 to his room stepped Mr. Loftus, three stairs at a 
 stride, pulled open a drawer, tried to lay his 
 hands upon the parcel, and — found it was not 
 there. He could not believe his own eyes; he 
 stared, he felt, he stood in bewilderment. Meddle 
 with his things ! that wretched Dick, who was 
 nearly three years his junior, and held at arm's- 
 length accordingly ! — with his new pistols, that 
 were only bought en cachette! When Loftus 
 major recovered his equanimity sufficiently to 
 think, he came to the conclusion that hanging 
 would be too good for Dick. 
 
22 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE NEW BOY. 
 
 The Reverend Mr. Jebb and the new German 
 master stood over the bed of James Talbot. The 
 surgeon had arrived, extracted the shots from the 
 leg, and pronounced the injury not to be material. 
 Talbot must be kept quiet, he said, both in mind 
 and body. 
 
 "It's a very strange affair," murmured the 
 clergyman in Mr. Henry's ear. " Dr. Brabazon's 
 opinion is, that it must have been Lof tus minor, 
 after all, who fired off the pistol." 
 
 "It never was, then," unceremoniously spoke 
 up the patient. " When Dick Loftus says he. 
 didn't do a thing, I know he didn't!' 
 
 " You are not to talk, Talbot," interrupted Mr. 
 Jebb: and Mr. Henry began to ask who Loftus was. 
 
 " He is brother to the second senior of the 
 school," was the clergyman's reply. " You may 
 have remarked Loftus major in chapel, from the 
 circumstance that he read the lesson." 
 
THE NEW BOY. 
 
 23 
 
 " Which of the lessons ? I noticed the readers 
 
 • .j 
 
 of both." . . 
 
 "The first lesson. The second was read by 
 Trace." 
 
 " Trace ? " echoed Mr. Henry. 
 
 "You are thinking it an uncommon name. 
 Kaymond Trace; he is cousin to the Loftus boys. 
 There's quite a romance attaching to their his- 
 tory," proceeded the clergyman, who was a bit of 
 a gossip, and he dropped his voice as he spoke. 
 " The two fathers were in partnership in Liver- 
 pool, stock and share brokers, quite a first-class 
 house, and much respected. Unfortunately they 
 took in a partner, and before two years were over 
 he ruined them. He issued false shares, put 
 forged bills in circulation — I hardly know what 
 he did not do. They were quite ruined; at 
 least it was ruin compared with what their 
 former wealth had been. The house was broken 
 up ; Mr. Loftus retired to the Isle of Wight ; he 
 had lived there previously, never having taken a 
 very practical part in the business; and Mr. 
 Trace went abroad, hoping to carve out another 
 fortune. I hear he is doing it." 
 
 "And these are the sons ? " observed the Ger- 
 man master, after a pause. 
 
 "These are the sons. Mr. Loftus has' several 
 
24 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 children. Mr. Trace only this one. Mrs. Loftus 
 and Mrs. Trace were sisters. Their brother, Sir 
 Simon Orville, a retired city man, lives here close 
 to the college ; he is some distant relative of its 
 founder. The three boys were placed at it two 
 years ago, and it is thought Sir Simon pays for 
 them. They spend their vacations generally at 
 his house : Trace, at least, always does. He has 
 no other home in England : Mrs. Trace is dead." 
 
 The injured boy stirred uneasily, and Mr. 
 Henry turned and hastened to him. "Do you 
 feel much pain ? " he kindly asked. 
 
 " Eather sharpish," was the answer. " I say, 
 sir, you — you don't think I shall die ? " and the 
 bright brown eyes looked wistfully up at the 
 master's, as the sudden question was whispered. 
 " It's my mother I am thinking of," added Talbot, 
 by way of excuse. 
 
 " So far as I believe, there's no danger," replied 
 Mr. Henry, bending down and pushing the hair 
 from his hot brow. "Only put yourself trust- 
 fully into God's care, my boy — have you learnt 
 to do it ? — and rely upon it, all will be for the 
 best." 
 
 Miss Brabazon and a nurse came into the room 
 and the gentlemen rose to leave it. Talbot put 
 out his hand and detained Mr. Jebb. 
 
THE NEW BOY, 
 
 25 
 
 " I say, sir, who is that ? " 
 
 * The new foreign master. Do j'ou keep your- 
 self tranquil, Talbot." 
 
 With the morning came the discipline of school 
 rules. Talbot was going on quite favourably, 
 and all outw r ard excitement had subsided. The 
 breakfast hour was half-past seven ; from eight 
 to a quarter-past the pupils from the masters' 
 houses arrived, also those who lived altogether 
 out of bounds, with their friends or in lodgings ; 
 slightingly called by the college, these latter, 
 " outsiders/' During this quarter-of-an-hour 
 the roll was called, and the boys did what they 
 pleased ; it was recreation with them : at a 
 quarter-past eight the chapel-bell called all to 
 service. 
 
 The boys stood in groups this morning in the 
 quadrangle, not availing themselves of their 
 liberty to be noisy during this quarter-of-an- 
 hour, but discussing in undertones the startling 
 events of the previous night. Dick Loftus had 
 openly avowed the whole ; and somebody, not 
 Dick, had contrived to betray Mr. Smart's share 
 in it. Dick protested that whoever had peered 
 at them was a master; he judged by the cap. 
 It appeared equally certain that it could not 
 have been a master : the only masters arrived 
 
26 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 were Mr. Jebb and Mr. Long, and they, at this 
 very self-same hour, had been with Dr. Brabazon 
 in his private study. But it was easy for any 
 one of the senior boys to have taken up a master's 
 trencher by mistake, or to have gone out in it 
 wilfully to mislead. Had the boy, whoever it 
 was, purposely shot Talbot ? The opinion, re- 
 jected at first, was gaining ground now ; led to, 
 possibly, by the appropriation of the masters 
 cap : altogether it was a very unpleasant affair, 
 enshrouded in mystery. 
 
 William Gall was there this morning, the 
 senior of the school ; a short, slight young man, 
 the age of Loftus major, with an undoubtedly 
 ugly face, but an honest one, and dark hair. 
 There was not much good feeling existing be- 
 tween Gall and Loftus, as was well known, but 
 it had never broken into an open explosion. 
 Gall despised Loftus for his pride and his fop- 
 peries, his assumption of superiority and con- 
 descension ; and Loftus looked down on Gall and 
 his family as vulgar city people. The Galls 
 lived at Orville Green, but the son was an in- 
 door scholar. Mr. Gall was in some mysterious 
 trade that had to do with tallow ; there was 
 plenty of money ; but Loftus thought, on the 
 . whole, that it was out of the right order of things 
 
THE NEW BOY. 27 
 
 for the son of a tallow-man to be head of the 
 college and senior over him. 
 
 Three or four new scholars came straggling in 
 during this quarter-of-an-hour, and they attracted 
 the usual amount of attention and quizzing. One 
 of them was a tall, agile, upright boy of sixteen 
 or more, with a handsome, open countenance 
 dark chestnut hair, and bright grey eyes. He 
 stood looking about, as if uncertain where to go. 
 Mr. Long went up to him. 
 
 " Are you belonging to the college ? — a new 
 student ? " 
 • "Yes." 
 
 t( If you pass through that side of the cloisters, 
 and turn to the left, you will find the call-room. 
 Mr. Baker is there with the roll, inscribing the 
 new names as they come in, and he will add 
 yours. What is your name ? n 
 
 " Paradyne." 
 
 There was a free, frank sound in the voice, 
 though the words spoken had been only two ; 
 and the boy lifted his hat (he would not get his 
 cap and gown for a day or two) with somewhat 
 of foreign courtesy as he turned away to the 
 cloister. Mr. Henry, who had heard the name, 
 hastened after him and overtook him in the 
 cloister passage. 
 
28 OEVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " You are George Paradyne ? " 
 
 " Yes. And you are " 
 
 " Mr. Henry/' 
 
 Their hands were locked together ; they gazed 
 into each other's faces. " I don't think I should 
 have known you/' said the boy. 
 
 " No ? I should have known you any- 
 where. It is the same face, not changed; but 
 you have grown from a little boy into a big 
 one." 
 
 " Your face is changed. It is thinner and 
 paler, and— somehow " 
 
 " Well ? " said Mr. Henry, for the sentence had 
 come to a pause midway, " speak out." 
 
 " It's a sadder sort of face than it used to be. 
 Are you quite well ? " 
 
 " Yes, I am well. I don't know that I am 
 strong. Good-bye for the present," hastily added 
 Mr. Henry; "Mr. Long has told you where 
 to go." 
 
 The boy continued his way up the cloister, and 
 another ran up to Mr. Henry— a second-desk boy 
 named Powell. 
 
 " I say, sir, do you know that new fellow ? " 
 
 "I used to know him," replied Mr. Henry, 
 " but I have not seen him for several years." 
 
 "Lamb says he thinks he is an outsider. I 
 
THE NEW BOY. 29 
 
 like his look. Where did you know him, Mr. 
 Henry ? " 
 
 " At Heidelberg University. He was a young 
 pupil there, when I was a junior master." 
 
 Mr. Powell's face grew considerably longer. 
 " At Heidelberg University ! Does he speak 
 German ? " 
 
 " He used to speak it perfectly. I dare say he 
 does still." 
 
 "That's blue, though," was the rejoinder. 
 " I'm going in for the German prize, but who can 
 stand against a fellow who has been in Germany ? 
 He's sure to be at our desk. What's his name, 
 sir ? " • : 
 
 "You will learn it in good time, no doubt," 
 called back Mr, Henry, who was hastening away 
 as if he were in a hurry. And Mr. Powell 
 vaulted over the open cloister wall into the quad- 
 rangle, which was against rules. 
 
 A few moments and the chapel-bell rang out. 
 The boys got their caps and gowns and went into 
 the call-room. Dr. Brabazon came up in his 
 surplice and hood, and they followed him into 
 chapel. 
 
 Possibly it was because Mr. Trace had no duty 
 to perform — for Gall and Loftus read the lessons 
 — that his sight regaled itself with scanning the 
 
30 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 new scholars. Not so much all of them, and 
 there were nine or ten, as one — George Paradyne. 
 It was not a stare ; Trace never stared ; his eyes 
 were drawn together so closely that even Para- 
 dyne himself could not have known he was 
 being* looked at ; nevertheless, so intent was 
 Trace's gaze, so absorbed was he in the new face, 
 that at the end of the Te Deam he quite forgot 
 to sit down, and remained standing, to the 
 amusement of his friends. 
 
 " I wonder if it is," spoke Trace to himself, as 
 they left the chapel. And he inquired of two or 
 three what that new fellow's name was, but 
 could not learn it. 
 
 r - He's some crony of the new master's,*' spoke 
 Powell; "I saw them shaking hands like mad. 
 It'll be an awful shame for him to be put in our 
 class, if he is up in German." 
 
 Trace had not waited to hear the conclusion ; 
 the boys were hastening to take their places in 
 school. On this morning, until their state of 
 advancement could be ascertained, the fresh boys 
 were ordered to a bench opposite the first desk. 
 Trace, who sat next to Loftus, directed his atten- 
 tion to this new boy. 
 
 " Do you recognize him, Bertie ? " he asked in 
 a whisper. 
 
THE NEW BOY. 
 
 31 
 
 " Recognize him ? no," drawled Mr. Loftus, as 
 if it were beneath him to recognize any new 
 fellow. And he could think of nothing but his 
 new pistols, which Dr. Brabazon had taken 
 possession of. 
 
 "Look at his face w T ell," continued Trace. 
 " Can you see no likeness to one you once 
 knew ? v 
 
 "Not I," and this time Mr. Loftus did not 
 speak until he had taken a good look at the boy. 
 " Don't know the face from Adam." 
 
 " Well, perhaps I am mistaken," mused Trace. 
 " It's a long time since I saw the other." 
 
 Nevertheless, in spite of this conclusion, Trace 
 could not keep his eyes from the face, and his 
 studies suffered. Dr. Brabazon examined the 
 new boy; he found him thoroughly well ad- 
 vanced, and a suspicion arose in the school that 
 he would be placed at the first desk. Loftus 
 heard some one say it, and elevated his eyebrows 
 in displeasure. When the school rose, Trace 
 went up to Mr. Baker. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir ; would you allow me 
 to look for one minute at the roll ? " 
 
 "At the roll?— what for?" returned Mr. 
 Baker, who was a little man with a bald 
 head. 
 
32 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " I think I know one of the new boys, sir. I 
 want to see his name." 
 
 There was no rule against showing the roll, 
 and Mr. Baker took it out of his desk. Trace 
 ran his finger down the new names — which were 
 entered at the end until their places should be 
 allotted — and it halted at one of them. 
 
 " George Paradyne ! " he mentally read. 
 " Thank you, sir," he said aloud, vrith the quiet 
 civility characteristic of him : and Mr. Baker 
 locked up the roll again. 
 
 For once in his college life, a burning spot of 
 emotion might have been seen on Raymond 
 Traces cheek. A foul injury, as he regarded it, 
 had been done to his family and fortune by the 
 father of George Paradyne ; and he deemed that 
 the son had no more right to be receiving his 
 education with honest men's sons, as their equal 
 and associate, than darkness has to be made 
 hail-fellow-well-met with light. Loftus was 
 leaning over the open Avail, his legs in the 
 cloisters, his head in the quadrangle, and his 
 arm round a huge pillar, ruminating bitterly on 
 the wrongs dealt out to himself, on Dicks 
 wickedness, and the ignominy of possessing 
 pistols which one can't get at, when Trace 
 reached him. 
 
THE NEW BOY. 
 
 33 
 
 " I thought I was not mistaken in the fellow, 
 Loftus. It is George Paradyne.'' 
 
 " Who ? " cried Loftus, starting round, aroused 
 by the name. 
 
 " George Paradyne : Paradyne's son." 
 
 " No ! Do you mean that fellow you asked 
 about ? It can't be." 
 
 "It is. I knew him, I tell you; and I've 
 been looking at the name on the roll. Your 
 memory must be a bad one, not to have recog- 
 nized the face also." 
 
 Loftus drew a deep breath, as if unable to 
 take in the full sense of the words. But he 
 never displayed much surprise at anything. 
 
 " I don't suppose I saw the fellow three times 
 in my life," he presently said. " We did not live 
 on the spot, as you did ; and it is so long ago." 
 
 " What's to be done ? He can't be allowed to 
 stay here." 
 
 Loftus shrugged his shoulders, French fashion, 
 having no answer at hand. "Brabazon is not 
 aware of who he is, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Impossible ; or he'd never have admitted 
 him. One can overlook some things in a fellow's 
 antecedents; but forgery — that's rather too 
 strong. If the rest of the college chooses to 
 tolerate him, you and I and Dick could not." 
 
 Orville College. 3 
 
34 ORVILLB COLLEGE. 
 
 Mr. Loftus threw up his nose condemningly at 
 the latter addition. Dick, indeed ! Dick seemed 
 to be going in for something too bad on his own 
 score, to be fastidious as to the society he kept. 
 
 " What's the matter ? " inquired one of the 
 first-class boys, Irby, coming up to them from 
 the middle of the quadrangle, and leaning his 
 arms on the cloister wail, to talk face to face. 
 
 " That new fellow, Paradyne — do you know 
 which he is ? " broke off Trace. 
 
 Irby nodded. " A good-looking chap, don't 
 you mean ? well up in his classics." 
 
 " Well up in them by the help of stolen money, 
 I suppose," spoke Trace, an angry light for a 
 moment gleaming in his eye. " You have heard 
 of that dreadful business of ours at Liverpool, 
 some four years ago, Irby, when Loftus and 
 Trace, the best and richest and most respected 
 firm in the town were ruined through a man 
 they had taken in as partner ? " 
 
 " I've heard something of it," said Irby, won- 
 dering. 
 
 "This new fellow, Paradyne, is the mans son." 
 
 Irby gave a low whistle. " Let's hear the 
 particulars, Trace." 
 
 And Trace proceeded to give them. Irby was 
 a great friend of his, and there were no other 
 
THE NEW BOY. 
 
 35 
 
 ears at hand. Loftus drew himself up against 
 the pillar ; and stood there with his arms folded, 
 listening in silence, all of them unconscious that 
 Mr. Henry was on the other side of the pillar, 
 taking a sketch of the quadrangle and the 
 chapel. 
 
 You heard something of the tale, reader, from 
 Mr. J ebb last night, and there's not much more 
 to be told. Trace, speaking quietly, as he always 
 did, enlarged upon the wrongs dealt out to his 
 father and Mr. Loftus by the man Paradyne. 
 It was the most miserable business that ever 
 came out to the world, he said, blighting all 
 their prospects for life ; never a rogue, so great, 
 went unhung. 
 
 " And he had only been with them a couple of 
 years," he wound up with ; " only a couple of 
 years ! The marvel was, that he could have 
 done so much mischief in so short a time " 
 
 " The marvel was, that he could have done it at 
 all without being detected/' interposed Loftus. 
 
 " Ay," corrected Trace ; " people could not 
 understand how he contrived to hoodwink my 
 father. But that came of over-confidence : he 
 had such blind trust in Paradyne." 
 
 " Why did they take him in as partner at 
 all ? " asked Irby. 
 
36 OKVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Ah, why indeed ! " responded Trace, pushing 
 his trencher up with a petulant jerk, as if the 
 past transaction were a present and personal 
 wrong. " But the business had grown too large 
 for one head, and Mr. Loftus was almost a 
 sleeping partner. If we could only foresee the 
 end of things at the beginning; ! 99 
 
 " Let it drop, Trace," said Loftus. " It's not so 
 pleasant a thing to recall." 
 
 " The fellow called himself Captain Paradyne ; 
 he came introduced to them grandly," resumed 
 Trace, in utter disregard of the interruption. 
 " He dropped the ' Captain 7 when he joined 
 them." 
 
 " Was the man hung ? " questioned Irby. 
 
 " Neither hung nor transported : he saved 
 himself. On the evening of his first examination 
 before the magistrates," continued Trace, " after 
 he was put back in the cell, he took poison." 
 
 Irby's eyes grew round with awe. " What a 
 wicked simpleton he must have been to do that ! 
 Poor fellow, though," he added, a feeling of com- 
 passion stealing over him, " I dare say he " 
 
 "When you undertake to relate a history, 
 gentlemen, you should confine yourselves to the 
 truth. Mr. Paradyne did not take poison. He 
 died of heart disease, brought on by excitement." 
 
THE NEW BOY, 
 
 37 
 
 The interruption was Mr. Henry's. He quietly 
 put his head round the pillar, and then came 
 into full view, with his sketch-book and pencil. 
 
 " How do you know anything about it ? " 
 demanded Trace, recovering from his surprise. 
 
 " I do happen to know about it," was the calm 
 answer. " The case was bad enough, as Heaven 
 knew ; but you need not make it worse." 
 
 " It was reported that he took poison," coldly 
 persisted Trace. 
 
 " Only at the first moment. When he was 
 found dead, people naturally leaped to that con- 
 clusion, and the newspapers published it as a 
 fact. But on the inquest it was proved by the 
 medical men that he had died from natural 
 causes. I think," added Mr. Henry, in a dreamy 
 sort of tone, " that that report arose in mercy." 
 
 The three boys stared at him questioningly. 
 
 "To his friends the business itself was cruel 
 enough — the discovery that he whom they had 
 so respected as the soul of honour, was unworthy. 
 Then followed the worse report of his self- 
 destruction, and in that moment of horror the 
 other was lost — w^as as nothing. But when the 
 truth came to light on the following day — that 
 he had not laid guilty hands on himself, but that 
 God had taken him — why, the revulsion of feel- 
 
38 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 ing, the thankfulness, was so great as to seem 
 a very boon from Heaven. It enabled them to 
 bear the disgrace as a lesser evil : the blow had 
 lost its sting." 
 
 " Did you know him ? " questioned Trace. 
 
 "I knew him in Germany. And these par- 
 ticulars, when they occurred, were written over 
 to me." 
 
 " Perhaps you respected him in Germany ? " 
 cynically added Trace, who could not speak or 
 think of the unfortunate Captain Paradyne with 
 his usual calmness of temper. 
 
 " I never respected any one so much," avowed 
 Mr. Henry, a scarlet spot rising to his pale 
 cheeks. 
 
 Trace made no rejoinder. To contend was 
 not his habit. It was impossible that he could 
 think worse of any one than of the unhappy 
 man in question, and nothing had ever con- 
 vinced Trace fully that the death was a natural 
 one. 
 
 "He has been dead four years," gently sug- 
 gested Mr. Henry, as if bespeaking their mercy 
 for his memory. " As to his son, it must be a 
 question for Dr. Brabazon, of course, whether he 
 remains here ; but I would ask you what he, the 
 boy, has done, that you should visit the past 
 
THE NEW BOY. 
 
 39 
 
 upon him ? Can you not imagine that the 
 calamity is of itself sufficient blight on his life ? 
 Be generous, and do not proclaim him to the 
 school." 
 
 "It would be more generous not to do it," 
 candidly avowed Irby, who had a good-natured, 
 ready way of speaking. " Of course it was not 
 the boy's fault; Ave shall lose nothing by it." 
 
 " Lose ! " repeated Mr. Henry. " If you only 
 knew the gain ! There's not a kind action that 
 we ever do, but insures its reward ; there's not 
 a word of ill-nature, a secret deed of malice, 
 but comes home to us fourfold, sooner or later. 
 Look out carefully as you go through life, and 
 see whether I do not tell you truth." 
 
 "Young Paradyne is free for me," said Mr. 
 Loftus. And Irby nodded his head approvingly. 
 
 " Thank you ; I shall take it as a kindness 
 shown to myself," said Mr. Henry, and he turned 
 and looked at Trace. 
 
 " Of course, if Mr. Henry wishes the thing to 
 be hushed up, and Dr. Brabazon to be left in 
 ignorance " 
 
 "Stay," said the master, interrupting Trace's 
 words. " You heard me say a moment ago that 
 it must be a question for Dr. Brabazon whether 
 he remains here. But I think that Dr. Brabazon 
 
40 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 would, in either event, counsel you not to 
 denounce the boy publicly." 
 
 " I am not given to denounce my companions 
 publicly, or privately either; as you perhaps 
 will find when you are used to us/' was the civil 
 rejoinder. "If the doctor condones the past, 
 why, let it be condoned ; I can't say more. But 
 the sooner the question is decided, the better." 
 
 " Undoubtedly." 
 
 Mr. Henry turned with the last word, and 
 applied himself to his drawing. Loftus and Irby 
 strolled away, and Trace sought an interview 
 with Dr. Brabazon, and told him who Paradyne 
 was. To do Trace justice, he spoke without 
 prejudice; not alluding minutely to past facts, 
 but simply saying that the new scholar, George 
 Paradyne, was the son of the man who had com- 
 mitted all sorts of ill, and ruined his father and 
 Mr. Loftus. 
 
 "And you and Loftus think you can't study 
 with him ! " observed the doctor, when he had 
 listened, and asked a few questions. 
 
 " I did not say that, sir : it is for you to decide. 
 We shall get over the unpleasantness by degrees, 
 no doubt, if he does stay on." 
 
 "Very well, Trace; I'll consider it. Keep 
 strict silence about it in the college." 
 
THE NEW BOY. 
 
 41 
 
 The interview did not last many minutes. 
 Soon after its termination, an authoritative cry 
 was heard down the cloisters for Loftus major. 
 
 " Here," shouted Loftus from the other end of 
 the quadrangle. 
 
 "You are to go in to Dr. Brabazon." 
 
 Away went Loftus in his indolent fashion ; he 
 rarely hurried himself for anything. Dr. Brabazon 
 met him at his study door : he put into his hands 
 a parcel tied with string, and sealed at the ends 
 with the doctor s seal. 
 
 " Your pistols, Loftus. I shall have something 
 to say to you later with regard to them and the 
 calamity you have most unjustifiably been the 
 means of causing. Take them back at once; 
 and make my compliments to Sir Simon, and 
 say I particularly wish to see him. Perhaps he 
 will oblige me by corning over : to-day, if possible. 
 You'll be back to dinner, if you put your best 
 foot foremost." 
 
 Mr. Loftus flung on his gown and cap, and 
 went away with the parcel in an access of private 
 rage. It was so mortifying ! it was the very 
 acme of humiliation ! Some of the middle-school 
 boys, leaping over the road from the plantation, 
 came right upon him. That incorrigible Dick 
 was one of them, and he recognized the parcel. 
 
42 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " It's the pistols/' proclaimed Dick. " Bra- 
 bazon has turned them out. I say, Bertie, 
 though, that's not so bad ; we had bets that 
 he'd confiscate them." 
 
 "A pity but he could confiscate you," was the 
 scornful retort thrown back. 
 
 Dick laughed. The throng echoed it. But 
 Mr. Loftus went on his way, and made no 
 further sign, his fine figure drawn to its full 
 height, and his nose high in the air. 
 
( 43 ) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SIH SIMON ORVILLE. 
 
 Dr. Brabazon sat at his desk-table, birch in 
 hand, Not often were the whole of the boys 
 assembled in hall as on this afternoon; there 
 were smaller rooms appropriated to particular 
 branches of study. The formidable weapon, 
 meant to inspire wholesome awe, had never been 
 used within the memory of the oldest boy; very 
 rarely was it taken from its receptacle to bo 
 held in terrorem over the different desks, 
 running down the side walls of the long room, 
 and across the end of it. 
 
 The shooting James Talbot the previous night 
 in the plantation : was it accident, or was it 
 done of deliberation ? This was what the head- 
 master wanted to get at : and he particularly 
 wanted to get at the gentleman who did it. 
 Dick Loftus had made a clean breast of it, off- 
 hand ; for it was in Dick's nature to do so. But, 
 in spite of all the questioning, privately, indi- 
 
44 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 vidually, and collectively — in spite of putting 
 the school upon its honour, — in spite of the 
 offered promise that the boy, if an accident, 
 should be held harmless, no one came forward 
 to confess; the whole school remained, as the 
 doctor in his vexation expressed it, "hard and 
 obstinate as nails." So then the birch w r as 
 produced. 
 
 " Gentlemen, I feel sure it was a pure accident, 
 and I could extend my free forgiveness to the 
 offender if he will only come forward in honour 
 and avow himself. Talbot is going on well ; 
 will be amongst us again, I hope, in a few days ; 
 there's no earthly reason for refusing to confess. 
 Mrs. Talbot, sitting now with her son, says she 
 forgives him heartily. She is a Christian 
 woman, gentlemen, and is sorry for the boy, 
 instead of angry with him, because she knows 
 how sorry he must himself be. c Accidents and 
 moments of thoughtlessness happen to us all/ 
 she has just remarked to me: as they do. I 
 hope there's some honour left amongst us yet." 
 
 The appeal elicited no response. And yet, 
 that one of the boys present had been guilty, 
 there could be little doubt ; or that he had gone 
 out in a master's cap by accident or design. 
 In the confusion of the previous night, when a 
 
SIR SIMON SEVILLE. 
 
 45 
 
 rush was made to the robing closet, the caps 
 of the two masters, then arrived, were found 
 hanging there. Upon the boys mustering, all 
 who were known to have returned to school 
 answered to their names. There was no con- 
 fusion, no sign of guilt observable in any one 
 of the responders : nevertheless, the offender 
 must have made a run, as if for his life, sneaked 
 in, replaced the cap, and mingled with the 
 others. 
 
 "Won't you speak?" reiterated the doctor, 
 casting his eyes around in anger. 
 But no one answered. 
 
 Up went the birch, and came down again. 
 Dr. Brabazon was by no means a choleric man ; 
 but he could be so when greatly provoked. 
 
 "Mr. Henry — no, don't rise, don't quit your 
 place — of what height was the boy you saw 
 running away ? " 
 
 The doctors voice— sonorous at all times — 
 went rolling down the spacious room to the 
 opposite corner, where Mr. Henry sat behind his 
 desk. The latter hesitated in his reply, and the 
 boys turned their eyes from the head-master to 
 him. 
 
 " I cannot positively say, sir ; it was so 
 momentary a glimpse that I caught." 
 
4G 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Yet you met him — as I am given to under- 
 stand—face to face ! " 
 
 " I did ; but he glided at once into the trees. 
 He was of a good height." 
 
 " Tall enough for a senior boy ? n 
 
 " Yes, certainly/' 
 
 The birch was gently agitated, as if the 
 doctor s hand shook a little, and he looked full 
 at the first desk, regarding those seated at it 
 individually in turn. 
 
 " I thought I could have trusted you all ; I 
 thought there was not one of you that I might 
 not have relied upon. Gall, did you do this ? 
 I ask you more for form's sake, for you had not 
 returned to college. Did you fire off, by accident 
 or design, this pistol in the plantation last night ? " 
 
 "No, sir, I did not," replied Gall, slightly 
 rising in his place to answer. 
 
 "Did you, Loftus major ? " 
 
 The extreme satire of the question, as ad- 
 dressed to him, the wronged owner of the 
 weapon, nearly struck Loftus major dumb. 
 
 " Of course I did not, sir." 
 
 " Did you go out of college after prayers ? 5 
 
 " No." 
 
 "Trace, did you go out of college after prayers, 
 and fire off this pistol ? " 
 
SIR SIMON ORVILLE. 
 
 47 
 
 " No, sir." And Traces usual civility of tone 
 was marked by a dash of remonstrance at being- 
 asked. Suspect him, the model boy of the 
 school ! What next ? , 
 
 " Irby, did you ? " 
 
 " No, sir. It wasn't me, sir." 
 . " Fullarton, did you ? " 
 
 " I did not get back until this morning, 
 sir." 
 
 " True. Brown major, did you do it ? " 
 
 Brown major, a simple fellow in most things, 
 but with a great capacity for Latin and Greek, 
 opened his eyes in pure wonder. " Please, sir, I 
 never fired off a pistol in my life, sir. I shouldn't 
 know how to do it, sir." 
 
 And so on. Not a boy at the first desk ac- 
 knowledged it ; and they numbered twelve. The 
 doctor glanced at the second desk; some tall 
 boys were there ; but he said no more. Perhaps 
 he thought suspicion did not lie with them; 
 perhaps he would not afford them opportunity 
 for telling a falsehood. 
 
 " It seems, then, I am not to be told. Well " 
 —and he turned particularly to the seniors — " I 
 must believe that some mystery attaches to this 
 affair, and that not one of you is guilty. I will 
 trust you still, as I have ever done : only-— do 
 
48 0RV1LLE COLLEGE. 
 
 not let it come to my knowledge later that my 
 trust is a mistaken one." 
 
 He threw up the lower compartment of his 
 table, put in the birch, and shut it down. An 
 uncomfortable feeling was on the head-master 
 that day. 
 
 A thirteenth boy had been added to the first 
 desk, in George Paradyne. Mr. Baker had 
 directed him to take his place in it after morning 
 school, in accordance with some words let fall by 
 the head-master, of the boy's proficiency. The 
 first desk was very exclusive, not to be invaded 
 lightly by a new-comer, and the decision, an 
 unusual one, did not find favour. Paradyne was 
 greeted with a stare of surprise, and the desk 
 turned their backs upon him. 
 
 The afternoon studies proceeded as on other 
 afternoons ; but neither masters nor boys felt at 
 ease. Trace especially was in a state of inward 
 commotion, calm as he outwardly appeared. He 
 supposed that Dr. Brabazon had decided to 
 retain Paradyne in the college, and he resented 
 it utterly. Mr. Trace had also one or two private 
 matters of his own troubling him, that it would 
 not be convenient to speak of. 
 
 Loftus, as you perceive, was back in his place. 
 He had walked on to his uncle's, carrying the 
 
SIR SIMON ORVILLE. 
 
 49 
 
 banished pistols in all the ignominy of the 
 position. Sir Simon Orville's residence was 
 about half-a-mile from the college. Pond Place 
 it was called ; an appellation that was supposed 
 to have originated from a large pool in the 
 vicinity, and was excessively distasteful to Mr. 
 Loftus. A lovely spot, however, whatever it 
 might be called, with the brightest and rarest 
 flowers clustering on the green slope before the 
 low white house. Sir Simon happened to be 
 tending some of these flowers, as it was his 
 delight to do, when Loftus entered, and that 
 young gentleman was a ittle disconcerted at the 
 encounter. In his present frame of mind, he 
 really did not want the additional humiliation 
 of having to explain to his uncle. 
 
 " Hallo ! " cried Sir Simon, in surprise. " What 
 brings vou here ? " 
 
 O %J 
 
 He was a little round man, w r ith a red, kindly 
 face, shaped not unlike the head of a codfish, 
 and light hair that stuck up in a point above 
 his forehead : one of the most unpretending, out- 
 speaking men ever known, who could not con- 
 ceal that he had been " born nobody," imperfectly 
 educated, and had made his fortune laboriously 
 and honestly by the work of his hands. Now 
 and then he came out with these revelations 
 
 Ojrille College. 4 
 
50 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 before the schoolboys, to whom he was fond of 
 declaring his sentiments, to the intense chagrin 
 of Mr. Loftus, and the delight of Dick. Sir 
 Simon was an old bachelor, very kind and good, 
 hospitable to every one, and making much of 
 his nephews. He was fond of Albert Loftus, 
 distinguishing the really good qualities of the 
 boy's nature, though ridiculing his pride and 
 assumption. " He'll get it taken out of him," 
 Sir Simon would say : and, to do the knight 
 justice, he spared no opportunity of helping the 
 process. 
 
 Twitching at his grey garden-coat, which had 
 caught in a shrub, Sir Simon looked in his 
 nephew's face ; not quite so lofty a face as usual. 
 
 " What's the matter, Bertie ? What's in that 
 parcel ? " 
 
 So Bertie Loftus had to explain : he had taken 
 a brace of pistols to school, and the doctor had 
 despatched them back again. Sir Simon en- 
 joyed the information immensely; that is, the 
 " despatching n portion of it. He knew very 
 little about pistols himself; could not remember, 
 like Brown major, to have handled one in his 
 life, and regarded them rather in the light of a 
 dangerous animal that 3^011 were never sure of. 
 
 "I should have buried them in the ground, 
 
SIR SIMON ORVILLE. 51 
 
 had I been the' doctor, instead of giving them 
 back to you. You'll come to some mischief, Mr. 
 Albert, if you play with edged tools." 
 
 " I'd as soon he had buried them, as sent me 
 back with them in the face of the school," avowed 
 Loftus, in his subdued spirit. And he went on 
 to disclose the calamity the pistols had caused. 
 Sir Simon was horror-struck. 
 
 " Albert ! You hava shot a boy ? " 
 
 " It was that miserable Dick," returned Loftus, 
 looking as crest-fallen as it was possible for his 
 naturally proud face to look. " I'm very sorry, 
 of course; but it was not my fault, and Dick 
 ought to be punished." 
 
 " No; you ought to be punished for taking the 
 things to school," returned Sir Simon. " It would 
 be punishment enough for my whole life, sir, if 
 I had been the means of putting a fellow-crea- 
 ture's life in danger. Here, stop! Where are 
 you going with them now ? " 
 
 "To put them away," answered Loftus, who 
 was turning to the house. 
 
 " Are they loaded ? " 
 
 " No ; not now," 
 
 f; I wouldn't permit a loaded pistol to come 
 inside my house, look you, Albert. You'll shoot 
 yourself, sir, that's what you'll do. And it's 
 
52 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 that poor Talbot, is it ? I knew his father when 
 I lived in Bermondsey." 
 
 Away went Loftus, feeling no security that 
 the pistols were not going to be confiscated here. 
 He locked them up in the room he occupied 
 when staying at his uncle's, and came forth again 
 directly, delivering the head-masters message as 
 he passed Sir Simon. 
 
 " Very well ; I'll come, tell Dr. Brabazon. I 
 suppose he is going to complain of this under- 
 hand act of yours." 
 
 Mr. Loftus supposed so too : had supposed no- 
 thing else since the message was given him. He 
 set off again, leaving Pond Place behind him and 
 the cherished pistols that had come altogether to 
 grief. 
 
 Sir Simon Orville knew the hours at the 
 college, and timed his visit so as to catch Dr. 
 Brabazon at the rising of afternoon school. The 
 doctor took him into his study : a pleasant room, 
 with a large bay-window, at the back of the 
 house, partially overlooking the boys' playground, 
 with its gymnastic poles. The middle compart- 
 ment of the window opened to the ground, French 
 fashion. 
 
 Sir Simon spoke at once of the unhappy 
 accident that his nephews had been the means of 
 
SIR SIMON ORVILLE. 
 
 53 
 
 causing ; asking what he could do, how he could 
 help the poor boy, and insisting that all charges 
 should be made his. He then found it was not 
 on that business Dr. Brabazon had sent for him, 
 but on the other annoying matter relating to 
 George Paradyne. The doctor stated the circum- 
 stances to him : that one of the new scholars 
 entered that day had been recognized by Trace 
 to be the son of the man Paradyne." 
 
 " It vexed me greatly," said the master ; " some- 
 how the term seems to have begun ungraciously. 
 I suppose there's no doubt that the boy is the 
 same ? 
 
 " I dare say not. Raymond ought to know 
 him." 
 
 " Ay ; well, it is a very vexatious matter, and 
 one difficult to deal with. Just at first, whilst 
 Trace was speaking, I thought there could be 
 only one course — that of sending Paradyne away. 
 But the cruel injustice of this on the boy struck 
 me immediately, and I could not help asking my- 
 self why we should visit on children the sins of 
 
 their fathers, any more than — than -" Dr. 
 
 Brabazon seemed to hesitate — " we visit the sins 
 of children on their parents." 
 
 Sir Simon brought down his stick with a 
 thump. It was a thick stick of carved walnut- 
 
54 
 
 ORYILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 wood, that he was rarely seen without, and he 
 had a habit of enforcing his arguments with it 
 in this manner. Dr. Brabazon understood this 
 as meant to enforce his. 
 
 "And so I decided to do nothing until I had 
 seen you. I would not have assigned him his 
 place in the school, but Mr. Baker did so before 
 I could stop it. But for your nephews being 
 here, I should take no notice of the matter, but 
 let the boy remain on. As it is, I must leave it 
 to you, Sir Simon. If you think he ought not to 
 be in the same establishment as your nephews— 
 their companion, as it were — I'll send him away. 
 Or, if you think it would bQ very objectionable 
 to themselves " 
 
 " Objectionable to them!" cried Sir Simon, 
 bringing down his stick again; "I can only tell 
 you this, doctor, that if my nephews were mean 
 enough, and ill-natured enough, to carry out 
 those old scores upon the boy, I'd disown em." 
 
 " Trace, I am sure, will not like the boy to 
 stay, though he may silently put up with it. I 
 saw that." 
 
 " Trace has his crotchets just as much as any- 
 body else," cried Sir Simon, a shade of anger in 
 his tone. " 111 talk to him ; I'll talk to the three. 
 Treat Paradyne as you do the rest, Dr. Brabazon ; 
 
SIR SIMON OEVILLE. 
 
 55 
 
 I would ask it of you as a personal favour. I 
 turn the boy away! I've just as much right to 
 do it as he has to turn me out of Pond Place. 
 Deprive the boy of an education ; of the means 
 by which he'll have to make his bread ? No ; a 
 hundred times no/' concluded Sir Simon, in an 
 explosive tone, the stick descending again. 
 
 fl Very well ; he shall stay. And if circum- 
 stances force me to .send him away later — that 
 is, if the facts become known to the school, and 
 the boy's life is thereby rendered unhappy, why 
 — but time enough to talk of that. It might 
 happen, Sir Simon." 
 
 Sir Simon saw that it might. "Who knows 
 of it ? " he asked. 
 
 " Your two nephews and J ohn Irby. I have 
 strictly charged them, on their honour, not to 
 speak of this ; I called them in before afternoon 
 school. Dick does not appear to have heard the 
 name yet ; but I shall speak to him. It is un- 
 fortunate the name should be so peculiar— Para- 
 dvne." 
 
 Sir Simon nodded. " It's odd the boy should 
 have come to this particular school. Is he one of 
 your boarders ? " 
 
 " No ; he is an outside pupil ; not in any 
 master's house at all. About live weeks ago I 
 
5G 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 received a letter from the country, from a lady 
 of the name of Paradyne — I remember thinking 
 it an uncommon name at the time — asking if 
 there was a vacancy in the college for a well- 
 advanced outdoor pupil, and inquiring the terms. 
 There happened to be a vacancy, and I said so, 
 and sent the terms ; in a few days she wrote 
 again, saying her son would enter. She has 
 come up to live here. I asked Paradyne this 
 morning where he was going to live, and he said 
 close by, with his mother." 
 
 "They never much liked her," observed Sir 
 Simon, who was casting his thoughts back. 
 " Mrs. Trace said she spent too much." 
 
 " I suppose they lived beyond their means, 
 these Paradynes ? " 
 
 "No; it did not appear so; and the mystery 
 never was cleared up where the abstracted sums 
 (enormous sums they were !) had gone, and what 
 they had gone in. Mrs. Trace, my poor sister 
 Mary, was of so very quiet a disposition herself, 
 caring nothing for dress or show ; and Mrs. Para- 
 dyne, I suppose, did care for it. I remember my 
 brother-in-law, Robert Trace, said to me, after 
 the explosion, how glad he was that they had 
 lived quietly ; no blame on that score could 
 attach to him. The Loftuses were different ; 
 
SIR SIMON ORVILLE. 
 
 57 
 
 they spent all before them. I suppose you know 
 the particulars ? " 
 
 " Not at all. I never heard them." 
 
 "Then I'll tell you the story, from beginning 
 to end, in a few brief words. My brother-in-law, 
 Robert Trace, who was always up to his eyes in 
 business — for Loftus would not attend to it — had 
 some matters to transact for a Captain Arthur 
 Paradyne, — selling out shares, or buying in 
 shares, I forget which; and an intimacy grew 
 up between them. Paradyne had come in to some 
 money through the death of an aunt in Liverpool ; 
 before that, he had lived in Germany, on a very 
 small income, as I understood. He seemed a 
 thorough gentleman, and, I should have said, an 
 honest, open-dealing man. In an unlucky hour 
 Robert Trace — who had been hankering after a 
 third partner for some time, though Loftus could 
 not see what they wanted with one, as they kept 
 efficient clerks — proposed to Captain Paradyne to 
 invest his money — two or three thousand pounds 
 I think it was — in their concern, and take a share. 
 Paradyne consented ; Mr. Loftus murmured at 
 first, but at last he consented; and the firm 
 became Loftus, Trace, and Paradyne. Things 
 went on smoothly for two years, or thereabouts, 
 though Paradyne proved an utter novice in busi- 
 
58 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 ness matters, as those military men, gentlemen by 
 birth and habit, often do ; and Trace grumbled 
 awfully. Not publicly, you know ; only in 
 private to me, whenever I was down at Liverpool. 
 Then came the crash. Paradyne was discovered 
 to have played Old Harry with everything ; the 
 money of the firm, the shares of customers, all 
 he could lay his hands on. Strange to say, it 
 was Loftus, the unbusiness man, who w T as the 
 one to make the first discovery. Only think of 
 that!" 
 
 Dr. Brabazon merely nodded. He was listen- 
 ing attentively. 
 
 " Mr. Loftus had gone to Liverpool for a few 
 days. Something struck him in looking over 
 the books, and he called Robert Trace's attention 
 to it. That night they went into the thing 
 together, and saw that some roguery was going 
 on. The next day it was all out, and ruin stared 
 them in the face. On the following morning 
 Mr. Loftus caused Paradyne to be arrested, and 
 telegraphed for me. When I got down at night, 
 the man was dead." 
 
 " Dead ! " exclaimed Dr. Brabazon. 
 
 "Poor Arthur Paradyne w T as dead. Ah ! when 
 Loftus met me with the news, it was a shock. 
 He had been taken before the magistrates for 
 
SIR SIMON ORVILLE. 
 
 59 
 
 examination, was remanded, and put in a cell in 
 the lock-up, or whatever they call the place. 
 One of the clerks, a young man named Hopper, 
 was allowed to have an interview with him, and 
 half-an-hour afterwards Paradyne was found 
 dead in his cell. Of course it was assumed that 
 he had taken poison ; but when the doctors 
 made the examination, they found he had died 
 of disease of the heart ; — a natural sequence to 
 the events of the day, for one whose heart was 
 not sound." 
 
 " It was very shocking altogether.' 7 
 " Ay, it was. And with his death ended the 
 investigation. ' Why pursue it ? ' Trace asked ; 
 'let it drop, for the wife and children's sake/ 
 Robert Trace was a hard man in general ; but I 
 must say he behaved leniently in this case. It 
 did not, so far, touch his pocket, you see ; for all 
 the investigation in the world would not have 
 brought back the money, or undone the work. 
 The concern was wound up ; Mr. Loftus had to 
 move into a small house, and otherwise reduce 
 his expenses ; Robert Trace went to America 
 with a little money I lent him ; and Mrs. Para- 
 dyne disappeared." 
 
 " It was a dreadful thing for hef," spoke Dr. 
 Brabazon. 
 
CO ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Very. People, in their indignation against 
 Paradyne, could not think of her; but I did, and 
 I went to see her. She was very bitter against 
 her husband; I could see it, though she said 
 little.^ 
 
 " Did she tell you how the money had gone ? " 
 
 "She did not know. The discovery that he 
 had been using it came upon her with the same 
 astonishment that it had upon the rest of us. 
 One thing she could swear to, she said to me — 
 that it had never been brought home, or used in 
 any way for her or his children. I can't quite 
 recollect about the children," broke off Sir Simon ; 
 " there was one, I know, for I saw him — a fine 
 boy ; I suppose the one now come here ; but I 
 have an impression there were more." 
 
 " Had she nothing left — the mother ? " 
 
 "I asked her. She told me she had a small 
 income, nothing like enough to keep her. I 
 wonder how they have lived ? M continued Sir 
 Simon, after a pause. 
 
 "The son has been to a thoroughly good 
 school," observed Dr. Brabazon. " Did Mr. 
 Paradyne acknowledge his guilt ? " 
 
 " He denied it utterly, so Loftus told me ; 
 made believe at first to think they were accusing 
 him in joke." 
 
SIR SIMON OttVILLE. 
 
 61 
 
 A sudden light, something like hope, appeared 
 in Dr. Brabazon's eyes as he raised them to Sir 
 Simon. 
 
 " Is it possible that he could have been 
 innocent ? " he eagerly asked. 
 
 u No, it is not possible ; there was no one else 
 who could have had access to the shares and 
 things/' was the answer. But Sir Simon looked 
 grieved, and was grieved, to have to make it. 
 
 And so it was decided that George Paradyne 
 should remain. 
 
62 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 sir simon's reward. 
 
 In the comfortable apartment which was made 
 the family sitting-room, where Miss Brabazon 
 might usually be found by any one who wanted 
 her, sat a young lady this same afternoon. A 
 laughing, saucy, wilful girl of thirteen, with 
 short petticoats, and wavy brown hair hanging 
 down. It was Miss Rose Brabazon. Dr. Bra- 
 bazon had had two wives and lost them both • 
 he had several older children, all out in the 
 world now, but this was the only young one, 
 and spoilt accordingly. That is, all out in the 
 world save his eldest daughter, whom you will 
 see presently. Miss Rose was supposed to be at 
 her studies. Sundry exercise-books were before 
 her on the square table, covered with its hand- 
 some green cloth, in the middle of the room ; in 
 point of fact, she was inditing a private letter, 
 and taking excursions to the window between 
 whiles, — a large, pleasant window, looking out 
 
SIR SIMON'S REWARD. 
 
 63 
 
 on the gymnasium-ground, with a view of the 
 Hampsteacl and Highgate hills in the distance. 
 At least seventeen of the boys were madly in 
 love with Miss Rose, and Miss Rose returned the 
 compliment to about half of them. 
 
 The door opened, and Miss Brabazon came in : 
 a middle-sized, capable, practical young woman 
 of thirty, with a kind, good, sensible face. She 
 was the prop and stay of the house ; looking 
 after everything ; to the well-being of the house- 
 hold, to the comfort of her father and the boys, 
 and to the education of Rose. Her dark hair 
 was plainly braided on her face, and she wore a 
 dress of some soft blue material, with lace collar 
 and cuffs. Crossing to a side-table, she laid 
 down a book she was carrying, and then looked 
 at the address of two letters in her hand, which 
 had just been given her by the postman as she 
 crossed the hall. Miss Rose, all signs of every- 
 thing unorthodox hidden away, was diligently 
 bending over her studies. 
 
 " Is that exercise not done yet, Rose ? " 
 
 " It is so very difficult, Emma." 
 
 " You have been idling away your time again, 
 I fear. Have you practised ? " continued Miss 
 Brabazon, glancing half round at the piano. 
 
 " Not yet, Emma," 
 
G4 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Have you learnt your French ? " 
 
 " I've not looked at it.'' 
 
 " What have you been doing ? " 
 
 Miss Rose Brabazon lifted her pretty face and 
 shook back her wavy hair from her laughing 
 blue eyes. 
 
 ' % I thought you'd perhaps give me holiday 
 this afternoon, as you were so much occupied 
 upstairs with Lord Shrewsbury and his mother." 
 
 " Now, Rose, you knew better. And be so 
 kind as to call the boys by their right names. I 
 wish you'd be a steady child ! " 
 
 Rose laughed. " Sir Simon Orville's here, 
 Emma. I saw him at the study window just 
 now with papa." 
 
 " Of course ! That's the way you get your 
 lessons done, Rose." 
 
 Miss Rose tossed her pen-wiper into the air 
 and caught it again. She had the peculiar 
 faculty of never listening to reproofs ; at least 
 of listening to profit by them. 
 
 " Who are those letters for, Emma ? " 
 
 " Not for you," answered Emma. " You may 
 put the books away now, and go and wash your 
 hands." 
 
 Books, exercises, pens, ink, were all hurried 
 into a drawer in the side-table, and away went 
 
SIR SIMON'S REWARD. 
 
 05 
 
 Rose, meeting Mr. Henry at the door, for whom 
 Miss Brabazon had sent. He was no longer in 
 his grey travelling clothes, but in black, looking, 
 Miss Brabazon thought, a very finished gentle- 
 man, with his quiet manner and refined face. 
 
 " Is this for you ? " she asked, holding out one 
 of the letters, which bore on it a foreign post- 
 mark. " It is addressed ' Doctor Henry/ " 
 
 He took it from her with a smile. " Yes, 
 thank you ; it is for me. Is there anything to 
 • pay ? 
 
 "No. Are you really Dr. Henry ? " 
 
 " Oh, Miss Brabazon, it is only my degree at 
 the Heidelberg University. I drop it over here. 
 I see this is from one of the professors. He 
 forgot, I suppose : I wrote down my name for 
 them all as ' Mr.' Henry." 
 
 " But why should you drop it ? " 
 
 "It is much better. Fancy a young man like 
 me being called doctor here ! The masters would 
 wonder, and the boys would laugh. Please don t 
 mention it." 
 
 " Certainly not, as you wish it. I do not 
 quite see your argument, though. Here's papa." 
 
 Dr. Brabazon came in with a quiet step. He 
 threw himself into a chair, as one utterly weary. 
 " Oh, these boys, these boys ! " 
 
 Orville College. 5 
 
G6 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Is anything the matter, papa ? " 
 
 H Not much, Emma ; excepting that I feel out 
 of sorts with all things. Don't go, Mr. Henry, 
 I want to speak to you. You are acquainted 
 with young Paradyne, I hear." 
 
 A hectic flashed into Mr. Henry's face. Miss 
 Brabazon noticed it. When she knew him 
 better, she found that any powerful emotion 
 always brought it there. " Yes, sir, I knew him 
 in Germany. He is a very clever boy." 
 
 " Ay, he seems so. I like the boy amazingly, so 
 far as I have seen. What about his past history ? " 
 
 Dr. Brabazon looked full at the German 
 master. Mr. Henry understood, and found there 
 was no help for it ; he must respond ; though 
 he had an invincible dislike to speak of the 
 Paradynes and their misfortune. 
 
 " You mean that unhappy business in Liver- 
 pool, sir ? " 
 
 " I do. I am very sorry the boy has been 
 recognized here. You may speak before my 
 daughter, Mr. Henry " — for the doctor saw that 
 he had glanced uneasily at Miss Brabazon. " I 
 told her of it to-day ; she is quite safe. It seems 
 almost a fatality that the boy should have come 
 to the very place where Trace and the Loftuses 
 were being educated." 
 
SIR SIMON'S REWARD. 67 
 
 " Yes, it does/' was the sad response : and 
 Dr. Brabazon little thought how bitterly that 
 sensitive young master was reproaching himself, 
 for he had been the means of bringing the boy 
 to Orville College. 
 
 " I wouldn't hesitate to keep the boy a minute, 
 if I were sure " 
 
 " Oh, sir, don't turn him away ! " interrupted 
 Mr. Henry, his voice ringing with pain. "To 
 dismiss George Paradyne from the college might 
 prove a serious blight upon him ; it might follow 
 him everywhere, for the cause could not fail 
 to be noised abroad. Better let him stay now, 
 and face it out : he may — it is possible he may 
 — in time — live it down. I beg your pardon, 
 Dr. Brabazon ; I ought not to have said so 
 much." 
 
 " My good friend/' — and the doctor was little 
 less agitated than Mr. Henry, — " you never need 
 urge clemency on me. Heaven knows that we 
 have, most of us, secret cares of our own ; and 
 they render us — or ought to — lenient upon 
 others. If I could wipe out with a sponge the 
 past as regards young Paradyne, I would do it 
 in thankfulness. He is to remain ; it is so 
 decided ; and I hope the past will not ooze out 
 to the school. That's all I fear." 
 
08 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " In himself lie is, I think, everything that 
 could be wished/' said the usher, in low tones ; 
 " a good, honourable, painstaking boy, with the 
 most implicit trust in his late father's inno- 
 cence." 
 
 Dr. Brabazon lifted his eves. " But there arc 
 no possible grounds to hope that he was inno- 
 cent ! Are there ? " 
 
 " Not any, I fear." 
 
 "Well, well; better, perhaps, that the lad 
 should think it. You were not in Liverpool 
 when it happened ? " 
 
 "I was in Germany. The account was sent 
 to me." 
 
 " By whom ? — if I may ask it." 
 " By Mrs. Paradyne." 
 
 "She does not believe her husband to have 
 been innocent ? " 
 " Oh no." 
 
 " Has Mrs. Paradyne enough to live upon ? " 
 
 " Her income, I believe, is very small indeed." 
 
 " Then how does she give the boy this expen- 
 sive education ? " 
 
 "I fancy that friends help her," was the reply. 
 f< And I know that a considerable reduction was 
 made in the terms of the last school, on account 
 of the boy's fluency in French and German." 
 
SIR SIMON'S REWARD. 
 
 GO 
 
 " I suppose you have kept up a correspondence 
 with them, Mr. Henry ? " 
 
 " Yes ; though not a very frequent one." 
 
 "When you knew Mr. Paradyne, was he an 
 honest man ? " 
 
 " Strictly so ; honest, honourable, entitled to 
 every respect. I have never been able to under- 
 stand how he could fall from it." 
 
 " One of those sudden temptations, I suppose, 
 beginning in a trifle, ending — no one know r s 
 where. Unhappy man ! " 
 
 The head-master said no more, and Mr. Henry 
 left the room with his letter. Miss Brabazon 
 spoke. 
 
 " Papa, how strangely sensitive he seems, this 
 new master of yours ! Did you see the hectic 
 on his face ? " 
 
 " Poor fellow, yes. He is very friendless ; and 
 to be so gives us a fellow-feeling for the un- 
 fortunate, Emma." 
 
 " Are you aware that he is Dr. Henry ? " 
 
 " Is he ? He took honours abroad, I believe. 
 We don't think much of that, you know." 
 
 " He drops the title over here ; does not care 
 that it should be known. Did it strike you, 
 papa, whilst he was speaking, that he must have 
 some secret trouble of his own ? " 
 
70 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " No. I was thinking, Emma, of some one 
 else's secret trouble." 
 
 Miss Brabazon evidently understood the allu- 
 sion. Her countenance dropped, and she turned 
 to busy herself with the tea, which was coming 
 in, and Sir Simon Orville with it. He had been 
 up to see Talbot. Later, after tea, Sir Simon 
 was out in the cricket-field, Loftus, Trace, and 
 the scholar Irby gathered round him. He had 
 gone out, calling for Trace, calling for Loftus ; 
 and when other of the boys came flocking up — 
 for it was a red-letter day when they could get 
 Sir Simon — he sent them away again. 
 
 "I want only these two graceless ones," he 
 said; " you all be off ;" and the boys went away 
 shouting and laughing. " Yes, you, Irby, may 
 
 . 
 
 stop." 
 
 He talked to them for a few moments very 
 plainly and earnestly. Loftus was the first to 
 respond. 
 
 " I have already said, sir, that Paradyne is 
 safe for me, and I can keep my word." 
 
 "I'll never tell upon him, Sir Simon," added 
 Irby ; " I'll make him my friend, if you like." 
 
 " Is the fellow to stop ? " asked Trace. 
 
 " Yes, sir, he is to stop," replied Sir Simon, 
 turning sharply upon the speaker. "It is Dr. 
 
SIR SIMON'S REWARD. 
 
 71 
 
 Brabazon's pleasure that he should stop, and it 
 is mine also. What have you to say against 
 it ?" 
 
 " Nothing at all/' quietly replied Trace. 
 
 " That's well/' returned Sir Simon, in a cynically 
 
 suave tone. " And now, mind you, Trace 
 
 Loftus, you mind — if unpleasantness does arise 
 to this unlucky boy through either of you, I'll 
 — I'll — by George ! I'll make young Paradyne 
 my heir." 
 
 He turned off in the direction of the plantation, 
 curious to examine the scene of last night's 
 outrage. Quite half the college had gathered 
 there. Sir Simon laid his hand upon Dick 
 Loftus. 
 
 u So ! This was vour doing ! " 
 
 " Don't, uncle," said Dick, wincing ; " I'm as 
 vexed about it as you can be. I'd rather have 
 been shot myself." 
 
 " A pretty pair of nephews J've got ! " exclaimed 
 Sir Simon, using his stick rather violently, to 
 the admiration of the surrounding throng ; " the 
 one smuggles pistols into the school, and the 
 other brings them out and shoots a boy ! " 
 
 " I didn't shoot him," said Dick. 
 
 " You were the cause of it, sir. If Talbot dies, 
 and the thing comes to trial, were I the judge on 
 
72 
 
 0RV1LLE COLLEGE. 
 
 the bench, I should transport you for seven years, 
 Dick Loftus, as accessory in a minor degree." 
 
 " Talbot isn't going to die," debated hardy 
 Dick. 
 
 " And serve him right," put in Mr. Loftus, 
 answering the half- threat of Sir Simon. " Trans- 
 portation for seven years would be just the thing 
 Dick deserves. What right had the young idiot 
 to meddle with my pistols ? " 
 
 " What right had you to have pistols to be 
 meddled with ? " retorted Sir Simon. " And to 
 have them loaded ? And to keep 'em where 
 Dick could get to them ? I'd transport you for 
 fourteen." 
 
 Mr. Loftus did not like the tables being turned 
 on him. He drew his head up with a jerk. 
 
 " And you the senior, saving one, of the school, 
 who might have been expected to be a pattern 
 to the rest ! " added Sir Simon, mercilessly. 
 " You wouldn't have done it, would you, Gall ? " 
 
 The senior boy, quietly looking on, lifted his 
 eyes at being addressed. " I don't think I should, 
 Sir Simon." 
 
 It was an inoffensive answer enough, in regard 
 to words; but the quiet tone of condemnation, 
 the half- compassionate smile that accompanied it, 
 angered Loftus out of his pride and his prudence. 
 
SIR SIMON'S REWARD. 73 
 
 "It's not likely he would. Pistols would be 
 of no use to him. What do those city trades- 
 people want with pistols ? " 
 
 The insolent retort was not lost on Sir Simon, 
 for it gave him an opportunity that he was ever 
 ready to seize upon ; ever, it may be said, 
 watching for — that of putting down the lofty 
 notions of his otherwise favourite nephew 
 
 " Those city tradespeople," he- echoed, making 
 a circular sweep with his stick, as if to challenge 
 the attention of the crowd. " Hark at him. 
 Hold your tongue, Gall ; let me talk. Has he 
 changed rank with Talbot, do you know, boys, 
 and become a lord ? City people ! I'm his 
 uncle; but he ignores that. I wasn't in the 
 City; never aspired to it; I was only in Ber- 
 mondsey ; a tanner. A tanner, boys, as some of 
 your fathers could tell you; Orville and Tubbs it 
 was. Tubbs is there, tanning still ; Tubbs and 
 Sons, and a good snug business they've got. I 
 wasn't born with a fortune in the funds, as some 
 folk are ; I had to make my way by hard work, 
 and with very little education, and I did it. I 
 had no Orville College to learn Latin and Greek 
 and politeness at, though they do tell me I'm 
 related to its founder. Perhaps I am ; but it's 
 only a sixteenth cousin, boys." 
 
74 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 A shout of laughter : the boys satisfaction had 
 grown irrepressible. Sir Simon laughed with 
 them. 
 
 "We were thirteen of us to go out in the 
 world, boys and girls, and our father a clerk on 
 three hundred a-year. It seemed a fortune in 
 those days ; because a man's children expected 
 to go out and work for themselves. I went out 
 at twelve, boys; my father put me to a fish- 
 monger, and I didn't like it ; and he gave me a 
 flogging for being capricious, and sent me to a 
 tanner's. I didn't like that, but I had to' stick 
 to it. And I did stick to it, and in time made 
 a business for myself, and when it grew too large 
 I took in my young foreman, Tubbs, and gave 
 him a share. I was a common councilman then, 
 and a very grand honour I thought it was to be 
 so ; but I didn't leave off work. Up early and to 
 bed late, and making my abode amongst the skins 
 in my yard, was I. Fortune came to me, boys ; 
 it comes to most people who patiently work for 
 it ; and they made me a sheriff of London, and 
 in going up with an address to Court, the Queen 
 knighted me, and that brings me with the handle 
 to my name, which I assure you I'm not at home 
 with yet, and for months afterwards couldn't 
 believe that it was me being spoken to. I retired 
 
SJR SIMON'S REWARD. 
 
 75 
 
 from business then, and I bought Pond Place up 
 here. I didn't buy it because it was near the 
 college, and that Dr. Orville had been a sixteenth 
 cousin, but because it suited me, and the situa- 
 tion and the air suited me. And that's how / 
 come to be Sir Simon Orville : and what I've got 
 I've humbly worked for. Mr. Loftus there was 
 born a gentleman, though his mother was my 
 sister, and he'd like me to go in for rank, and 
 for quarterings on my carriage, and crests on my 
 spoons, and pretend that I'd never heard there 
 was such a low thing as tanning amongst trades. 
 Boys ! I hate pretension, and so does every 
 sincere nature ever created. It's only a species 
 of falsehood ; it won't help us on the road to 
 heaven." 
 
 A murmur of applause, and a slight clapping 
 of hands. Sir Simon lifted his stick again. 
 
 u He despises the Galls, that lofty nephew of 
 mine; he lets you know that he does. Boys, 
 allow me to tell you that there's not a better 
 man in all London than Joseph Gall, the head 
 of the respectable firm of Gall and Batty. Sub- 
 stantial, too, Mr. Loftus." 
 
 Loftus stood like a pillar of salt, stony and 
 upright, showing no sign whatever of his intense 
 annoyance. These periodical revelations of Sir 
 
7G 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Simon's, given gratuitously to the boys on any 
 provocation, were the very thorns of his life. 
 At such moments, it would have puzzled Loftus 
 to tell which he despised most — the Galls as a 
 whole, or his uncle as a unit. 
 
 "And now about this shooting business," re- 
 sumed Sir Simon. " Where was the pistol fired 
 from ? " 
 
 " Just from this point, Sir Simon," spoke 
 Leek, who was one of the greatest admirers 
 Sir Simon possessed. "And here" — running 
 a few paces onward — " is where the earl 
 dropped." 
 
 It was growing too dusk to distinguish objects ; 
 but Sir Simon stooped, and peered about with 
 the utmost interest. Suddenly he rose and con- 
 fronted them. 
 
 "Now, look here, you fellows, I dare say it 
 was an accident ; the boy got fingering the 
 pistol, and it went off ; he's not so much to 
 blame for that. What he is to blame for, is not 
 confessing ; it's dishonourable, mean, despicable ; 
 and for that he deserves no quarter. Try to find 
 him out, boys ; hunt him up ; run him down ; 
 surely a stray word or a chance look may guide 
 you to him. And whoever succeeds in bringing 
 the truth to light, may come to me for the 
 
SIR SIMON'S REWARD. 77 
 
 handsomest gold watch that is to be bought 
 
 with money." 
 
 A deafening shout arose. In the midst of it 
 
 the three strokes of the great bell were heard 
 calling the boys to evening study. They set off 
 with a bound, all but Trace, who found himself 
 detained by the hand of his uncle. 
 
 " Raymond, if mischief comes of this matter, 
 it will be through you." 
 
 " Through me ! " repeated Trace, taken tho- 
 roughly aback. " Can you suppose, sir, I went 
 shares with Bertie in buying the pistols ? or 
 knew of his bringing them to school, loaded ? " 
 
 " Not that. I am speaking of the other matter 
 — Paradyne's. You are bitter against the very 
 name of Paradyne ; and I don't say you have no 
 reason. But now, take my advice, Raymond ; 
 don't be the one to stir up the past against the 
 boy. I have a feeling against it." 
 
 Sir Simon walked away towards his home, 
 and Trace stood looking after him, resenting the 
 injunction. He was not a favourite, and he 
 knew it ; even that despicable Dick was pre- 
 ferred to him. As a matter of affection, perhaps 
 Trace did not regret this ; but his policy in life 
 was to stand well with all. The tolerating 
 George Paradyne was an uncommonly bitter pill 
 
78 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 to swallow ; but Trace supposed he should have 
 to do it, and he threw a gratuitous and by 
 no means complimentary Avorcl at the unfortu- 
 nate boy, as he ran off to be in time for his 
 studies. 
 
 Scarcely was he out of sight when Miss 
 Brabazon came quietly up through the trees. 
 She had put on a cloak and hood, and her face 
 looked white with a curious fear. Searching 
 here and there, she seemed to be seeking for 
 traces of last night's work. 
 
 f - What are you looking for, Emma ? " 
 
 The unexpected interruption came from Dr. 
 Brabazon, who happened to be passing through 
 the plantation. Emma started aside with a faint 
 cry. 
 
 " What is it, my dear ? What is troubling 
 
 you ? 
 
 " I — I — was thinking who could have done it, 
 papa/' she answered, in a frightened whisper. 
 " If the boys all deny it — why, perhaps they are 
 really not guilty. It — it was so very easy for a 
 stranger, coming by chance through the planta- 
 tion, to have picked up the pistol that Smart 
 dropped, and fired it off without thought of 
 harm — without thought of harm, papa." 
 
 How pleadingly the last words were spoken, 
 
SIR SIMON'S REWARD. 79 
 
 Dr. Brabazon's own heart told him. He answered 
 cheerfully, although it was beating with pain. 
 
 " Emma, it could not have been. It was one 
 of the boys beyond doubt, for he wore the college 
 cap. Why do you let these fancies trouble you. ? 
 Bun home, child ; run home." 
 
80 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 / 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MOTHKB BUTTER'S LODGINGS. 
 
 « 
 
 The term had begun, as the head-master ex- 
 pressed it, ungraciously. The mysterious and 
 disagreeable accident to James Talbot was lead- 
 ing to endless discussion and dissension. The 
 first desk utterly repudiated the notion that it 
 could have been one of themselves, and tacitly, 
 if not directly, accused the second; the second 
 desk threw back the insinuation with all the 
 insolence they dared use. Lamb was one of 
 these, and his name was mentioned (failing some 
 one else to fix it on) in connection with the 
 charge. The suggestion spread, although Brown 
 minor, rather a crony of Lamb's, was ready to 
 testify that Lamb had never stirred out of the 
 hall that night after chapel ; and did testify to 
 it, in fact, with some unnecessary words of con- 
 firmation. Lamb, a tall, thin fellow, was in a 
 terrible rage ; could not have been in a w^orse 
 had he been guilty. Gall, the senior boy, said 
 
MOTHER BUTTER'S LODGINGS. 81 
 
 little ; not having returned at the time, he did 
 not consider it was his province to interfere ; 
 but Loftus, smarting personally under the affair, 
 made himself exceedingly busy, and it was a 
 very unusual thing for Loftus to do. 
 
 The boys, at their evening studies, sat at the 
 low table in the well-lighted hall — a long table 
 on trestles that ran down the middle, with 
 benches around. They were ostensibly preparing 
 their lessons for the morrow; in reality were 
 discussing and bickering among themselves in 
 under-tones. You heard the bell ring for them 
 in the last chapter, when they were in the 
 plantation with Sir Simon Orville. Mr. Long 
 sat at his desk in a remote corner, paying no 
 attention. Great in science, he always had his 
 near-sighted spectacles buried in some abstruse 
 book, and his ears also. 
 
 " Look here," spoke Loftus minor. " When 
 my uncle says he'll give a gold watch, why, he 
 will give it; there's no sham; so if any of you 
 fellows do know about this, just go in and earn 
 it. It'll be a shame to let it go begging." 
 
 " It is an awful shame that a gold watch, or 
 any such bribe, should be needed," called out 
 Loftus major. " Who but a sneak would shoot 
 a fellow, and then shrink from avowing it, letting 
 
 Orville College. 6 
 
82 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 the suspicion fall on the rest indiscriminately ? 
 A sneak, I say." 
 
 " Do you mean that for me, Mr. Loffcus ? " 
 spluttered Lamb, who was sitting opposite to 
 Loftus at the table. " Because, if you do " 
 
 " There you go, Lamb, you and your corky 
 temper," interposed good-humoured Leek. 
 
 * You be quiet, Onions. I say that if he does, 
 I'll make him prove his words." 
 
 "I don't mean it for Lamb in particular, 
 unless he chooses to take it to himself," coolly 
 drawled Loftus. " I have no reason for supposing 
 him guilty." 
 
 The half-apology did not satisfy Lamb. He 
 knew that he was called the " sneak," par 
 excellence; he knew that he did many little 
 underhand things to deserve it. Consequently 
 he always strove to appear particularly white; 
 and to have this grave suspicion thrown upon 
 him was driving him wild. 
 
 " I believe that Loftus knows I was no more 
 out last night than he was," said Lamb, giving 
 his Virgil a wrench, which tore the cover. " That 
 you all know it." 
 
 " As far as I can understand, not a soul went 
 out, except Smart and Loftus minor," observed 
 the senior boy, who really wished to heal 
 
MOTHER BUTTER'S LODGINGS. 
 
 83 
 
 the general discomfort. " None of you were 
 missed." 
 
 " And that's true/ 5 said Lamb. " And if it 
 comes to that, who is to say that it was not that 
 new fellow did it, after all ? Took up the pistol 
 and shot it off by accident, and went and said 
 what he did to screen himself." 
 
 "What new fellow? Do you mean Para- 
 dyne ? " quickly asked Irby, following out some 
 association of ideas in his mind. 
 
 " Paradyne, no ! What could he have had to 
 do with it ? I mean the new master ; that 
 German fellow with an English name. Trace 
 says he thinks he's a regular spy." 
 
 "By the way, where is Trace?" asked Gal], 
 who had suddenly noticed that Trace, usually so 
 punctual at studies, was not present. 
 
 " It couldn't have been Mr. Henry," said Leek, 
 regardless of the question as to Trace. " He saw 
 the fellow making off ; he said he wore the 
 college cap. 
 
 " Your tongue is always ready, Onions," was 
 the rebuke of the senior boy. H It's not at all 
 likely to have been Mr. Henry ; but neither is it 
 necessary to have been the fellow he saw making 
 off. And if it was, he might not have come out 
 of the college ; he might be an outsider. Get on 
 
84 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE 
 
 with your work ; there's really no cause to be 
 worrying over it and suspecting each other." 
 
 The words acted as oil on troubled waters, and 
 they began to settle down to their books and 
 exercises. But it's pleasanter to gossip than 
 to learn. 
 
 "Why does Trace think the German is a 
 spy ? " asked Loftus minor. " Onions said " 
 
 " What's all that talking about ? " roared out 
 Mr. Long, suddenly becoming awake to the 
 noise. " Is that the way you do your lessons ? " 
 And for a few moments, at any rate, silence 
 supervened. 
 
 Where was Trace ? I think I shall have to 
 tell you. After digesting Sir Simon Orville's 
 words in the plantation, he set off* quickly, to be 
 in time for evening study, which rarely lasted 
 more than an hour. Bunning full pelt into the 
 cloisters, he ran against one of the masters. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir," he said, thinking it 
 was Mr. Baker ; for the cloisters were in almost 
 total darkness. 
 
 It was Mr. Henry ; and when Trace became 
 aware of the fact, his spirit rose in rebellion at 
 having called him " sir." A feeling of dislike 
 to this new master was rife within him, having 
 its source no doubt in the past friendship the 
 
MOTHER BUTTER'S LODGINGS. 
 
 85 
 
 stranger had avowed for the unfortunate Captain 
 Paradyne, and in his present evident intention 
 to befriend the boy. Trace was apt to be pre- 
 judiced. 
 
 "Is it you, Trace ? " cried Mr. Henry, recog- 
 nizing the voice. " I would say a word to you." 
 
 " Be quick, if you please, then," was the almost 
 rude answer. " We have only one hour to pre- 
 pare lessons, and I am late as it is." 
 
 " You have heard probably that George Para- 
 dyne is to stay here," began Mr. Henry, leading 
 the way into the open quadrangle, where it was 
 lighter, and there could be no danger of eaves- 
 droppers. 
 
 "Yes; and I am surprised at Dr. Brabazon. 
 My uncle, Sir Simon Orville, sanctions it too. 
 
 He " 
 
 Trace stopped. The generally cool voice 
 seemed overflowing with passion ; and Mr. Henry 
 looked at him in the light of the rising moon. 
 
 " You do not like the decision ! " 
 
 " Like it ! " repeated Trace ; " I think it is an 
 infamous thing. And we are put upon our 
 honour not to tell. It is the first time I ever 
 knew it was right to conceal crime." 
 
 "The boy has committed no crime, if you 
 allude to him." 
 
88 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 "His father did." 
 
 "And his father expiated it with his life. 
 Should not this be sufficient for you ? " 
 
 Trace answered by a gesture of contempt. 
 Mr. Henry threw his luminous eyes on him, their 
 sad expression, so namelessly attractive, con- 
 spicuous even in the subdued light. 
 
 " I have had a great deal of trouble of one sort 
 or another," said the master, in low tones. " It 
 has taught me some things ; amongst them, never 
 to add, by act of mine, to the grief of others t 
 Oh, Trace ! if you only knew the true, tender com- 
 passion we feel for them, when deep trouble has 
 fallen on ourselves ; if you could only see how cruel 
 their life is, without any additional reproach ! " 
 
 "And did Paradyne — the man — bring no 
 trouble upon us ? " burst forth Trace. " Did he 
 not ruin my father, and drive him into exile, and 
 break up our home, and kill my mother ? She 
 died here ; here at my uncle's ; and you may see 
 her gravestone in the churchyard hard by. 
 Trouble ! Did the man not bring enough upon 
 us ? 
 
 " Hea\ en knows he did/' was the sad answer. 
 " I do not attempt to depreciate it. But the boy 
 is innocent. He does not deserve to have it 
 visited upon him." 
 
MOTHER BUTTER'S LODGINGS. 87 
 
 " Doesn't he ? " retorted Trace, utterly angered 
 out of his usual civility. 
 
 " Why, no, of course he does not," rather sharply 
 resumed Mr. Henry, feeling now how hard must 
 be this contending nature. " Look at the thins: 
 dispassionately ; imagine for a moment the case 
 reversed : that your father was the guilty man, 
 and Paradyne's the one on whom the blow fell : 
 should you not think it cruelly unjust and un- 
 justifiable if he pursued revenge on you ? " 
 
 Trace became half-speechless with indignation. 
 " I cannot imagine anything of the sort, sir," he 
 haughtily said, using the " sir " as he might have 
 used it to an offending footman. " I think you 
 are forgetting yourself." 
 
 " I did not wish to offend you ; only to put the 
 matter in the light that it should, as I think, be 
 looked at. What had young Paradyne done — a 
 lad of twelve, then — to invoke this evil on him- 
 self? He was not responsible for his father's 
 actions ; he could not hinder them." 
 
 "It appears to me that we have had enough 
 of this/' observed Trace. "Perhaps you will 
 tell me why you are detaining me from my 
 studies ? " 
 
 " To bespeak your kindness for the boy — your 
 silence, in fact ; that he may be allowed to pursue 
 
88 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 his course here unmolested. It will be repaid 
 to you a hundredfold." 
 
 " Then you can make yourself easy ; I am not 
 going to betray him. Dr. Brabazon has put us 
 on our honour." 
 
 The acknowledgment was not graciously ex- 
 pressed, but Mr. Henry saw he should get nothing 
 better. " And now, Trace/' he continued, " I 
 have a question to ask you on a different subject. 
 When that pistol went off in the plantation last 
 night, I met a boy, as you have heard ; stealing 
 away. Was it you ? " 
 
 There had been many little points in the 
 interview not palatable to Mr. Trace ; but all put 
 together were as nothing compared with this. 
 His complexion was peculiar, apt to turn salmon- 
 colour on occasions of rare provocation, as it did 
 now ; but his reply was cold and calm. 
 
 " You had better take care what you say, Mr. 
 Henry ! I in the plantation at the time ! steal- 
 ing away ! No, I was not. It is against rules to 
 go out after prayers, and I am not in the habit of 
 breaking them. I wish I had been there ! and 
 dropped upon those two juniors who were fools 
 enough to take out a loaded pistol." 
 
 " Hush, that's enough : I would not do you an 
 injury for the world," said Mr. Henry, in the 
 
MOTHER BUTTER'S LODGINGS. 
 
 80 
 
 gentlest and kindest tone. " I did think it was 
 you ; but I kept it to myself, as you perceived." 
 
 "Thank you/' said Trace, half in allusion to 
 the wish, half ironically. " I suppose I may go 
 in now." 
 
 He went out at the great gates as he spoke. 
 But Trace, instead of hastening in to his studies, 
 that he seemed so anxious about, came to the 
 conclusion to delay them yet a little longer. 
 He had a mind to track Mr. Henry. 
 
 Following him at a safe distance, keeping 
 under cover of any bit of shade cast by the moon, 
 he saw him pass the front of the college, and 
 make for some houses round by the shops. Mr. 
 Henry was looking about him as if uncertain of 
 his geography ; finally he paused before a row of 
 small " genteel " dwellings, and entered one of 
 them. 
 
 " It's number five ; and that's where the Para- 
 dynes live ! " exclaimed Trace, who had been 
 gathering a little information for himself in the 
 course of the afternoon. "A nice set to know! 
 Birds of a feather. I shouldn't wonder but he 
 had a share of the spoil ! If ever a firebrand 
 came into a school, it's this same German master. 
 I'll look after him a bit." 
 
 And, having so far set operations afloat, Mr. 
 
90 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Trace galloped back to school as fast as his legs 
 would carry him. 
 
 Skirting the playground at the back of the 
 college, nearly opposite the large bay-window of 
 the master's study, and of the boys' dormitories 
 above it, was a small dwelling-house of rough 
 stone, known amongst the boys as " Mother 
 Butter's." Mother Butter, a tall, spare, angular 
 lady of fifty, kept a cow and a donkey, and a 
 good many fowls. She sold a little butter, 
 poultry, and fresh eggs ; sold choice herbs, mush- 
 room-ketchup, lavender, and other dried flowers 
 to scent drawers. Formerly she used to make 
 " bullseyes 99 for the college boys ; small square 
 delectable tablets, composed of butter, treacle, 
 and peppermint, and did in this a thriving trade. 
 But differences arose, beginning at first with too 
 long credit, and going on to open rupture, and 
 one day last term she flung her treacle saucepan 
 amongst the crew, vowing she would make no 
 more. The saucepan struck Gall's trencher, 
 denting it in and blackening his ear, almost 
 stunning him besides. Smarting under the 
 infliction, he issued on the spot a general order 
 that no more bullseyes were to be consumed at 
 Mother Butter's, though she " made them till all 
 was blue." Since then there had been open and 
 
MOTHER BUTTER'S LODGINGS. 
 
 91 
 
 perpetual warfare. She carried tales to the 
 masters: they entered on a system of petty 
 annoyance : their palates suffering under the 
 deprivation of those choice sweetmeats, it was 
 not likely they would spare her. They painted 
 her cow green ; they cut oft' the plume of 'a 
 handsome cock, the pride of the whole poultry- 
 yard ; they tied a bell to the donkey's tail when 
 it was charged with two panniers of eggs, thereby 
 causing the startled animal to smash the lot; 
 and they laid a huge tin plate across the top of 
 her low kitchen chimney. Nearly all these 
 miseries were effected at night; and as Mrs. 
 Butter watched vigilantly, her surprise equalled 
 her rao-e. Dr. Brabazon had levied a contribution 
 for the value of the eggs; but that did not stop 
 the fun. 
 
 It was a pretty place to look at, this dwelling 
 of Mrs. Butter % with the clematis on the stone 
 walls, its bright flowers before it, and a little 
 paddock behind; and it so happened that Mr. 
 Henry, seeking for lodgings, heard there were 
 some to let here. He found a neat plain sitting- 
 room, and a closet opening from it which just 
 held the bed and wash-stand, with space for 
 his portmanteau, if he put the chair out. Mrs. 
 Butter said she would cook for and wait upon 
 
92 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 him ; the rent asked was low, and he made the 
 bargain, unconscious man, off-hand. The previous 
 occupant had been an outdoor servant of the 
 college, and you may imagine the effect Mr. 
 Henry's choice produced on the school. Not 
 until he had moved into it was he aware of the 
 contemptuous feeling it excited, and then not of 
 its extent. " It suits me," said he, quietly and 
 decisively. 
 
 He saw no reason why it should not suit him. 
 It had been freshly done up, and was convenient 
 for the college. He might have thought it good 
 enough, even though he had not been obliged 
 to look at every sixpence he spent. The boys 
 might have thought it good enough, but for its 
 being in the house of the obnoxious Mother 
 Butter, and for a servant's previous occupation 
 of it. 
 
 You know the old saying : " One man must 
 not look at a horse, whilst another may leap 
 over the hedge." Just so was it here. Had 
 some one great and grand — a duke, let us say, 
 for example — taken a fancy to that room, and 
 come and occupied it, the boys would have been 
 seized with a sudden sense of its advantages as 
 a lodging, had it photographed as a model of 
 beauty ; and praised it abroad ; they might even 
 
MOTHER BUTTER'S LODGINGS. 
 
 93 
 
 have relaxed a little in their polite attentions to 
 Mother Butter; but as one whom they were 
 half-way prepared to regard as an enemy entered 
 upon it, the case was different. In truth, a 
 strong feeling, independently of this, was setting 
 in against the foreign master. 
 
 The declining sun shone full on Mr. Henry, as 
 he sat at the window of his room. He had taken 
 possession of it some days now, and things were 
 settling down into ordinary routine. James 
 Talbot was almost well again, and the commotion 
 had subsided ; but the affair remained in the 
 same doubt, none of the boys had confessed, and 
 suspicion was partially diverting itself from them. 
 This room of Mr. Henry's faced the college and 
 playground, and he liked to draw his table to 
 the window. He was dotting down on a piece 
 of paper his probable expenses ; was calculating 
 how little it would be possible to live upon, and 
 how much to save out of his hundred and twenty 
 pounds a- year salary. He had applied to a 
 house in Paternoster Row for some translation 
 to do ; his idea had been to get private teaching 
 in his leisure hours, but he found Orville Green 
 too small a place to admit of the probability. 
 The answer from the Paternoster Row house 
 had just come in: they would give him the 
 
94 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 translation of a scientific German work ; but the 
 terms offered with it were very small indeed. 
 He intended to accept them ; he said to himself 
 that he had no other resource but to accept 
 them ; and they were being put down in his 
 pencilled calculation. 
 
 Lodgings, food, laundress, clothes, and sundries. 
 Lodging and laundress must be paid ; the sundries 
 must be found, those hundred and one trifles 
 that arise one knows not how; in clothes he 
 could not stint himself, for he must appear as a 
 gentleman : indeed, it would have been against 
 Mr. Henry's natural instincts not to do so; but 
 the food ! — ah ! he could deny himself there as 
 much as he pleased, and the <c much " seemed 
 unlimited. To a young man these prospective 
 self-denials seem so easy. 
 
 He laid down his pencil, and leaned his head 
 upon his hand. In his face, as he looked upwards ; 
 in his sad dark eyes, fixed on the blue sky, but 
 not seeing it, there was an expression that seemed 
 to speak of utter friendlessness. A great care 
 was upon him that evening ; care of one sort 
 was always upon him, but a different one had 
 suddenly arisen to make itself heard. Was his 
 health giving way ? Doubts of it had occurred 
 now and again in the past few weeks and been 
 
MOTHER BUTTER'S LODGINGS. 
 
 95 
 
 driven away without much notice ; but since 
 crossing over to England, his strength was as 
 a mere reed. What if the capability to work 
 were taken from him. Certain words came into 
 his mind, — " Cut it down, why cumbereth it the 
 ground ? " Was he destined to be one of those 
 useless trees, bearing no fruit ? doing no good in 
 his generation ? The hot tears came into his 
 eyes, and he breathed a silent word to One who 
 was seated beyond that bright blue sky. 
 
 George Paradyne dashed in. " Mr. Henry," 
 began he, without preliminary ceremony of any 
 description, a I shan't like this Orville College." 
 
 " Why not ? " asked Mr. Henry, putting his 
 paper into a drawer, and his pencil into his 
 pocket. 
 
 " There's something up against me. The 
 fellows won't let me join in their play." 
 " Oh, nonsense, George." 
 
 f< But it isn't nonsense. They were at a fault 
 just now for one to make up a game — it's that 
 noisy one, you know, that takes eighteen fellows, 
 nine on a side, and they had only seventeen, 
 ' Oh, here comes another,' I heard some one say 
 as I ran up ; but when they saw it was me, there 
 was a sudden silence, and every one of them 
 turned away." 
 
96 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 "Some little prejudice, perhaps," carelessly 
 replied Mr. Henry. " There exists something of 
 the sort, I fancy, against the outdoor pupils. 
 Be brave, and hold on your right course ; you 
 will live it down." 
 
 " I'm not afraid of that," answered George. 
 " I should like to know, though, what it is the 
 boys have in their heads. When are you coming 
 to see us again ? " he halted to say, as he was 
 hastening away as unceremoniously as he had 
 come in. " Mamma says she has something to 
 ask you that she forgot the other night." 
 
 " Does she ? I will come one of these first 
 evenings." 
 
 George Paradyne vaulted away, and Mr. 
 Henry sat on alone. His jealous eyes — jealous 
 for the welfare of another — had not failed to 
 detect the feeling against George Paradyne ; but 
 this confirmation of it fell upon him with a sort 
 of shock, and he was as certain in his own mind 
 that the originator was Raymond Trace, as that 
 it existed. 
 
 He was right. Mr. Raymond Trace, in his 
 bitter resentment against the Paradynes, was 
 breaking his word of honour in the spirit, if not 
 in the letter. He did not speak of the past, it is 
 true ; but by dint of whispers and insinuations, 
 
MOTHER BUTTER'S LODGINGS. 
 
 97 
 
 he was setting the school against George Para- 
 dyne, and contriving it in such a way that none 
 could have suspected him to have set it afloat. 
 He was also fanning the flame against Mr. 
 Henry; and in his self-righteousness he thought 
 he was doing the most natural and justifiable 
 thing in the world. 
 
 Orville College. 
 
98 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MR. GALL ABROAD. ' 
 
 And now, not to make a mystery of it to you, 
 any longer, I will tell you that it was Raymond 
 Trace who had fired the pistol. Mr. Henry was 
 not mistaken in his recognition of Trace ; and 
 what's more, he knew that he was not ; though 
 at the time he did not know his name, or who 
 he was. Mr. Trace had silently quitted the 
 college after prayers on a little private ex- 
 pedition of his own ; in his hurry, he caught up 
 Mr. Longs cap, not noticing the mistake; and 
 was rushing through the plantation, when the 
 sound of hushed voices caused him to slacken 
 his footsteps and advance cautiously, lest he 
 should be seen himself. Peeping through the 
 trees, he discerned Smart and Dick Loftus, each 
 flourishing a pistol about like two young mad- 
 men ; and Trace, making a movement in his 
 surprise, betrayed his presence. You know 
 what followed : the boys flew off with one of 
 
MR, GALL ABROAD, 
 
 99 
 
 the pistols ; the other Trace took up, and 
 presently fired off. Fired it heedlessly, without 
 thought of harm, never supposing it was loaded ; 
 with an idea perhaps of further scaring the two 
 decamping boys ; neither had he heard the 
 approach of Talbot. When he found the pistol 
 was loaded, and that some mischief had ensued, 
 he was startled almost out of his senses, quite 
 out of his presence of mind. 
 
 His straightforward course, as every one knows, 
 would have been to go up and see who was 
 wounded ; but I'm afraid Trace's was not a very 
 straightforward nature ; and there was also the 
 instinctive desire to conceal his having come out. 
 Not a boy in the college was more solicitous of 
 appearing to keep the rules than Trace ; and he 
 had grown to be looked upon as a model to the 
 rest. Dropping the pistol, away he stole, obeying 
 instinct only, too terrified to be able to think 
 calmly, and came face to face with the new 
 foreign master. Up went his hand to hide 
 his face, and away he backed into the trees ; 
 stealing noiselessly for some short distance, and 
 then tearing back to school helter-skelter. It 
 was only when he came to hang up the cap that 
 he discovered the mistake he had made in taking 
 out a masters. He glided into the hall, sat 
 
100 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 down behind the nearest desk, and gradually let 
 his presence be noticed. When the news came 
 in presently, Trace was talking with Irby and 
 Brown major, and rose up in the same consterna- 
 tion as the rest. 
 
 You may therefore imagine what his sensa- 
 tions were when the head-master subsequently 
 appealed to his honour, to his in common with 
 that of the rest of the school. He could not 
 declare himself ; the time had gone by for it ; 
 it was quite impossible that he, having concealed 
 it, could come forth at that, the eleventh hour. 
 Over and over again he blamed his folly and his 
 cowardice for having stolen away; he would 
 give all the money his pockets contained — and 
 money was often a scarce commodity with Mr. 
 Trace — to have bravely gone up to the wounded 
 boy and declared the truth of the accident. He 
 called himself a fool, he called himself a coward ; 
 he called himself sundry other disparaging 
 names : but that it was not his habit, he might 
 have sworn at himself. Not for the mere act in 
 itself, firing the pistol ; that was almost a pure 
 accident; but for having concealed that it was 
 he who did it. 
 
 However, his course was taken, and all he 
 could do now w r as to hope and trust that he 
 
MR. GALL ABROAD. 
 
 101 
 
 might never be discovered. With this hope 
 filling every crevice of his heart, making itself 
 heard hourly in his brain, there came the startling 
 question of the German master — " Was it not you 
 I met ? " Trace could only be indignant and say 
 it was not ; but the disagreeable doubt, whether 
 he had been positively recognized or not, caused 
 him to feel for Mr. Henry a bitter fear and 
 hatred. He thought it was only a suspicion, not 
 a recognition, for Mr. Henry's quiet and courteous 
 manner deceived him, and he grew to believe 
 that his denial had borne its intended fruit. So 
 the fear subsided, but the hatred ripened ; and 
 it might perhaps bring trouble in the future. 
 
 A sunny day towards the close of September, 
 and Miss Brabazon went out with Rose. She 
 was about to pay a visit to Mrs. Paradyne ; not 
 only because it was her custom to call on the 
 friends of the outdoor boys, but to show T , in this 
 instance, all she could of consideration and kind- 
 ness. The head-master and Miss Brabazon were 
 in one respect the very opposite to Trace. Trace 
 thought inherited misfortune a legitimate target 
 for lances of contempt, if not of reproach ; they 
 considered that such people, so blameless and 
 unhappy, should receive all of gentle commisera- 
 tion the world can show. 
 
102 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Miss Rose went running along, the ribbons to 
 her Leghorn hat flying, as she turned her vain 
 little head from side to side, looking for any 
 chance college boy that might be abroad to cast 
 his admiring eyes upon her. Not seeing one, 
 she darted up to Mrs. Gall's governess, who was 
 walking about the grounds of Mrs. Gall's resi- 
 dence with some of the children, and then darted 
 back to her sister. 
 
 " There's Jessie and Kate Gall, Emma. Can't 
 you call on their mamma whilst I walk about 
 with them ? Mrs. Gall is at the window. I 
 know her by her yellow cap." 
 
 Emma Brabazon looked across the lawn at the 
 handsome house, and saw a yellow silk screen 
 standing near one of the windows. She laughed. 
 
 " You can stay here, however, Rose," she said, 
 nodding to the governess. " I will call for you 
 as I come back." 
 
 Glad that it had so happened, for Miss Rose 
 had insisted on accompanying her rather against 
 her will, Emma Brabazon walked on to Prospect 
 Terrace, as the houses were named, perhaps 
 because they faced a brickfield, and inquired for 
 Mrs. Paradyne. A rather faded lady, sitting in 
 the small upper room, styled by courtesy a 
 drawing-room, rose to receive her. She was tall 
 
MR. GALL ABROAD. 
 
 103 
 
 and slender, with a fair thin face, and bright 
 dark eyes ; her cap was of real lace, her gown, a 
 delicate silk, looked faded, like herself, and her 
 manners were quiet and self-possessed. At the 
 first glance Miss Brabazon could not fail to 
 perceive that she was essentially a gentlewoman. 
 
 " It is very kind of you to come," she observed, 
 when they had spoken a little together, Miss 
 Brabazon sitting on the chintz sofa, herself on 
 an opposite chair. " Living in the quiet way my 
 circumstances compel me to live, in these small 
 lodgings, I had not expected that any one would 
 call upon me." 
 
 " But I am very pleased to do so," said Miss 
 Brabazon, " not only because your son is at the 
 college ; and I have brought papa's card," she 
 added, laying it on the table. " He has not time 
 to pay visits himself ; but he bade me say he 
 hoped you would come to see us, and that we 
 should be good friends." 
 
 " I visit nowhere," said Mrs. Paradyne, a cer- 
 tain fretfulness observable in her tone. " People 
 do not care to invite those who cannot return 
 it to them. Do not think me ungracious," she 
 hastened to add ; " I was not speaking in answer 
 to Dr. Brabazon's kind message, but rather 
 thinking of my past experience." 
 
104 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " I hope your son likes the school," observed 
 Emma, rather at a loss what to say. 
 
 " He likes the school ; he does not like his 
 companions,' ' answered Mrs. Paradyne. 
 
 " No ! " exclaimed Emma, surprised. " Why 
 not?" 
 
 " They seem to shun him ; they do shun him, 
 there's no doubt about it. It is making me 
 miserable : I could not sleep all last night for 
 thinking of it. There's scarcely a boy will speak 
 to him, or treat him as a companion ;— my dear 
 son, who is so bright and good." 
 
 Amidst a confusion of ideas, two in particular 
 loomed out dimly in Emma Brabazon's mind — 
 that Mrs. Paradyne was rather absorbed in 
 herself, and that her son was to her a very 
 idol. 
 
 " Can those boys have betrayed him ? " she 
 involuntarily exclaimed. 
 
 " Betrayed what ? " questioned Mrs. Paradyne. 
 
 And Emma Brabazon blushed to the roots of 
 her hair. She had been prepared to offer every 
 kind and considerate sympathy if Mrs. Paradyne 
 herself alluded to the past, but certainly had not 
 intended gratuitously to enter upon it. There 
 was no help for it now ; and she spoke a few 
 words of the discovery made by Trace — that he 
 
MB. GALL ABROAD. 
 
 105 
 
 had recognized George Paradyne to be the son 
 of a gentleman who had injured his father. 
 
 " Yes/' said Mrs. Paradyne, folding her delicate 
 hands in meek resignation on her lap, "I was 
 sure something disagreeable would ensue as soon 
 as George came home and told me that the sons 
 of Loftus and Trace— as the firm used to be — 
 Avere at the college. It is most unfortunate that 
 Ave should happen to have come to the same/' 
 
 " Yes, it is — -for your son's sake/' murmured 
 Emma, who felt almost guilty herself. 
 
 "I expected nothing less, I assure you, Miss 
 Brabazon, than to find my son come home with 
 a note from the head-master, dismissing him 
 from the college. I— — " 
 
 " Oh, if you only knew papa, you would not 
 think it," she interrupted, gathering her scattered 
 courage. " He would be all the more likely to 
 retain him. The only fear was about the others, 
 the Loftuses and Trace. If their friends had 
 raised any objection — but it has been quite the 
 contrary," she hastened to add, quitting the un- 
 pleasant point ; u and papa charged the boys on 
 their honour not to breathe a word of the past 
 to the school." 
 
 " They have breathed something, or others 
 have ; for George is being shunned most un- 
 
106 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 justifiably. Ah, well ! it is only a natural con- 
 sequence of the miserable past ; I said it would 
 cling to us for life, an incubus of disgrace. And 
 so it will." 
 
 " Papa would like to tell you how greatly he 
 sympathizes with you," said Emma, eagerly. " I 
 hope you will accept our friendship, and let us 
 testify our respect in every way that we can. 
 Unmerited misfortune is so sad to bear." 
 
 " I thought it would have killed me," was the 
 answer made by Mrs. Paradyne, her tone one of 
 discontented reproach — reproach for the husband 
 who had gone. " I asked myself what right he 
 had to bring this miseiy upon me ; to entail on 
 his children an inheritance of shame; I asked 
 what he could have done with all the money; 
 and there was nothing to answer me. When I 
 look on my darling, I can hardly forbear crying 
 out against his memory. Pardon me, Miss 
 Brabazon ; I think this is the first time I have 
 spoken of it to a stranger, but your kindly words 
 caused me to open my heart." 
 
 " Have you many children ? " inquired Miss 
 Brabazon. 
 
 " Two sons — George and an elder one. I have 
 George only with me ; the other is out, working 
 for his living. And I have a daughter." 
 
MR. GALL ABROAD. 
 
 107 
 
 " Is she with you ? " 
 
 "She is a teacher in a school in Derbyshire. 
 I seem to be quite isolated from family and 
 friends/' continued Mrs. Paradyne, in fretful 
 tones. " It is only another natural result of the 
 wretched past. I suppose my boy in this new 
 college will be equally friendless." 
 
 "Your son has a firm friend in our new 
 German master, Mr. Henry," was the reply of 
 Miss Brabazon. 
 
 It w r as intended to be reassuring; but Mrs. 
 Paradyne seemed to take it up in quite an 
 opposite light. Her faded brow contracted ; her 
 eyes assumed a hard expression. 
 
 "I beg your pardon, Miss Brabazon; I would 
 rather not speak of Mr. Henry. When I remem- 
 ber that it is through him we came up to this 
 college, where my boy is being subjected to 
 these slights and insults, I cannot think of him 
 with patience." 
 
 "Was it through Mr. Henry you came to 
 Orville?" 
 
 "It was. He wrote to us from Heidelberg, 
 saying he had made an engagement with a first- 
 class college in England, and suggested that 
 George should be placed at it. He could give 
 him so much of his time, he said. And this is 
 
108 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 the result ! — that we find Raymond Trace here 
 and the Loftus boys." 
 
 "But surely Mr. Henry did it for the 
 best ? " 
 
 " He intended it for the best, no doubt, but it 
 has not turned out so for George. What I think 
 is this — that Mr. Henry, knowing past circum- 
 stances and the cloud they cast upon us, might 
 have made some inquiries as to who the scholars 
 were at Orville College, before he brought George 
 to it, and put me to the expense and trouble and 
 pain of coming here.'' 
 
 The injustice of the reasoning — nay, the in- 
 gratitude — brought to Emma Brabazon a deeper 
 conviction of the innate selfishness of Mrs. Para- 
 dyne. She supposed that her great misfortunes 
 had hardened her : and the saying, so keen and 
 true, came running through her mind as she 
 took leave, — " Adversity hardens the heart, or it 
 opens it to Paradise." 
 
 A dim idea rested on Miss Brabazon that she 
 had seen Mrs. Paradyne before ; or some one 
 resembling her. Ever and anon, during the 
 interview, an expression had dawned over her 
 countenance that seemed strangely familiar to 
 her. "But it was only when her face looked 
 pleasant that the idea arose," thought Emma 
 
MB. GALL ABROAD. 
 
 109 
 
 Brabazon, as she turned into the avenue and 
 crossed the lawn leading to Mrs. Gall's. 
 
 Miss Rose was making herself at home, and 
 had her things off. "I'm going to stay tea, 
 Emma/' was her salutation to her sister. "You 
 can go home without me." 
 
 It was her way. She did not say, " May I 
 stay ? " but took will and decision into her own 
 hands. In great things Emma quietly corrected 
 her; in trifles Rose was yielded to. Emma 
 looked at Mrs. Gall, a small, thin, kindly woman, 
 with a sharp red nose. 
 
 " Do let her stay, Miss Brabazon. William is 
 coming home to go out to dinner with his papa, 
 and the children and governess are to have a 
 pleasant hour with me. See how anxious Jessie 
 is that you should say Yes." 
 
 Emma laughed and acquiesced. Upon which 
 Rose waltzed into the governess's room with the 
 news, and watched her sister away. It was 
 scarcely tea-time yet, and Miss Brabazon found 
 she had time to go round to Mrs. Butter's, whom 
 she had occasion to see about some mushroom- 
 ketchup. Mr. Henry was standing at his low 
 sitting-room window as she passed, dreamily 
 watching the boys in the playground, for school 
 was over. They were whooping, halloaing, 
 
110 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 running, after the manner of schoolboys ; and a 
 little army of them had gathered at the palings, 
 looking this way. The masters face wore that 
 sad look that had previously so struck Miss 
 Brabazon, and she turned aside to speak to him. 
 
 " I have been to see Mrs. Paradyne," she said, 
 thinking the information might give him pleasure. 
 
 " Have you ! " he answered, his countenance 
 and his eyes lighting up. " How very kind of 
 you, Miss Brabazon ! " 
 
 " Poor thing ! What terrible trouble she must 
 have seen ! She carries it in her face, in the 
 tones of her voice, in her manner ; all betray it. 
 She says she shall never overcome the blow/' 
 
 " But did she speak of it to you, Miss Braba- 
 zon ? " he inquired, in some surprise. 
 
 " Yes, but it was my fault ; I inadvertently 
 alluded to it," replied Miss Brabazon, dropping 
 her voice. " I was so vexed with myself. Mrs. 
 Paradyne tells me there is another son, who is 
 out somewhere." 
 
 "Ah, yes," returned Mr. Henry; and his 
 dreamy eyes went out again, as if he could see 
 the other son in the distance. 
 
 a But she seems quite rapt up in this, her 
 second son ; it struck me somehow that she does 
 not care for the other," continued Miss Brabazon, 
 
MR. GALL ABROAD. 
 
 Ill 
 
 in pleasant tones of confidence. " She tells me 
 it was you who recommended the college to 
 her." 
 
 He looked for a minute at Miss Brabazon 
 before he answered : it almost seemed to her as 
 if he divined Mrs. Paradyne's reproachful words. 
 
 "After I had made the agreement with Dr. 
 Brabazon to come here, I wrote to Mrs. Paradyne. 
 She wanted, as I knew, to place her son at a 
 first-class school, and I thought I might give 
 him some little extra attention." 
 
 "Just so. It was very kind of you. Mrs. 
 Paradyne has an idea that the boys are shunning 
 him/' added Miss Brabazon. 
 
 " I believe they are. But why, I cannot find 
 out, for I don't think they have any clue to the 
 past. I tell George Paradyne he will live it 
 down." 
 
 "To be sure he will. There is a daughter, 
 also, I find — a teacher in a school." 
 
 For one moment Mr. Henry turned and looked 
 sharply, questioningly at Miss Brabazon; as if 
 he would ask how much more Mrs. Paradyne 
 had told her. But it was evident that he 
 shunned the subject ; and he made no comment 
 whatever on this additional item of news. An 
 idea flashed over Miss Brabazon that Mr. Henry 
 
112 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 was attached to this young lady ; but why it 
 did so she could not have told. 
 
 " Good-afternoon, Mr. Henry." 
 
 He bowed his adieu, and Miss Brabazon went 
 round to the house-door, and thence to the 
 kitchen. Mrs. Butter was standing there in a 
 fury, surrrounded by coils of string and a heap 
 of paper. 
 
 " Look here, Miss Emma," was her salutation ; 
 and she was familiar with Miss Brabazon from 
 having formerly lived servant in the college. 
 "If those boys don't have something done to 
 them, it's a dreadful shame. There comes a 
 railway porter to the door five minutes ago, — 
 'A parcel for you, ma'am,' he says to me; 'four- 
 pence to pay ! ' Well, I was expecting a parcel 
 from my brother, and I paid the fourpence and 
 took it in. ' What on earth has made Bill tie it 
 up with all this string, and wrap it round with 
 all this paper ? ' says I as I undid it. First 
 string, and then paper ; then string, and then 
 paper; and curious round holes bored in all of 
 it, as if done with a big iron skewer. But it 
 never struck me — no, Miss Emma, it never struck 
 me ; and I went on and on till I came to the last 
 wrap, and was bending over that to see whatever 
 that could be, done up so careful, when a live 
 
ME. GALL ABROAD. 
 
 113 
 
 mouse jumped out in my face. I shrieked out 
 so, that it brought the German gentleman in — 
 he thought I was on fire. Between us we caught 
 the mouse, and there he is, in a pail o l water, 
 which is where them boys ought to be. The 
 depth of 'em ! boring them holes to keep the 
 animal alive, and getting a railway porter to 
 come with it, as bold as brass ! " 
 
 Emma Brabazon, staid lady of thirty though 
 she was, stood coughing behind her handkerchief. 
 "But how do you know it was the boys?" she 
 asked. 
 
 c f Know ! " wrathfully retorted Mother Butter. 
 " There's fifty faces turned o^l to the house now 
 from the playground, if there's one ; and all of 
 'em as meek as lambs ! Just look at 'em ! ' 3 
 
 Thinking she would leave the ketchup for a 
 more auspicious occasion, Miss Brabazon went 
 away, leaving Mrs. Butter fuming and grumbling. 
 Sundry faces certainly were still scanning the 
 house ; but Miss Brabazon appeared to see 
 nothing, and went on her way. In turning 
 round by the chapel, she encountered the senior 
 boy. 
 
 "Did you send that present to Mrs. Butter 
 just now, Gal] ? " 
 
 " A present, Miss Brabazon ? " 
 
 Orville College. 8 
 
114 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " A live mouse done up in a parcel." 
 
 Gall stared, and then laughed. He knew 
 nothing about it. The seniors were above those 
 practical tricks. "It was the second desk, no 
 doubt/' he said. " Am I to inquire into it, Miss 
 Brabazon ? " 
 
 " No, not from me. But they should not tease 
 the old woman beyond endurance." 
 
 " She has a fretful temper," said Gall. 
 
 " And the boys make it worse. Gall," added 
 Miss Brabazon, her tone changing, and the 
 senior boy thought it bore a touch of fear, 
 " you have not discovered yet who fired the 
 pistol ? " » 
 
 "Not at all. We begin to think now, Miss 
 Brabazon, that it was not one of us." 
 
 " Ah," she said, turning her face away. 
 " What is the cause of this feeling against the 
 new boy, George Paradyne ? " she continued, 
 and the question seemed to come abruptly after 
 the pause. 
 
 " I don't know," replied Gall, excessively sur- 
 prised that it should be asked him. u I perceive 
 there is some feeling against Paradyne ; I suppose 
 because he is an outsider." 
 
 "Gall, you have more sense, more thought, 
 than some of your companions, and I can speak 
 
MR. GALL ABROAD. 
 
 115 
 
 to you confidentially, as one friend would speak 
 to another/' resumed Miss Brabazon. " Ascer- 
 tain, if you can, the cause of this feeling, with- 
 out making a fuss, you know ; and tell me what 
 it is. Soothe it down if possible ; make the boy's 
 way easy amongst you. I am sure he does not 
 deserve to be shunned." 
 
 Gall touched his cap, much flattered, and went 
 on his way. Not into school : he had been 
 invited out to dinner with his father, as Mrs. 
 Gall had said, and had leave from Dr. Brabazon 
 until eleven o'clock. This gave a golden oppor- 
 tunity to the seniors, and they availed them- 
 selves of it. In recording the doings of a large 
 school, where truth is adhered to, the bad has to 
 be told with the good. 
 
 Smoking was especially forbidden : nothing 
 was so certainly followed by punishment as the 
 transgression of the rule. Not only was it 
 sternlv interdicted, but Dr. Brabazon talked 
 kindly and earnestly to the boys in private. 
 The habit when acquired early was most per- 
 nicious, he reiterated to them ; frequently in- 
 ducing paralysis by middle age. He gave Gall 
 special instructions to be watchful ; and this was 
 well; the senior boy was faithful to the trust 
 reposed in him, and, though the vigilance of the 
 
116 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 masters could be eluded, it was not so easy to 
 escape his. But on occasions like this, when 
 Gall's back was turned, certain of the seniors 
 who liked a cigar, or a pipe — anything — when 
 they could get it, seized the opportunity, in 
 defiance of rules and the head-master. 
 
 They set about the recreation this evening in 
 the privacy of their chamber. There were seven 
 beds in it, occupied by Gall, Loftus, Trace, Irby, 
 Fullarton, Savage, and Brown major. Taking 
 oft* their jackets and putting out the candle, they 
 drew the window up slowly and carefully, and 
 lighted their cigars. Not Trace : he had never 
 been seen with anything of the sort in his 
 mouth: and it always made Brown major sick, 
 ready to die ; but he considered it manly to 
 persevere. There they stood at the window, 
 puffing away, laughing and talking iu under 
 tones. News of Mrs. Butter's present had run 
 the round of the school, and the seniors, though 
 loftily superior to such things in the presence of 
 the rest, did not disdain now to enjoy that and 
 other interesting events. That lady's domicile 
 was in full view; her large dog lay in the 
 garden. It w r as the fourth dog she had tried, 
 and those wicked reptiles (one of Mrs. Butter's 
 laudatory names for them) had made friends 
 
MB. GALL ABROAD. 
 
 117 
 
 with each animal in succession, and so bribed 
 him to their interests. 
 
 " I say, what is it that's up against Paradyne ? " 
 suddenly asked Brown major, glad of any oppor- 
 tunity to get that miserable cigar out of his 
 mouth. 
 
 No one answered : the boys were too lazy, or 
 the cigars too exacting. That Brown major had 
 a trick of bringing up unpleasant topics. He 
 asked again. 
 
 " He had no business to be put in our class," 
 said Savage at length. 
 
 u Jove, no ! But that wasn't his fault." 
 
 "An outsider and all," continued Savage. 
 "It's the second desk, though, that are making 
 the set at him." 
 
 " What has he done to them ? " 
 
 " Bother ! " said Savage, who was in some 
 difficulty about his cigar. 
 
 Brown major was not to be put down ; talking 
 was more convenient than smoking just now. 
 " Do you know, Trace ? " 
 
 " It's no affair of mine," replied Trace, coldly, 
 and Irby exchanged a meaning glance with him 
 in the starlight. 
 
 "This beastly cigar won't draw at all," ex- 
 claimed Savage. 
 
118 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " No, they won't," assented Fullarton, in much 
 wrath ; " and I paid threepence apiece for them." 
 For the treat this evening was his. "It's a 
 regular swindle." 
 
 " The best cigars " 
 
 " Hist ! Who's that ? " 
 
 The warning came from Trace. Not being 
 occupied as the rest were, his attention was 
 awake, and a sound like a cough had caught his 
 ear from beneath the window. Out went the 
 heads and the cigars, which was a great want 
 of caution. On the gravel-walk below, pacing 
 about before the head-master's study, whose 
 large bay-window abutted upon it, was Mr. 
 Henry. 
 
 "Take care, you fellows," murmured Trace; 
 " it's that German spy." 
 
 In came the cigars. The boys, snatching them 
 from their lips, held them behind, and put out 
 their heads again. 
 
 " What makes you call him a spy, Trace ? " 
 whispered Loftus. 
 
 " Because I know he is one. Mind ! he saw 
 the cigars : I watched him look up. I wonder 
 what he is doing there ? " 
 
 The idea of a spy in the school — and he one 
 of the masters — was not at all agreeable, and the 
 
MR, GALL ABROAD. 
 
 119 
 
 smokers felt a sort of chill. " How do you know 
 he is one, Trace ? " asked Brown major. 
 
 " That's my business. I tell you that he is, 
 and that's enough. I'd give half-a-crown to 
 know what he is walking there for ! He can't 
 have any business there." 
 
 For the walk was a solitary walk, not leading 
 to any particular spot; of course open to the 
 inmates of the college, but no one ever thought 
 of going there at night. Hence the wonder. 
 Perhaps its solitude may have made its attrac- 
 tion for Mr. Henry : quiet and still it lay under- 
 neath the stars, but a minute or two's distance 
 from his lodgings. The boys, peeping out still 
 with hushed breath, saw him presently stroll 
 away in the direction of his home, making no 
 sign that he had observed them. 
 
 "Mark you," said Fullarton, much put out, 
 " the fellow has stationed himself in those low- 
 lived rooms of Mother Butter's to be a spy upon 
 us. Trace is right." 
 
 But not one of them had known that during 
 this little episode Brown minor came into the 
 room on some mission to his brother, and had 
 seen the red ends of the live cigars, just then 
 held backwards. Divining; that it might not be 
 a convenient moment for intrusion, young Mr. 
 
120 OEVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Brown withdrew quietly, leaving his errand 
 unfulfilled ; went back to his own room, and 
 there whispered the news confidentially that the 
 seniors were smoking. 
 
( 121 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MR. LAMB IMPROVES HIS MIND. 
 
 Rather to the consternation of the first desk, 
 though perhaps not very much to their surprise, 
 Mr. Long brought a charge against them — that 
 they had been smoking. It was the morning 
 following Gall's holiday ; and Mr. Long waylaid 
 three or four of the seniors as they were filing 
 into the school-hall after chapel. Gall of course 
 knew nothing about it. His nose had been 
 greeted with an unusual scent on entering the 
 chamber the previous night, when the boys were 
 all in bed and asleep, but he was wise enough 
 never to take cognizance of things that did not 
 fall under his immediate observation. Mr. Long 
 addressed himself to civil Trace. 
 
 " Trace, I charge you, speak the truth. Were 
 vou smoking ? " 
 
 " No, Mr. Long, I was not. I never smoke.'' 
 " I cant smoke, sir," put in Brown major, 
 eagerly. " It wouldn't agree with me." 
 
122 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 "I beg your pardon, Mr. Long, but I think 
 whoever has carried this story to you, might 
 have been better occupied in minding his own 
 business," observed Loftus, boldly. "I wonder 
 you take notice of tales brought by a rat," 
 
 Mr. Long flushed a little, but was not to be 
 put down. He awarded every one that slept 
 in the senior room, except Gall and Trace, a 
 severe punishment : lessons to do out of hours. 
 Gall, from his absence, could not have been in it, 
 and the denial of Trace was believed. If Lamb 
 was the sneak of the school, Trace was the 
 Pharisee, and considered by the masters accord- 
 ingly. But that Mr. Long was conscious of 
 feeling rather small himself on the subject of 
 listening to " a rat " — whom he took to mean 
 Lamb — he might have laid the offence before 
 the head-master: as it was, he dealt with it 
 himself. There was much dissatisfaction rife at 
 the first desk that day. 
 
 Had a very angel from heaven come down to 
 tell them the informant was not Mr. Henry, they 
 had scarcely listened. He was their rat. Even 
 Loftus and Irby, the two who had been inclined 
 to like the German master, turned against him. 
 Gall also privately considered it a gratuitous 
 interference. 
 
MR. LAMB IMPROVES HIS MIND. 128 
 
 " I told you I knew the fellow was a spy," cried 
 Trace, speaking vehemently in his resentment. 
 
 A spy from henceforth, in their estimation, 
 and to be so looked upon : one who would have 
 the whole school armed against him. 
 
 But now, the informant was not Mr. Henry — 
 as I dare say you have divined : the real one ' 
 was Lamb. When Brown minor carried back 
 the news to his chamber of what he had seen, 
 Lamb, who slept there, treasured it up, and 
 whispered it to Mr. Long the first thing in the 
 morning. Not a single boy, excepting himself, 
 would have told. The whole of the juniors, from 
 the second desk downwards, would have scorned 
 it : they were too fond of escapades themselves, 
 to tell of the seniors; not to speak of the hidings 
 — to use their own language — they would have 
 been treated to in private. In this instance 
 Lamb was not suspected, the suspicion having 
 fixed itself on Mr. Henry. . 
 
 Something almost amounting to a rebellion 
 took place in the quadrangle after morning 
 school ; and perhaps no man had ever been called 
 so many hard names as the unfortunate foreign 
 master. Paradyne was not there ; being an 
 outsider, and not in favour besides, he had gone 
 home at once ; or the news of the accusation 
 
124 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 might have reached Mr. Henry. A cad ! a 
 sneak ! a German spy ! What was to be done ? 
 asked the enraged boys, one of another. Well, 
 nothing much could be done, except sending 
 him to Coventry. Not being the head-master, 
 they had not the authority to dismiss him ; 
 neither, as the affair had its rise in that for- 
 bidden fruit, tobacco, could they be demonstrative 
 in the hearing of the masters. " Let's go to 
 him," foamed Savage. " Let's have it out." 
 
 " Better not," advised Fullarton, who, as pur- 
 chaser of the cigars, felt a trifle more insecure 
 than the rest, and naturally wished the affair to 
 die away. " There'd only be a row. You know 
 you never can keep your temper, Savage." 
 
 "Temper be bothered," cried Brown major. 
 u He ought to be told that we have found him 
 out/' 
 
 " Then let Trace go. Trace can keep his." 
 Trace declined. " He'd rather not speak to 
 the fellow." 
 
 "I'll go," said Loftus. And away he walked, 
 nearly the whole lot at his heels. Brown major 
 went in with him ; Fullarton pushed in also, 
 to see that peace was kept. Mrs. Butter, in a 
 flurry, banged her kitchen-door in their faces ; 
 but their visit this time was not to her. 
 
ME. LAMB IMPROVES HIS MIND. 
 
 125 
 
 Mr. Henry was at dinner. A snow-white 
 cloth and napkin, and a silver fork ; everything 
 of that sort as befitted a gentleman's table ; but 
 the dinner itself consisted of httie more than 
 potatoes, eaten with salt. A Dutch cheese was 
 there ; bread ; and a glass of milk. The intruding 
 gentlemen stared at the fare, and Mr. Loftus's 
 handsome nose went up into the air. Mr. Henry 
 rose and stood before the table, courteous at all 
 times ; and Fullarton kicked out behind to keep 
 out the throng. 
 
 "You were pacing the gravel-walk at the 
 back last night, Mr. Henry," began Loftus, so 
 calmly that no human listener could have sup- 
 posed it the advance trumpet-blast of war, " and 
 saw two or three cigars overhead, I think." 
 
 " Both saw them and smelt them/' answered 
 Mr. Henry, with a smile. 
 
 " Exactly. Don't you think it was rather 
 dishonourable of you to go and tell the English 
 master this morning ? " 
 
 " I did not do so." 
 
 " We think it was," continued Loftus, wholly 
 disregarding the denial. "A gentleman could 
 not be guilty of such an act. You have only 
 just come among us, and in any case the matter 
 was none of yours. Perhaps you will concern 
 
126 
 
 OBVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 yourself in future with your own affairs, and not 
 with ours. The first desk is not accustomed to 
 this kind of thing." 
 
 Except for the stress laid upon the word 
 " gentleman/' there was nothing offensive in the 
 cold tone : Loftus could not have descended to 
 abuse. Mr. Henry looked surprised, rather be- 
 wildered. 
 
 " I should think you did not hear my denial, 
 Loftus. I assure you I have not spoken of 
 this." 
 
 "That's all," returned Loftus, going out with 
 his tail, who had not seen reason to interfere. 
 Brown major, however, thought better of it, and 
 turned back for a parting word. 
 
 <c Such a nasty, sneaking thing to do, you 
 know ! You might have accused us openly to 
 our faces ; not have gone canting to the masters 
 behind our backs." 
 
 Whatever Bertie Loftus' s faults might be, he 
 scorned a lie : and he fully believed the denial 
 of the German master to be nothing less. So 
 far as the smoking-party knew, no one else had 
 been or could have been cognizant of the cigars • 
 for Brown minor and his room had kept their 
 own counsel. 
 
 " I knew he'd deny it," exclaimed Trace, his 
 
MB. LAMB IMPROVES HIS MIND. 127 
 
 light eyes flashing with a scorn not often seen 
 there. f< You now see what he is." 
 
 (< I say, what do you think he's having for 
 dinner ? " cried Fullarton. " Potatoes and salt." 
 
 "Potatoes and salt ? Go along w r ith you." 
 
 " Ask Loftus then ; ask Brown. He had 
 nothing else but a Dutch cheese ; and milk." 
 
 "What else could be expected of one who'd go 
 and lodge at Mother Butter's ? " was the scornful 
 remark of Savage. " He must be a-cad ! " 
 
 "And an owl," squeaked Lamb. "Owls go 
 out prowling at night. Nobody else could have 
 told." 
 
 Clearly. A master who dined on potatoes 
 and salt, and eat his words with a lie when his 
 villainy was found out, was an owl, and all the 
 rest of it. 
 
 Mr. Henry meanwhile was unconscious of the 
 storm against him. He rather laughed over 
 the matter, attaching no importance to it. His 
 frugal dinner despatched, he was plodding on 
 with his translation, when a little fellow, to 
 whom he had promised some help in a trouble- 
 some French exercise, came in; and he was 
 followed by George Paradyne, who often brought 
 his Greek difficulties to Mr. Henry. George was 
 a good classical scholar, but Mr. Henry was a 
 
128 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 better. Patiently he gave his best attention to 
 both, putting his own work aside. He was 
 always ready to help the boys out of hours, and 
 encouraged them to come to him, though it was 
 not in his duties. 
 
 Afternoon school began. A dull, weary after- 
 noon, with inward dissatisfaction reigning. Mr. 
 Henry called up the second desk, and found his 
 pupils careless and troublesome, bordering on 
 insubordination. He promised them punishment 
 if they did not attend better. Master Dick 
 Loftus especially was as scornfully insolent as 
 he dared be. Not very long after they were 
 sent back to their places, Dick lifted the lid of 
 his desk, and fished up a rotten apple. 
 
 " Onions, see here. I've a great mind to shy 
 it at him." 
 
 Onions glanced round the room ; he enjoyed 
 the mischief as much as Dick, and was heartily 
 hating and despising Mr. Henry : having nothing 
 of the sneak in his own disposition, he could 
 not tolerate it in others. 
 
 "You'll be seen, Dick. Old Jebb's eyes are 
 rolling about. " 
 
 " They always are, and be hanged to him, 
 when Brabazon's away ! " exclaimed Smart, from 
 the other side of Dick, as resentfully as if the 
 
MR. LAMB IMPROVES HIS MIND. 129 
 
 rolling of the Reverend Mr. Jebb's eyes were a 
 personal affront. 
 
 Presently the opportunity came ; Dick raised 
 the apple, carefully took aim, and sent it flying ; 
 good aim, for it struck Mr. Henry's cheek, 
 making a great dash and splash, after the nature 
 of a rotten apple. But, unfortunately, at the 
 very moment of Dick's giving an impetus to the 
 missile, Mr. Henry happened to raise his eyes ; 
 he saw the deliberate aim, saw the throw, and 
 Dick knew that he saw it. The whole room 
 was aroused. " Who did that ? " cried out Mr. 
 Baker, in a passion. " He shall have a good 
 caning, whoever it was ? " 
 
 No one answered ; the second desk especially, 
 bending attentively over their books, looked up 
 in innocent surprise. 
 
 " Who did it, I ask ? " roared Mr. Baker, a 
 choleric man, beginning to talk fast and furiously, 
 and to cane his table as if it had been a boy's 
 back. In the midst of which, the head-master 
 walked in and took his place. 
 
 " Did you see who flung the apple, Mr. 
 Henry ? " inquired the master, when he was 
 made cognizant of the cause of uproar ; and his 
 quiet voice of authority presented a contrast to 
 Mr, Baker's. 
 
 Orville College, 9 
 
180 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Involuntarily, as it were, and for a moment 
 only, Mr. Henry's glance met DicVs. Some- 
 thing like shame for the act, something like a 
 piteous appeal for silence, went out of Dick's 
 eyes. It is so very different, you see— accom- 
 plishing a little thing of this sort with impunity, 
 and being caught in the act. Mr. Henry, reply- 
 ing to the head-master, said it might have been 
 an accident, and wiped his face with his hand- 
 kerchief. 
 
 " Accident or no accident, the boy shall be 
 punished if I can discover him," returned the 
 doctor. " Can't you tell who flung it ? " 
 
 Mr. Henry merely shook his head very 
 slightly. It was of no consequence, he quietly 
 said, and called up the third class for its German 
 exercises. Dr. Brabazon, letting the matter 
 drop, sat down and began turning the things 
 over on his table in search of his lead-pencil. 
 Not finding it, he took one from his pocket, and, 
 in doing so, let it fall. It rolled along the floor, 
 and one of the boys picked it up. 
 
 " Thank you, Jessop," said he, always pleasant 
 with his pupils. " It would not do to lose this, 
 would it ? " 
 
 The pencil was of gold, with a diamond set 
 in the top. It had been a present from some 
 
MR. LAMB IMPROVES HIS MIND. 131 
 
 former pupils. Not long had the doctor taken 
 it in his hand, when his man-servant appeared, 
 and called him out of school again. 
 
 "I say, Dick, what a blessing the German did 
 not twig you," whispered Smart, speaking with 
 his head bent over his Euripides as if he were 
 steadily conning it. 
 
 "But he did.' , 
 
 " I'm sure he didn't. What nonsense ! As if 
 he'd not have got you into punishment if he had 
 the chance." 
 
 Dick for a wonder did not insist on his own 
 opinion, and the afternoon went on. Dr. 
 Brabazon only came back just as the classes 
 were rising. Mr. Henry walked away quickly, 
 and the boys went into a state of frantic delight 
 in the tea-room, ironically hoping he was wash- 
 ing his cheek. 
 
 But Dick Loftus had been struck with the 
 amazing generosity displayed towards him ; for 
 that Mr. Henry saw him fling the apple pur- 
 posely, had been as plain to him as the sun at 
 noonday ; and he thought he owed some acknow- 
 ledgment of the consideration shown. Dick 
 Loftus was all impulse, and he went galloping 
 off to Mother Butter's. Mr. Henry was bending 
 over his table, working at his translation. 
 
132 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " I've come to say I'm sorry for what I did, 
 and to thank you for not telling of me," began 
 Dick, his face glowing rather more than usual. 
 
 "That's right," said Mr. Henry, his eyes light- 
 ing up with a smile ; and he took Dick's hand, 
 and shook it. 
 
 u You saw me fling it, didn't you ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Then, why didn't you tell ? " 
 
 " Because I did not wish you to be punished. 
 I like to make people's lives pleasant to them ; 
 perhaps because I have had very little pleasure 
 myself." 
 
 " Would you never punish any one ? " 
 
 "I would correct them when I saw them do 
 essentially wrong. But for petty spite — retalia- 
 tion — revenge — oh, Dick, don't you know Who 
 it is that has warned us against these ? I think 
 we must all try for love and peace on earth, if 
 we would enter into it in heaven." 
 
 Dick considered : it was rather an unusual 
 way of putting matters. He began to work 
 things out in his mind, speaking, as was usual 
 Avith him, what came uppermost. 
 
 I don't call it at all a heavenly thing to have 
 gone behind their backs, and told about the 
 seniors smoking," said he, practically, " I sup- 
 
MR. LAMB IMPROVES HIS MIND. 133 
 
 pose j^ou think smoking's one of the wrong 
 things." 
 
 " It's not very right/' replied Mr. Henry. " It 
 injures themselves, and it is flying in the face of 
 orders." 
 
 "But why did you not report them openly, 
 instead of the — the other way ? " 
 
 "I did not report them at all. I did not 
 mention it to any one." 
 
 " Is that true ? " asked Dick, dubiously. 
 
 " Boy ! I should never tell you what was not 
 true." 
 
 Dick stood puzzled. It was Mr. Henry's word 
 against common sense and the conviction of the 
 whole school. He turned to leave, saying some- 
 thing in a complaining tone about having to get 
 to his lessons in play-hours. 
 
 "Do you find them difficult V 9 
 
 " Difficult ? " returned Dick, as if the question 
 were superfluous. " It's that horrid Euclid. 
 Nothing ever bothers me as that does." 
 
 " Bring it to me ; I dare say I can smooth 
 your mountains for you by a little explanation/' 
 
 " Do you mean it ? " and Dick's voice had a 
 spring of gratitude in its tone. " But it is not 
 in your work ? " 
 
 " Never mind that. Fetch it now." 
 
134 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Dick flew for his books. Mr. Henry did 
 smooth the mountains, patiently, kindly ; and 
 he bade him always come to him in the same 
 stumbling-blocks — every evening, if he liked. 
 Mrs. Butter made her appearance once, which 
 Dick regarded as an agreeable interlude, for it 
 enabled him to ask affectionately after the cock 
 and the other animals, to the lady's great wrath. 
 She had a pair of new boots in her hand for Mr. 
 Henry, and the man was waiting for the money. 
 Mr. Henry replied that it was not convenient 
 to pay him then ; he would send it in a day 
 or two, 
 
 Dick, his Euclid difficulty over, went home ; 
 and in giving an account to his friends of various 
 matters, mentioned this episode of the new boots 
 and the non-payment — not in ill-nature, but in 
 his propensity to gossip. Trace was con- 
 temptuous over it. 
 
 " I'll lay a guinea the fellow has not a shilling 
 in the world ! " 
 
 " But, look here," cried Dick. " I don't really 
 think it was he that told about the smoke. He 
 says he didn't : he' s as earnest as he can be." 
 
 " That's all your opinion's good for," returned 
 Trace. And the rest gave a slighting laugh at 
 Dick. 
 
MR. LAMB IMPEOVES HIS MIND. 135 
 
 The boys were in the hall -at their evening 
 lessons. Lamb, who had contrived to do his 
 quickly, was stealing out to pass the intervening 
 half-hour before prayer-time in his. bedroom, 
 which was against rules. In passing the 
 mathematical-room, he encountered Mr. Long. 
 Glancing around to see that no one else was 
 within hearing, Mr. Long accosted him in an 
 undertone. 
 
 " By the way, Lamb — there was no mistake I 
 suppose in that matter you mentioned to me ? 
 The seniors ivere smoking ? " 
 
 "No mistake at all, sir. Five or six cigars 
 were alight, and the room was full of smoke." 
 
 " They are making a terrible fuss over it — just 
 as though it were not true." 
 
 " It was quite true, sir. My only motive in 
 reporting it to you was their own good : not to 
 get them into a row. It is a bad habit." 
 
 " Ah," returned Mr. Long, peering rather 
 dubiously through his spectacles on his virtuous 
 friend. For he really did not approve of sneaks 
 as a whole, but there always seemed some excuse 
 for listening to this one. What with his near- 
 sightedness, and what with his absence of mind, 
 buried in calculations and sciences, Mr. Long 
 was reproachfully self-conscious that he did not 
 
136 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 look out for peccadilloes as he ought to do. 
 " That's all, then, Lamb." 
 
 Mr. Long turned towards the hall ; Lamb 
 towards the library, as if he wanted to borrow 
 a book. But as soon as the masters footsteps 
 had died away, the young gentleman altered his 
 course, and stole gingerly up the stairs 
 
 After Dick Loftus departed, Mr. Henry turned 
 to his translation, and wrote on by candle-light. 
 His head had been aching all the evening, and 
 he suddenly bethought himself to take a mouth- 
 ful of fresh air. The heavy atmosphere was so 
 different from what he was accustomed to in 
 Germany, that he sometimes felt half stifled. 
 Putting on his trencher, he strolled across the 
 gymnasium-ground, damp this evening, to the 
 broad gravel-walk before mentioned, leading 
 past the study, and the rest of the back-windows 
 of the college ; and there, on the gravel, he met 
 a man walking quickly, rather to his surprise, 
 for it was a stranger, and the place was private. 
 Mr. Henry accosted him. 
 
 11 Are you in search of any one ? " 
 
 "1 have a letter for Dr. Brabazon. I cant 
 find any entrance to the place. This is Orville 
 College, isn't it ? " 
 
 The words were spoken roughly and im- 
 
MR. LAMB IMPROVES HIS MIND. 
 
 137 
 
 patiently ; the tones seemed to be those of an 
 educated man. Mr. Henry tried to get a distinct 
 view of his face, but the speaker turned his back, 
 and seemed to be looking out for some entrance 
 to the college. 
 
 "You must go round to the front/' said Mr. 
 Henry. " The entrances are all on that side." 
 
 Without a word of thanks, the stranger went 
 off down the path, looking here and there as one 
 uncertain of his road; but he took the right 
 turning, round by the chapel. Mr. Henry, who 
 had watched him, continued his way to the top 
 of the gravel- walk — he, and his tired brow. As 
 he was passing under the bedrooms in returning, 
 a piece of newspaper, seemingly as large as a 
 whole Times, and crumpled into a sort of ball, 
 came down upon his cap. 
 
 "Who's that?" he called out, thinking it 
 might have been done to attract his attention. 
 The question brought forth a boy's head from 
 one of the upper windows, and a faint light that 
 was burning in the room suddenly went out. 
 
 " Did you throw that down for any purpose ? " 
 
 " No, sir. Did it touch you ? I beg your 
 pardon. It was only a piece of an old newspaper 
 I threw away." 
 
 The head went in again. Mr. Henry had not 
 
138 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 discerned to whom it belonged, and did not care 
 to know. He began to cross slowly back towards 
 home, for he could not afford to waste more time, 
 but must get to his work again. 
 
 " It was that beast of a German ! " 
 
 The words came from Mr. Lamb — for his head 
 it was which had been thrust forth in answer to 
 Mr. Henry. Lamb had gained the bedroom 
 unmolested — you saw him on his way to it — 
 and the first thing he did, after bolting the door, 
 was to light a private taper. He had brought a 
 huge cake to school, with sundry other luxuries, 
 and had been enjoying them systematically, so 
 much each day, as he could find solitary oppor- 
 tunity. The last slice of cake only remained to 
 be eaten. He gobbled it up rather quickly, made 
 a ball of the paper, and flung it out just as Mr. 
 Henry chanced to be passing. When the latter 
 called out, Lamb extinguished the candle, and 
 then looked. 
 
 " It's that beast of a German ! " 
 
 But Mr. Lamb need not have called names. 
 He watched Mr. Henry crossing towards his 
 home, and gave him time to get indoors. It 
 wanted still some twenty minutes to the hour 
 for chapel, and he relighted his taper. Diving 
 into the bottom of his box, he brought forth a 
 
MR. LAMB IMPROVES HIS MIND. 139 
 
 favourite book for a little wholesome recreation, 
 and also a choice cigarette, which he lighted. 
 Down he sat on the next box, low, square, and 
 convenient ; puffing comfortably away, and im- 
 proving his mind with the solacing pages of 
 "Jack Sheppard." 
 
140 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A LOSS. 
 
 The next morning was distinguished by an 
 event that brought pleasure to all. Talbot was 
 amongst them again. He was looking fresh and 
 well ; did not limp in the least ; and seemed to 
 have grown an inch-and-a-half. Mr. Baker 
 directed him to take his place at the first desk, 
 and this was a surprise to its occupants : but 
 they welcomed him gladly. 
 
 " Did you know you were going to be moved 
 here, Shrewsbury ? " they asked. 
 
 " Not for certain. I thought it likely." 
 
 " You are going in for the Orville ? " 
 
 " Of course I am. I should have done that 
 had they kept me at the second desk. I say, 
 has it never come out who shot me ? " 
 
 The boys shook their heads. It was a sore 
 subject with them yet. 
 
 " I heard that Sir Simon offered a gold watch 
 as a reward." 
 
A LOSS. 
 
 141 
 
 " So he did. But nothing came of it. Never 
 mind, earl." 
 
 " I don't mind ; why should I ? " returned the 
 earl. " No harm has come of it. I say, though, 
 you can't think how kind the doctor and Miss 
 Brabazon have been. If I were old enough, I'd 
 marry her." 
 
 This caused a laugh. The earl had the 
 queerest way of bringing out things, keeping 
 his own countenance as steady as could be all 
 the while. 
 
 Dr. Orville, the founder of the college, had 
 bestowed on it an exhibition at his death. It 
 fell in at the end of every third year ; and for 
 three years gave seventy pounds a-year to the 
 boy who gained it. It was open for competition 
 to all unconditionally, no matter whether they 
 were seniors or not ; though of course none but 
 seniors were sufficiently advanced to try for it ; 
 and the name of each competitor must lie on 
 the books as competitor for one year previous to 
 the trial. The boys called it familiarly the 
 Orville Prize ; in short, the Orville. The names 
 had been just put down, several of them, for the 
 twelvemonth was on the eve of being entered, 
 and, to the unspeakable indignation of the school, 
 George Paradyne's was one. A new boy (leaving 
 
142 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 other things that some two or three of them 
 knew of out of the question) who had only just 
 come in, to thrust down his name indecently 
 amongst the old pupils ! This was said from 
 mouth to mouth; and Trace had a sore battle 
 with himself not to disclose the disgrace of the 
 past. 
 
 The head-master came into the hall and called 
 up Talbot. The boy had been at home for a 
 week or two, and only returned that morning, 
 
 " Are you feeling strong, my lad ? " 
 
 " Quite so, thank you, sir. I have been to the 
 sea-side." 
 
 " Have you ! " returned the master, some sur- 
 prise in his tone, for he knew how limited funds 
 were at Talbot's home. 
 
 " Sir Simon Orville came to see my mother 
 the day after I got home ; he insisted that she 
 should take me to the sea-side/' said Talbot, with 
 a smile, as if he had divined those thoughts. 
 The doctor understood the rest in a moment. 
 
 " I'm proud of Sir Simon ; " I'm proud to call 
 him a friend," cried he, warmly. " I am glad 
 you've been." 
 
 " If you please, sir, I wish my name to be 
 entered for the Orville Exhibition," Talbot 
 stayed to say. 
 
A LOSS. 
 
 143 
 
 " Do you ? Very well. How old are you ? " 
 " Close upon seventeen." 
 
 " All right. I don't care how many of you 
 enter. Only one can gain it; but it will get the 
 rest on in their studies. I'll just make a note 
 of your name in pencil now." 
 
 He looked for his lead -pencil, and could not 
 see it. Then remembering that he had missed it 
 the previous day, he put his hand in his pocket 
 for his gold one, and it was not there. 
 
 " Whv, what have I done with it ? " cried the 
 doctor, searching about. "Perhaps I took it 
 into my study and left it there. Very careless 
 of me ! Go and see, Talbot : it will be on the 
 table in the large inkstand." 
 
 Talbot went and came back without it. " It's 
 not there, sir. This is the only one I could see," 
 handing an old silver one. 
 
 " Not there ! " Dr. Brabazon sent his thoughts 
 backwards, trying to recollect when he last used 
 it. The fact of the pencil's falling in the school- 
 room the previous afternoon occurred to him, 
 and he remembered that he was making pencil 
 marks on a book with it when his man-servant 
 came to call him out. What did he do with the 
 pencil ? did he leave it on his table ; or put it in 
 his pocket ; or carry it away in his hand ? He 
 
144 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 could not tell. Here, it certainly was not at 
 present; and the head-master rose and went to 
 his study himself. When called out of school 
 the previous afternoon, he had sat there for some 
 time with the visitor, who had come on business. 
 Subsequently, he and Miss Brabazon had gone 
 out to dinner : and, in short, his memory showed 
 no trace of the pencil since he was using it in 
 the hall. He could not find it in the study, and 
 went to the sitting-room, interrupting his young 
 daughter, who had quitted her French exercise 
 to drop airy curtsies before the glass. 
 
 " Rose, have you seen my gold pencil ? " 
 
 " Oh, papa/' said Rose, demurely, making 
 believe to be stooping down to tie her shoe. 
 " Pencil-case ! No, I've not seen it. Why, papa, 
 you are always losing your things." 
 
 A just charge, Miss Rose. The doctor, an 
 absent man, often did mislay articles. 
 
 " But they are always found again, papa, you 
 know ; as this will be." 
 
 However, nothing seemed so certain about it 
 this time. The search for the pencil went on ; 
 and went on in vain. Quite a commotion arose 
 in the house, especially in the hall, where the 
 search was greatest. 
 
 "It could not go without hands," said the 
 
A LOSS. 145 
 
 doctor, after turning everything out of his desk- 
 table. " If I had let it fall in getting up when 
 I was called out, some of you would have 
 heard it." 
 
 One of the boys, and only one, affirmed that 
 he saw the doctor with it in. his hand as he left 
 the hall. It was Trace : and there were few 
 things Trace did not see with those closely-drawn 
 eyes of his. Dr. Brabazon believed Trace was 
 mistaken. If he had carried it away in his hand, 
 he thought he should not fail to remember it ; 
 besides, others would surely have noticed it. 
 Trace persisted : he said he saw the diamond 
 flash. 
 
 Well, the pencil was gone. Dr. Brabazon 
 looked out on the sea of faces, curious ideas 
 hovering around his mind. He did not admit 
 them; he would not have accused any of the 
 boys for the world ; no, or suspected them : but 
 it was very strange. * 
 
 The boys thought it so. First Talbot was 
 shot, and now a diamond pencil (as they phrased 
 it) was stolen. Had they a black sheep amongst 
 them ? If so, who was it ? 
 
 But in a day or two Trace's assertion proved 
 correct. Dr. Brabazon saw the friend who had 
 called upon him, and this gentleman said he had 
 
 Orville College 10 
 
146 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 observed a gold pencil in the doctor's hand when 
 he came into the study that day ; and he, the 
 doctor, had put it into the large inkstand on the 
 table, as he shook hands with him. This news, 
 if anything, complicated the affair ; and appeared 
 to exonerate the boys, had exoneration been 
 needed. It also drew it into a smaller nut-shell : 
 and the hypothesis that arose now was, that 
 some one had come in by the glass-window and 
 taken it. Dean, the doctor's servant, a faithful 
 man who had lived with him for many years, 
 said freely that it was late when he went in that 
 night to close the shutters. He found the glass- 
 door pushed close to, but not shut, which was 
 nothing unusual. On the following morning the 
 doctor was in his study by six o'clock, and 
 opened the shutters himself, his frequent custom. 
 The pencil was certainly not in the inkstand 
 then. 
 
 " I say, Trace, do you think the German would 
 take the pencil ? " 
 
 It was Lamb who put this question. Morn- 
 ing school was over, and the boys were in the 
 quadrangle, discussing the loss and other matters. 
 Trace looked up quickly. 
 
 " Why do you ask it ? " 
 
 u Because he was prowling about before the 
 
A LOSS. 
 
 147 
 
 study-window the night of the loss — just as he 
 had been the other night when that stupid tale 
 about the smoking got about. I went up to our 
 bedroom : I like to get a few minutes' quiet for 
 reflection sometimes — it improves the mind/' 
 continued candid Lamb ; " and in chucking a 
 piece of newspaper out at the window, it happened 
 to touch his head. He called out, and that's how 
 I knew he was there." 
 
 Trace drew in his breath : a grave suspicion 
 was taking possession of him. The eager boys, 
 a choice knot of them, had gathered round. 
 
 " Nobody's ever there at night, no stranger, as 
 Dr. Brabazon said this morning," observed Trace. 
 " It looks queer." 
 
 " You think the German went in and helped 
 himself to the pencil, Trace ? " 
 
 " Be quiet, Onions ; you are always too out- 
 spoken, I'd rather not ' think ' about it on my 
 own score," was Trace's cautious answer. 
 
 " Upon my word and honour, I think it must 
 have been the fellow ! " cried Lamb, vehemently ; 
 and for once in his life Mr. Lamb spoke according 
 to his conviction. " It stands to reason : who 
 else was likely to be there ? " 
 
 " I don't say he took it, mind," resumed Trace ; 
 " but of all belonging to the college — masters, 
 
148 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 boys, servants, take the lot — the German is the 
 one who seems most in need of money. One 
 may say that much without treason. Look at 
 his engaging Mother Butter s lodgings ! and 
 living on potatoes and things ! " 
 
 "The other day he was dining off a suet-pud- 
 ding : ate it with salt," interrupted an eager 
 voice. 
 
 " How fond he must be of salt ! " exclaimed 
 Savage. And the boys laughed. 
 
 " He's working at some translation like old 
 Blazes — sits up at night to do it," resumed 
 Powell. "He told Loftus minor it was for a 
 bookseller, who was to give him thirty pounds 
 for it. He wouldn't work in that way if he 
 didn't need money." 
 
 " But where does his money go to ? His salary 
 — what does he do with it ? " wondered the boys. 
 
 " He must have private expenses," said Trace. 
 
 " What expenses ? " 
 
 This was a poser. They had once had an 
 usher who indulged himself in horse exercise ; 
 they had had another who gave forty-five pounds 
 for a violin, and half ruined himself buying new 
 music. Mr. Henry did neither. 
 
 " Perhaps he has a wife and family," hazarded 
 Brown major, impulsively. 
 
A LOSS. 
 
 149 
 
 The notion of Mr. Henry's having a wife and 
 family was so rich, that the boys laughed till 
 their sides ached, which rather offended Brown 
 major. 
 
 "I'm sure I've heard those foreign French 
 fellows often marry at twenty-one ; Germans 
 too/' quoth he. " You needn't laugh. When a 
 man's got a wife and family, he has to keep 'em. 
 His money must go somewhere. Dick Loftus 
 said some new boots came home for him the 
 other day, and he couldn't' pay for them. What 
 are you staring at, Trace ? " 
 
 Trace was not staring at Brown major or any 
 one else in particular. The mention of the boots 
 called up a train of ideas that half startled him. 
 This incident of the boots had occurred on the 
 very evening of the loss ; the following day 
 (when they were in the midst of searching for 
 the pencil) Mr. Henry had gone by train into 
 London after morning school, and was not back 
 until three o'clock. Soon after he returned, 
 Trace, by the merest accident, saw him take 
 out his purse, and there were several sovereigns 
 in it. The thing, to Trace's mind, seemed to 
 be getting unpleasantly clear; but he said 
 nothing. 
 
 " What are you all doing here ? " exclaimed 
 
150 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE, 
 
 Gall, coming up at this juncture. " Holding a 
 council ? " 
 
 They told him in undertones : the German 
 master had been pacing about before the study- 
 window the night the pencil must have been lost 
 out of the room ; and they spoke of his hard 
 work, his want of money, all the rest they had 
 been saying and hinted. 
 
 Gall stopped the hint in its bud. The suspicion 
 was perfectly absurd as regarded Mr. Henry, 
 most unjustifiable, he told them ; and they had 
 better get rid of it at once. 
 
 It was rather a damper, and they began to 
 disperse. Gall had a great deal of good, plain 
 common sense ; and his opinion was always 
 listened to. Trace rose from the projecting base of 
 a pillar on which he had been seated, knees to nose, 
 put his arm within Gall's, and drew him awa}^. 
 
 He told him everything; this fact of seeing 
 the money in Mr. Henry's purse, which he had 
 not disclosed to the rest. Gall would not be 
 convinced. It might look a little suspicious, he 
 acknowledged, but he felt sure Mr. Henry was 
 not one to do such a thing : he wouldn't dare to 
 do it. Besides, think of his high character, as 
 given to the head-master from the university of 
 Heidelberg. 
 
A LOSS, 
 
 151 
 
 Trace maintained his own opinion. He 
 thought there were ways and means of getting 
 those high characters furnished, when people 
 had a need for them ; he had mistrusted the 
 man from the first moment he saw him. " Look 
 at him going peaching about the smoking ; look 
 at the mean way he lives, the food he eats," 
 continued Trace, impressively. " He must have 
 private expenses of some sort; or else what 
 makes him so poor ? " 
 
 "He may have left debts behind him in 
 Germany," suggested Gall, after a pause of 
 reflection. 
 
 "And most likely has," was the scornful re- 
 joinder. "But he wouldn't make his dinner of 
 potatoes and work himself into a skeleton to pay 
 back debts in Germany. Rubbish, Gall ! " 
 
 "Look here, Trace, I know nothing of Mr. 
 Henry's private affairs ; they may be bad or 
 good for aught I can tell ; but if I were you, I'd 
 get rid of that suspicion as to the pencil-case. 
 Rely upon it, it won't hold water." 
 
 Good advice, no doubt; and Trace, cautious 
 always, intended to take it. It happened, how- 
 ever, that same afternoon, that the head-master 
 sent him to his study for a book. Trace opened 
 the door quickly, and there saw Miss Brabazon, 
 
152 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 on her hands and knees, searching round the 
 edge of the carpet. 
 
 " A pencil-case will roll into all sorts of odd 
 places," she observed, as if in apology, springing 
 to her feet. " I cannot understand the loss ; it 
 is troubling me more than I can tell." 
 
 " It must have been lost through the window, 
 Miss Brabazon," said Trace. " That is, some one 
 must have got in that way/' 
 
 " Yes ; unless it rolled down and is hiding 
 itself," she answered, her eyes glancing restlessly 
 into every corner. " I think I shall have the 
 carpet taken up to-morrow. It will be a great 
 trouble, with all this fixed furniture." 
 
 " I don't think you need have it done," observed 
 Trace, who was standing with his back to her 
 before the large bookcase. " I fancy it went out 
 through the window." 
 
 "You have some suspicion, Trace. What is 
 it?" 
 
 "If I have, Miss Brabazon, it is one that I 
 cannot mention. It may be a wrong suspicion, 
 you see ; perhaps it is." 
 
 " Trace," she said, laying her hand upon his 
 arm, her voice, her eyes full of strange earnest- 
 ness, " you must tell it me. Tell me in con- 
 fidence ; I have a suspicion too ; perhaps we 
 
A LOSS. 
 
 153 
 
 may keep the secret together. I would give the 
 pencil and its value twice over to find it behind 
 the carpet, in some crack or crevice of the wains- 
 coting — and I know it is not there." 
 
 She spoke with some eagerness. The words, 
 the manner altogether, disarmed Trace of his 
 caution ; and he breathed his doubts into her ear. 
 They were received with intense surprise. 
 
 " Mr. Henry ! that kind, gentlemanly German 
 master ! Why, Trace, you must be dreaming." 
 
 Trace thought himself an idiot. " To tell you 
 the truth, Miss Brabazon, I fancied you were 
 suspecting him yourself, though I don't know 
 why I took up the notion," he resumed, in his 
 mortification. " But for that I should not have 
 mentioned it. I won't eat my words, though., as 
 I have spoken ; I do believe him to be guilty." 
 
 "I cannot think it; but just go over your 
 grounds of suspicion again. I was too much 
 surprised to listen properly." 
 
 Trace did so ; the huge book he had come for 
 standing upright in his arm, supported by his 
 shoulder. He mentioned everything ; from Lamb 
 having seen Mr. Henry before the study that 
 night, down to the empty purse filled suddenly 
 with gold. 
 
 Did you ever happen, boys, to be favoured 
 
154 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 personally with an unexpected explosion of gun- 
 powder on the fifth of November ? I'm sure you 
 did not leap apart more startled than did Trace 
 and Miss Brabazon at the entrance of Mr. Henry. 
 He had come to see after Trace and the book ; 
 the head-master thought Trace mast be unable 
 to find it. 
 
 Away went Trace. Miss Brabazon stooped to 
 put down the corner of the hearthrug, saying 
 something rather confusedly about searching for 
 the pencil, now that it was known to have been 
 lost in that room. It happened that Mr. Henry, 
 an outdoor master, had not heard that that fact 
 was established. Miss Brabazon told him of it. 
 
 " Some one must have got in through the un- 
 fastened window, and taken it," she continued, 
 looking at him. " It is very curious. Strangers 
 are never there : the grounds are private." 
 
 " Got in through the window," he repeated 
 as a recollection flashed over him. " Why, I 
 saw a man on the gravel-path there," pointing to 
 it, "that same night. He was looking for the 
 entrance to the college, and I directed him round 
 to the front." 
 
 " How came you to see him ? " she returned, 
 speaking rather sharply. 
 
 " I had been hard at work at my translation, 
 
A LOSS. 
 
 155 
 
 the one I told the doctor about, and strolled 
 across for a breath of fresh air. This man was 
 coming along the path, must have just passed 
 the window, and I asked him what he wanted. 
 He replied that he had a letter for Dr. Brabazon." 
 
 " Why did you not speak of this before, Mr. 
 Henry ? " 
 
 " I never thought to connect it with the loss. 
 It was believed that the pencil was lost from the 
 hall. The man did not seem in the least con- 
 fused or hurried. I should fancy his business 
 was quite legitimate, Miss Brabazon ; merely 
 the deliverv of the letter. I saw one in his 
 hand/' 
 
 She went at once to question the servants, 
 but could hear no tidings of any letters having 
 been delivered bv hand that night. Dean was 
 positive that no such letter had been delivered : 
 one came the previous night, he said, for Mr. 
 Baker, and he took it to him. Miss Brabazon 
 went back to the study, and asked Mr. Henry, 
 waiting there by her desire, whether he had not 
 made a mistake in the night. 
 
 " None whatever," was his reply. " I had 
 received a letter from Heidelberg that day, 
 inclosing an order for a little money due to me, 
 and when I met this man I was considering how 
 
156 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 I could shape my duties on the following day, so 
 as to have time to go to London and get it 
 cashed. " 
 
 " And did you go ? " 
 
 " Yes, as soon as morning school was over. I 
 told the doctor what my errand was. When I 
 left, they were searching the hall for the pencil." 
 
 This, if true, disposed of one part of Mr. 
 Trace's suspicions. Miss Brabazon thought how 
 candid and upright he looked as he stood there 
 talking to her. " Should you know the man 
 again, Mr. Henry ? " she suddenly asked. 
 
 " I might know his voice : I did not see much 
 of his face. A youngish man ; thirty, or rather 
 more. I thought he walked a little lame." 
 
 Miss Brabazon lifted her head with more 
 quickness than the information seemed to 
 warrant. " Lame ! Lame ? ' 
 
 " It struck me so." 
 
 She said no more. She sat looking out 
 straight before her with a sort of bewildered 
 stare. Mr. Henry left her to return to the hall ; 
 but she sat on, staring still and seeing nothing. 
 
157 
 
 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CHRISTMAS -DAY. 
 
 Things had blown over, and the Christmas holi- 
 days were coming on. Wonders and calamities, 
 and, in some degree suspicions, yield to the sooth- 
 ing hand of time. Talbot's accident was almost 
 forgotten; the lost pencil (never found) was not 
 thought of so much as it had been, and the 
 gossip respecting it had ceased. 
 
 The bitterness had not lessened against George 
 Paradyne. Gall could not fathom its source. 
 There was no cause for it, as far as he knew, 
 excepting that the boy had been placed at once 
 at the first desk, and had entered his name for 
 the Orville prize; both of which facts were 
 highly presumptuous in a new scholar, and an 
 outsider. It was also known that he was in the 
 habit of flying to Mother Butters for help in his 
 studies : the boys supposed that the German (as 
 they derisively called Mr. Henry) was paid for 
 
158 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 giving it; and many an ill-natured sneer was 
 levelled at them both. 
 
 "Are you going to coach Paradyne through 
 the holidays ? " asked Trace of Mr. Henry, con- 
 descending to speak to him for once in a way ; 
 and be it remarked that when Trace did speak 
 to him, he never forgot his usual civility. But 
 Mr. Henry detected the inward feeling. 
 
 " Trace," he said, every tone betraying earnest 
 kindness, " you spend the holidays at Sir Simon's, 
 therefore I shall be within reach. Come to me, 
 and let me read with you : I know you are 
 anxious to gain the Orville. Come every day ; 
 I will do my very best to get you on." 
 
 " You are a finished scholar ? " observed Trace, 
 cynically. 
 
 "As much so as any master in the college. 
 When a young man knows (as I did) that he has 
 nothing else to trust to, he is wise to make use of 
 his opportunities. I believe also that I have a 
 peculiar aptitude for teaching. Come and try me." 
 
 " What would be your. terms ? " 
 
 " Nothing. I would do it for "—he laughed as 
 he spoke — " love. Oh, Trace, I wish you would 
 let me help you ! " he continued. " I wish I 
 could get you to believe that it would be one 
 pleasure in my lonely life." 
 
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 
 
 159 
 
 "What a hypocrite ! " thought Trace : " I 
 wonder what he's saying it for ? Thank you," 
 he rejoined aloud, with coldness ; " I shall not 
 require your assistance." And so the offer 
 terminated ; and Trace, speaking of it to Loftus, 
 said it was like the fellow's impudence to 
 make it. 
 
 One thing had been particularly noticeable 
 throughout the term — that the young German 
 usher seemed to have a facility for healing 
 breaches. In ill-feelings, in quarrellings, in 
 fightings, so sure was he to step in, and not only 
 stop the angry tongues, but soothe their owners 
 down to calmness. Rage, in his hands, became 
 peace ; mountains of evil melted down to mole- 
 hills; fierce recrimination gave place to hand- 
 shaking. He did all so quietly, so pleasantly, 
 so patiently ! and but for the under-current of 
 feeling against him that was being always 
 secretly fanned, he would have been an immense 
 favourite. Putting aside the untoward events 
 at its commencement, the term had been one of 
 the most satisfactory on record.' 
 
 Loftus ana his brother, Trace, James Talbot, 
 and Irby were spending the holidays at Pond 
 Place. Sir Simon Orville generally had two of 
 the boys, besides his nephews. They had 
 
 7 
 
160 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 wanted Irby and Leek this time; but Sir Simon 
 chose to invite Talbot, and gave them their 
 choice of the other two. And it happened that 
 Sir Simon, the day after their arrival, overheard 
 Trace and Loftus talking, and thus became cogni- 
 zant of the offer made to Trace by Mr. Henry. 
 
 " And you didn't accept it, Raymond ? " he 
 asked, plunging suddenly upon the two in his 
 llowery dressing-gown. " If I were going in for 
 the Orville competition, I shouldn't have sneezed 
 at it. This comes of your pride ; you won't 
 study with Paradyne." 
 
 " No, it does not, uncle," replied Trace ; 
 " though I should object to study with Paradyne. 
 It comes of my dislike to Mr. Henry." 
 
 Sir Simon questioned, and Trace, perhaps un- 
 wisely, disclosed the suspicions attaching to the 
 usher in regard to the lost pencil. 
 
 " Look here," said Sir Simon, wrath fully, " I'd 
 rather suspect one of you." At which Loftus 
 smiled, and Trace was grandly compassionate. 
 
 " You were always suspicious, Trace," con- 
 tinued Sir Simon; "it's in your nature, and it 
 was in your poor mother's. He's a kindly, 
 honest gentleman, so far as I've seen of him. 
 Steal a pencil, indeed ! Who rose the report ? 
 You ? " 
 
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 
 
 161 
 
 " There has not been any report/' said Trace, 
 with composure. "Lamb saw him before the 
 study-window that night, and we wondered 
 whether he had come in and taken it. The 
 doubt was hushed up and has died away." 
 
 " Not hushed up as far as you go, it seems. 
 Raymond, I'd " 
 
 Talbot and Dick Loftus came running in, and 
 Sir Simon changed the private bearings of the 
 subject, for the more open one of Raymond's pride, 
 as he called it, in not accepting Mr. Henry's offer. 
 
 " Giving him two hours a-day in the holidays!" 
 exclaimed Talbot. " I wish it had been made to 
 me!" 
 
 " You do ! " cried Sir Simon. " I suppose you 
 hope to get the prize yourself ? " 
 
 " I shall try my best for it, sir," said the boy, 
 laughing. " Seventy pounds a-year for three 
 years ! It would take me to Oxford ; and there's 
 no other chance of my getting there." 
 
 Holidays for every one but poor Mr. Henry ! 
 He was slaving on. He took George Paradyne 
 for two hours a-day ; he took another boy, one of 
 the outsiders, who was poor, friendless, and very 
 backward, receiving nothing for either ; he gave 
 Miss Rose Brabazon her daily lessons, French 
 one day, German the next, alternately ; he went 
 
 Orville College. 1 1 
 
162 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 to Mrs. Gall's, to drill three of her little boys, not 
 out at school yet, in Latin and Greek; and he 
 worked hard at his translation, which was a very 
 difficult one to get on quickly with, necessitating 
 continual references to abstruse works; for Mr. 
 Henry discovered numerous errors in the original, 
 and desired, in his conscientiousness, to set them 
 right in the English version. 
 
 He was at home one morning, a few days after 
 the holidays began, buried in his translation 
 books, marking the faults in Miss Rose Brabazon's 
 last French dictation — and he believed no one 
 else could have made so many — when Sir Simon 
 Orville walked in. The sweet, kind, patient 
 expression in Mr. Henry's face had always struck 
 him ; very patient and wearied did it look to- 
 day. It was Christmas-Eve. 
 
 " Hard at work ? But this is holiday time, 
 Mr. Henry." 
 
 Mr. Henry smiled and brightened up. " Some 
 of us don't get the chance of any holiday, Sir 
 Simon," 
 
 " Bad, that ! All work and no play, you know 
 — but I'd better not enlarge on that axiom," 
 broke off Sir Simon, " since my errand here is to 
 give you more work. Of the boys down for the 
 Orville, one comes to you daily, I hear." 
 
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 
 
 163 
 
 " Yes ; Paradyne/' replied Mr. Henry, feeling 
 rather sensitive at mentioning the name which 
 must be so unwelcome to the brother of the late 
 Mrs. Trace. 
 
 " Ay ; you made an offer to my nephew, Ray- 
 mond Trace, to take him also for the holidays. 
 And he declined." 
 
 " I should have been glad to be of service to 
 him ! " returned Mr. Henry, his eyes lighting 
 with the earnestness of the wish. 
 
 "The prejudiced young jackass! 5 ' explosively 
 cried Sir Simon. " Well, the loss is his. But 
 now I want you to make the same offer to 
 another, who won't refuse it ; and that's Talbot — 
 Lord Shrewsbury, as they call him. He's staying 
 with me — you know it perhaps — and he can 
 come to you daily. The boy has only his educa- 
 tion to look to in life ; he has not got a golden 
 hoard laid up in lavender to make ducks-and- 
 drakes of when he comes of age, as some of the 
 rascals have; and through those other two 
 bright nephews of mine his studies were 
 stopped for some four or five weeks. Will you 
 take him ? * 
 
 " Yes, and gladly, Sir Simon. He — perhaps " 
 — Mr. Henry paused and hesitated — "will have 
 no objection to study with young Paradyne ? 79 
 
164 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " He'd better not let me hear of it, if he has," 
 retorted Sir Simon. " Why should he ? Para- 
 dyne and his people have not hurt him. No, 
 no; Talbot's another sort of fellow to that. 
 And now, what shall we say about terms ? 
 Don't be afraid of laying it on, Mr. Henry, its 
 my treat." 
 
 " I eould not charge," said Mr. Henry, inter- 
 rupting the cheering laugh. "Excuse me, Sir 
 Simon ; but I am not helping the boys for 
 money. It would scarcely be honourable. I am 
 well paid by Dr. Brabazon ; and any little assist- 
 ance I can give them out of school is only their 
 due." 
 
 " But you are not paid to teach them Latin 
 and Greek and mathematics. You have the 
 right to make the most of your holidays." 
 
 " I scarcely see that I have, so far as the 
 college pupils are concerned. Let Talbot come 
 to me at once, Sir Simon ; but please say no 
 more about payment. Robbing me of my time ? 
 No, indeed, not of a minute, if he comes with 
 Paradyne : their studies are the same. As to 
 any little trouble of my own, I would not think 
 of accepting money for that. I am too glad to 
 give it. 
 
 Sir Simon nodded approvingly ; he liked the 
 
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 
 
 165 
 
 generosity of the feeling ; and shook Mr. Henry's 
 hand heartily as he went out. 
 
 " The young Pharisee ! " he soliloquized, 
 apostrophizing the unconscious Trace, and dash- 
 ing an enormous gig umbrella, that he had 
 brought as a walking-stick, into the ground. 
 " If ever there was an honest, honourable, good 
 spirit, its his I have just left, Mr. Trace and 
 his uncharitable suspicions will get taken down 
 some day, as sure as he is living." 
 
 Turning into the college, he went straight on 
 to the sitting-room, where Miss Brabazon was, 
 to all appearance, alone. Rose was behind the 
 curtain at the far end of the room, ostensibly 
 learning her German, for Mr. Henry would be 
 due in ten minutes, really buried in a charming 
 fairy-tale book, lent to her by Jessie Gall ; and 
 her sister had forgotten she was there. 
 
 " What is it that these rascally boys have got 
 against that poor young German master ? " began 
 Sir Simon, in his impulsive way. "Do you 
 know, Miss Emma ? " 
 
 Emma Brabazon laid down the baskets of 
 flowers she was arranging for the evening ; for 
 her married brothers and sisters, and their 
 children, were coming that day on their usual 
 Christmas sojourn. But she did not answer. 
 
166 OKVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Trace has been talking to me about the lost 
 pencil," resumed Sir Simon. " But surely it is a 
 slander to suspect him of having taken it. Miss 
 Emma, I'd lay my life he's as honest as I am, 
 and a great deal more of a gentleman." 
 
 " It was very foolish of Trace to speak of it," 
 she said. "Pray forget it, Sir Simon. The 
 thing has dropped." 
 
 " But did you suspect him ? You must forgive 
 me, my dear, for asking you these questions ; I 
 intended to ask Dr. Brabazon, not you." 
 
 " Then I am very glad, Sir Simon, for I have 
 never told papa. There were circumstances that 
 seemed to throw a suspicion on Mr. Henry at 
 the time, but they were so doubtful that it was 
 best not to speak of them ; and I desired Trace 
 — who was the one to bring them under my 
 notice — to let them die away." 
 
 " Oh, Trace brought them to you, did he ? But 
 how do you mean they were doubtful ? " 
 
 "In so far as that Mr. Henry, if applied to, 
 might have been able to explain them all awajr. 
 It would have been very cruel to bring accusa- 
 tion against any one on grounds so slight." 
 
 " Just so. Well, my dear lady, I'd stake Pond 
 Place against Mr. Raymond Trace's prejudices, 
 that the young man is as upright as he is — perhaps 
 
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 167 
 
 more so. We poor sinners shan't be able to 
 stand in Master Trace's presence with our hats 
 on soon ; he must be going on for heaven head 
 foremost, with all this self-righteousness." 
 
 Emma Brabazon laughed, and followed Sir 
 Simon out ; upon which Miss Rose emerged from 
 her hiding-place to escape, her German book in 
 her hand, and the fairy tale hidden in her 
 pocket. 
 
 " What did they mean ? " debated the young 
 lady, who had only imperfectly understood. " If 
 I could find out, I'd tell him. He is always 
 kind to me with my German, though I am so 
 tiresome. I hate that Trace : he never gives me 
 anything ; and he stole one of my letters out of 
 Dick's drawer the other day, and made game 
 of it." 
 
 People called Sir Simon Orville an odd man. 
 Mr. Raymond Trace in particular could not 
 understand him ; there were moments when that 
 young gentleman deemed his respected uncle 
 only fit for a lunatic asylum. He had surely 
 thought him so this mornings had he been behind 
 him. For Sir Simon, quitting Dr. Brabazon's, 
 went on direct to Mrs. Paradyne's. It was not 
 the first visit he had paid her. Deprecating, as 
 he did, the past frauds and crimes, he yet in his 
 
168 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 benevolent heart thought the poor widow as 
 much deserving of commiseration as were his 
 own relatives, and he chose to show her that he 
 thought it. His errand was to invite her and 
 George to dinner the next day, Christmas-Day ; 
 that day of peace and good-will to men. Mrs. 
 Paradyne at first declined ; but Sir Simon was 
 so heartily pressing there was no withstanding 
 it, and she at length yielded. He went home, 
 chuckling at the surprise it would be to his 
 nephews, for they knew nothing about it, and he 
 did not intend to tell them. 
 
 A surprise it proved. They went for a very 
 long walk after morning service, and had not 
 been home many minutes when the guests 
 arrived. Trace stared with all his eyes : he 
 thought he must be dreaming. Was that Mrs. 
 Paradyne coming into the room on the arm of 
 Sir Simon, or were his eyes deceiving him ? He 
 might be wrong : he had not seen her indoors 
 for many years. She wore a handsome silk 
 gown, and a cap of real lace; rather reserved 
 and discontented in her manner, but essentially 
 a lady. George followed her in, and there could 
 be no doubt any longer. George was free, merry, 
 open, cordial, as it was in George Paradyne's 
 nature to be, and he went up to Trace with his 
 
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 169 
 
 < 
 
 hand outstretched, wishing him heartily a merry 
 Christmas. Trace turned salmon-coloured : he 
 would not see the hand ; did not respond to it. 
 Bertie Loftu s, as if to cover the marked rudeness, 
 put his into George Paradyne's ; and Trace 
 would have annihilated Bertie, could looks have 
 done it. 
 
 " Is he mad ? " groaned Trace in a whisper, 
 alluding to his uncle. 
 
 Bertie laughed. <( Let us drop old grievances 
 for once. It's Christmas-Day." 
 
 "If my mother — who died here — could only 
 rise from her grave and see this ! " retorted Trace. 
 
 Dick leaped three feet into the air when he 
 came in and saw the guests. The more the 
 merrier, was Dicks creed. It was that of Talbot 
 and Irby. And now that they met George 
 Paradyne on equal ground, away from the 
 prejudices of the school, they all saw how much 
 there was to admire and like in him — Trace 
 excepted. Had George Paradyne suddenly cast 
 his shell as a chrysalis does, and appeared before 
 them an angel, Trace, in his prejudice, would 
 have turned his back upon him. It crossed 
 Trace's mind to refuse to sit down to table ; but 
 he feared Sir Simon ; it would not do to offend 
 him. 
 
170 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE, 
 
 It was at dessert, when the banquet was near- 
 ing its close and Mrs. Paradyne had drawn on 
 her gloves, that Sir Simon told Talbot he was to 
 go and read daily with Paradyne at Mr. Henry 's. 
 Mr. Henry's kind offer, he called it; and he 
 spoke a few emphatic words of praise of the hard- 
 working usher. Apparently the theme was not 
 palatable to Mrs. Paradyne. She folded her 
 gloved hands one over the other, said a word or 
 two in disparagement of Mr. Henry, and then 
 resolutely closed her lips. Evidently she had 
 not yet forgiven the mistake which had brought 
 them to Orville. George, as if reading her 
 thoughts, and struck with their injustice, 
 glanced reproachfully at her as he turned to 
 Sir Simon. 
 
 " Mr. Henry is very good to me," said the 
 boy : " he is to us all. No one knows how good 
 he is. He must be very lonely to-day. He was 
 to- have dined with us." 
 
 Sir Simon gave a start. " I wish I had asked 
 him here ! The thoughtless savage I was ! No 
 more right feeling about me than if I'd never 
 heard of Christmas. I might as well have been 
 born a Red Indian." 
 
 Mr. Henry was at home, taking his dinner 
 alone. Not potatoes or suet-pudding to-day : he 
 
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 171 
 
 had learned to keep Christmas in Germany, and 
 was lavish in its honour. As George — a great 
 deal too open to please his mother — said, he had 
 been invited to Mrs. Paradyne's, but when she 
 arranged to goto Sir Simons she sent an apology 
 to Mr. Henry. Mrs. Butter cooked him a fowl 
 and made him a jam pudding. He went to 
 church in the morning and stayed for the after 
 service. As he sat over the fire after dinner, in 
 the twilight of the evening, he could not help 
 feeling as if he were alone in the world — that 
 there was no one to care for him. At the best, 
 his life, in its social aspect, was not a very happy 
 one. He had a great deal of care always upon 
 him, and he saw no chance of its ever being 
 removed; but he was learning to live for abetter 
 world than this. 
 
 Miss Rose Brabazon had let her tongue run 
 riot the previous day, telling him something 
 confidentially — he could not make out what. 
 Rose's own ideas were obscure upon the point, 
 therefore it was too much to expect they would 
 be clear to him. The young lady thought that 
 " Trace and Emma and ■ some of them ' feared 
 he might have been capable of taking papa's 
 diamond pencil-case, just as much as the real 
 thief who came in at the glass-doors and stole 
 
172 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 it." It had startled Mr. Henry beyond measure ; 
 startled and amazed and bewildered him. What 
 reason could they have for believing him capable 
 of such a thing ? 
 
 Later in the evening he strolled out in the 
 cold starlight air. He felt so very lonely, so 
 isolated from all the world, that only to look at 
 the gay windows of other people was company. 
 Every house, poor and rich, seemed to be holding 
 its Christmas party. Quite a flood of light 
 streamed from Mr. Gall's — from Dr. Brabazon's ; 
 all but himself were keeping Christmas. There 
 was neither envy nor rebellion in hia heart. His 
 only thought was, " If they knew I was here 
 alone, they would invite me in." He pictured 
 the inside gladness, and rejoiced in it as though 
 it were his own. "Peace on earth, and good- 
 will to men ! " he murmured gratefully over and 
 over again. 
 
 The muslin curtains were before the dining- 
 room windows at Dr. Brabazon's, but not the 
 shutters. It was a large party — all the children 
 and grandchildren. A smile crossed Mr. Henry's 
 lips as he thought of Miss Rose in her element. 
 Excepting the admiration of the college boys, 
 there was nothing that young damsel liked so 
 much as company. Mr. Henry halted and looked 
 
CHRISTMAS-DAY. 173 
 
 across the lawn, and by so doing apparently- 
 disturbed another watcher. A man turned 
 round from the window, against which he had 
 been crouched, and came away. 
 
 " What do you want there ? " exclaimed Mr. 
 Henry, going forward to confront him. 
 
 "Nothing to-night," was the ready answer; 
 " I'll come another time." 
 
 All in a moment Mr. Henry recognized the 
 voice, recognized the low-crowned hat, and the 
 slightly lame step. He placed himself in the 
 intruder s way. 
 
 " I saw you here once before, at the back of 
 the house then : you were looking for the 
 entrance, you said, to deliver a letter. Did you 
 — did you enter the house that night and take 
 anything ? " 
 
 " No ; you did." 
 
 The cool and positive assertion nearly took 
 away Mr. Henry's presence of mind. He had 
 spoken upon impulse. He was quite uncertain 
 what he ought to do in the emergency, whether 
 anything or not. Meanwhile the stranger was 
 walking quietly away, and Mr. Henry did 
 nothing. 
 
 The following day he met Miss Brabazon with 
 some of her relatives and a whole troop of 
 
174 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 children. She was a little behind the rest, 
 hastening to catch them up. 
 
 " Will you allow me to speak to you for one 
 
 moment, Miss Brabazon ? " 
 
 " Well/' she answered, rather impatiently ; and 
 it cannot be denied that she had at times treated 
 him with slight courtesy since the suspicion 
 instilled into her mind by Trace. 
 
 He told her what he had seen ; that he recog- 
 nized the voice to be the same ; recognized the 
 man and his lameness. Miss Brabazon' s face 
 grew white. 
 
 " He was looking in at us, you say ? " 
 
 " Undoubtedly." 
 
 "Are you coining, Emma? What are ycm 
 about ? " called out the party in front, who had 
 turned and halted. "John will miss the train." 
 
 " Mr. Henry, oblige me in one thing," she 
 hurriedly said ; " don't speak of this. I may 
 trust you ? " 
 
 " Indeed you may," he answered. " You may 
 doubt me, Miss Brabazon; you have perhaps 
 only too good cause to doubt me ; but you may 
 at least rely upon me in this." 
 
 Emma Brabazon ran on, the curious words 
 ringing their echo on her ears. 
 
(, 175 ) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 miss rose's love-letters. 
 
 The winter holidays soon passed, and the boys 
 came back to college again. " No pistols this 
 time, I hope, Mr. Loftus," was the head-master's 
 greeting to that gentleman, and it called a 
 mortified expression into the handsome face. 
 Loftus's whiskers were growing, and he had 
 taken to wearing a ring in private. Trace 
 smiled pityingly; Dick made fun of both ap- 
 pendages ; but their owner knew not which of 
 the two to admire most. 
 
 The routine of school set in, and the boys 
 were busy; some few studying hard, chiefly 
 those who were to go up for the Oxford examina- 
 tion in J une ; others going in for idleness, mis- 
 chief, and sport ; playing football, snow-balling, 
 making presents and writing love-letters to Miss 
 Rose. All the candidates for the Orville prize 
 were going up for the Oxford examination ; it 
 
176 
 
 OKVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 was essential they should pass that, or else with- 
 draw from the competition for the Orville. 
 
 But none, whether boys or masters, worked on 
 so patiently and persistently as Mr. Henry, for 
 none had so much to do. His private assistance 
 to Talbot terminated with the holidays ; but not 
 so that to George Paradyne. Trace was out- 
 rageously angry at the latter fact : as Paradyne 
 was going in for the Orville prize, it was dis- 
 graceful to give him an advantage that the 
 others did not receive. Trace's opinion carried 
 the school with it ; Paradyne was shunned more 
 than ever, and resentment prevailed against the 
 German master. 
 
 "You have only to come to me," Mr. Henry 
 reiterated to them ; " I can read with a dozen of 
 you just as well as I can with one. I have no 
 wish surreptitiously to get Paradyne on ; I would 
 a great deal rather that you should all keep 
 together, and enjoy the same advantages, one as 
 the other : but if you will not come to me, and 
 he does, the blame rests with you." 
 
 " Such a thing as coaching a fellow for the 
 Orville prize was never heard of before, you 
 know," retorted Brown major. 
 
 " I am not coaching him for the Orville prize. 
 I am not coaching him at all, for the matter of 
 
MISS ROSE'? LOVE-LETTERS. 177 
 
 that. He reads the classics with me, and I 
 explain away his difficulties in mathematics. It 
 is preparatory to the Oxford examination, not 
 the Orville." 
 
 " The one implies the other/' said the angry 
 boys. And they spurned the assistance for 
 themselves ; which, metaphorically speaking, was 
 like cutting off their noses to spite their faces. 
 Talbot would have liked to continue, but could 
 not fly in the teeth of popular prejudice. 
 
 " Perhaps I'd better give it up," said George 
 Paradyne one day, throwing himself back in his 
 chair at Mr. Henry's. 
 
 " Give what up ? " 
 
 " Every thing. What with the life at college 
 and the life at home, I'm ready to — to — pitch 
 the whole overboard," concluded Mr. George, 
 having hesitated for an expression sufficiently 
 strong to denote his feelings. 
 
 " You have only to bear up bravely against the 
 one ; you'll live it down in time " 
 
 " Rather a prolonged time, it seems," put in 
 George, who was quite unlike his own merry self 
 to-day. 
 
 " And for the other," continued Mr. Henry, 
 ignoring the interruption, "you should bear it 
 cheerfully, for you know it is born of love for you." 
 
 Orville College. 12 
 
178 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Ah, but you can't imagine what it is," said 
 the boy, leaning forward, his wide-open bright 
 grey eyes full of eagerness. " It has been worse 
 since we dined at Sir Simon's ; that called up to 
 mamma all the old forfeited prosperity. The 
 grumbling never ceases ; the lamentation's dread- 
 ful : we can't make ourselves rich, if we are not 
 rich, so where's the use of groaning over it ? It 
 drives me wild." 
 
 " Hush, George." 
 
 " But I can't hush. Mamma is so ungrateful. 
 There's poor Mary slaving in that school, and 
 never coming up for the holidays ; and 
 here's " 
 
 " George, I won't hear this. Your mother's 
 trials are very great." 
 
 " There's an awful bother about the Christmas 
 bills," went on George, paying slight attention 
 to the reproof. " I wish you'd come down and 
 talk to her." 
 
 " I ! My talking might do more harm than 
 good." 
 
 " You might try to smooth things a little — get 
 her to look at troubles in a different light. 
 Won't you ? I can tell you it is miserable 
 for me." 
 
 " Well, I'll see. Go on with your Greek now." 
 
MISS ROSE'S , LOVE-LETTERS. 179 
 
 Mr. Henry, ever ready to do good where it 
 was to be done — to throw oil on troubled waters 
 — went down that evening to Mrs. Paradyne's. 
 His interference was not received graciously. 
 
 "I shoidd like to know what business it is of 
 Mr. Henry's," she exclaimed, her cold resentful 
 manner in full play. And of course he could not 
 reply that it was any business of his ; but he 
 spoke of the trouble it was causing that fine 
 
 i 
 
 boy, George ; he spoke a little of the sad past, 
 he spoke cheerfully of a future that would 
 be brighter. Mrs. Paradyne was often in a 
 grumbling mood, but never in a worse than that 
 evening. 
 
 " I can't pay the Christmas bills. The money 
 prepared for them I have had to encroach upon 
 for other things. I was obliged to have a new 
 silk gown ; I can't go about like an alms-woman. 
 Never before did I have Christmas bills ; I paid 
 as I went on ; but the cost of things in this 
 place is. frightful. I did not want money em- 
 barrassment added to my other troubles. It is 
 all through our having; come here." 
 
 Mr. Henry winced at the last reproach, too 
 evidently directed to him. "I did it for the 
 best," he gently said. (< I was anxious that 
 George should get on." 
 
180 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Mrs. Paradyne lifted her delicate hands with 
 deprecation, and went on with her complaints. 
 They were wearying and painful, even to him ; 
 what, then, must they be to the high-spirited and 
 generous boy who was exposed to them always ? 
 But Mr. Henry contrived to accomplish his 
 mission, and he left a feeling of peace behind 
 him when he quitted the house. 
 
 He had plenty of work on his hands yet that 
 night, and went home quickly. Going into Mrs; 
 Butter's kitchen for a light, a quicker mode than 
 ringing for that esteemed landlady to bring it, 
 he came against a man who was seated on the 
 kitchen table by firelight, his legs swaying. No 
 need to wait for recognition this time ; it was 
 the young man he had twice seen near the 
 college. 
 
 " Well ? " said the latter ; " there's room to pass 
 without knocking me over." 
 
 " Who are you ? " exclaimed Mr. Henry ; tf are 
 you waiting to see Mrs. Butter ? " 
 
 " I have seen her — cross-grained old thing ! 
 Her temper does not improve with years." 
 
 Before anything more passed, or Mr. Henry 
 had in the least formed an idea as to the aspect 
 of affairs, Mrs. Butter came in with Miss Brabazon. 
 The latter had a shawl over her head, and burst 
 
MISS ROSE'S^ LOVE-LETTERS. 181 
 
 into tears as she spoke to the stranger. "Oh, 
 Tom, why have you come here ? " 
 
 u Can I be of any assistance to you, Miss Bra- 
 bazon ? " whispered Mr. Henry, partially compre- 
 hending the mystery. " Will you make use of 
 my sitting-room ? " 
 
 " Thank you. It is my brother ! " 
 Yes, it was her brother — the great incubus on 
 Dr. Brabazon's life. In spite of all that had been 
 done to reclaim him; in defiance of education, 
 position, training, Tom Brabazon had turned out 
 a black sheep amidst the doctor's white flock. 
 Dr. Brabazon had paid and paid until he could 
 pay no more ; Emma Brabazon never awoke in a 
 morning but a dread crossed her mind of what 
 trouble in regard to him the day might bring 
 forth. It was not only debt ; he had done worse 
 things than spend; he had been in prison for 
 three months, and worn the felon's dress, and had 
 his hair cut close ; he had been forbidden his 
 father's house ; he dared not show himself there 
 or elsewhere in the broad light of day. Mrs. 
 Butter, faithful to the family, knew about it, and 
 she said a word or two of explanation to Mr. 
 Henry as he sat on the other side of her fire- 
 place, whilst the brother and sister were in his 
 parlour. 
 
182 
 
 OIWILLE COLLEGE, 
 
 " He wants to stay here," she resentfully cried, 
 giving her fire a fierce stir, as if she were stirring 
 up the delinquent. " He is obliged to be in hid- 
 ing again ; and he avows it with all the brass in 
 the world. I wouldn't have gone to Miss Emma 
 of my own free will. Ah ! the aching heart that 
 she and my poor master have had through him, 
 that ill-doing Tom ! " 
 
 Emma came back, her eyes red. " You must 
 let him be in that upper room for a day or two ; 
 there's no help for it," she said to Mrs. Butter. 
 " And he must have some supper to-night. I'm 
 going back now, or papa may find out my absence. 
 Of course — you know — his being here must be 
 kept secret." 
 
 "I know, Miss Emma," was the wrathful 
 answer. "He up and told me that the first 
 thing." 
 
 " Hold your tongue, Mother Butter," cried Tom 
 Brabazon, laughing as if he had not a care in life. 
 " You have been in scrapes yourself before this, 
 I'll lay. Mind you make me a plum-pudding to- 
 morrow ; I've not tasted a bit of one yet. Per- 
 haps you'll introduce this gentleman to me, 
 Emma." 
 
 And she obeyed mechanically. In the blow 
 the night had brought, she felt utterly bewildered. 
 
MISS ROSE'S LOVE-LETTERS. 
 
 183 
 
 " My unfortunate brother, Thomas Brabazon ; 
 Mr. Henry." 
 
 Mr. Henry took up his hat to walk home 
 with her. 
 
 <( Is this the same that you have seen near the 
 college ? " she asked, as they went along. 
 " It is." 
 
 "Ah, yes; I only inquired to see if you 
 remembered him. He denies, most positively, 
 having entered the study that night ; and when 
 I spoke of the pencil, he apparently did not know 
 what I meant. He had written a letter to papa, 
 asking for some trifling, temporary assistance, 
 intending to send it in and wait for the answer. 
 But he saw the front sitting-rooms were in 
 darkness, and went round, fearing we were out, 
 to see if the back ones were also dark. We were 
 out, you know, as the want of light showed him, 
 and he returned to London, and was arrested 
 before he could come again. When I mentioned 
 the pencil, he asked whether I thought he had 
 become worse than a common thief to touch that. 
 I don't think he took it." 
 
 "But why have used an evasion to me — that 
 he was looking for the entrance to the college ? " 
 returned Mr. Henry. 
 
 " He fears an enemy in every person he meets, 
 
184 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 and I suppose wished to pass himself off as 
 a stranger. Mr. Henry, I must rely on you not 
 to betray his sojourn at your house." 
 
 " Betray him! You little know me. Any- 
 thing in the world I can do for him, or for you, 
 or for Dr. Brabazon, in this painful emergency, I 
 shall only be too happy to do, faithfully and truly." 
 
 "You see now," she said, with a faint smile, 
 " that we have too much trouble of our own to 
 be severe upon others. Every bit of secret pride 
 has been taken out of us, and papa's hair is grey 
 before its time. He is the eldest son." 
 
 " The eldest son ? " 
 
 " Yes, the eldest of us all. He went wrong 
 first of all at Oxford, and instead of retrieving 
 his position, or allowing it to be done for him, 
 as others do who get into debt there, he went 
 on from bad to worse. Good-night, Mr. Henry." 
 
 She hung her shawl up in the inner hall, 
 smoothed her hair, and went in as if nothing 
 unusual had happened. Mr. Jebb was sitting 
 with Dr. Brabazon; they were in an animated 
 discussion about some popular question of the 
 day, and her absence had passed unnoticed. 
 Miss Rose had disappeared : she had taken the 
 opportunity to visit her treasure drawer up- 
 stairs. It contained presents and love-letters j 
 
MISS HOSE'S 'LOVE-LETTERS. 
 
 185 
 
 the one of about as much real value as the other ; 
 but the young lady coveted both. Some fresh 
 ones had just arrived to be added to the collec- 
 tion; we may as well look over her while she 
 examines them. And I beg to state, for the 
 benefit of society in general, that the letters are 
 only copies of genuine originals. 
 
 " Dear Miss Rose, — I hope you will accept of 
 the enclosed trifle. With my best love, believe 
 me yours ever affectionately, Dick L." 
 
 Which stood for Dick Loftus. The enclosed 
 trifle was a thin paper scent-case, pretty to the 
 eye and sweet to the nose. Rose gave a few sniffs, 
 and flung it into the drawer to take up another. 
 
 " My dearest Miss Rose, — Will you oblige me 
 by trying the accompanying ? That blue bonnet 
 you wore on Sunday was charming. Ever 
 yours, C. Brown." 
 
 Meaning Brown minor. A packet of barley- 
 sugar came with this, and Miss Rose began upon 
 it greedily. Then she turned to the third. 
 
 "Ever dear Rose, — I take this favourable 
 opertunity of writeing to you. Our desk got in 
 a row this morning and I can't go out to buy 
 that broche I told you of, If Stiggings buys it 
 you fling it in his face, I send you a few rasons 
 if you'll except of them, We are going to have 
 
18G 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 a joly lark this week with Mother Butter, 
 Your affectionate lover, Alfred Jones." 
 
 Mr. Alfred Jones was a gentleman of Miss 
 Rose's own age, thirteen. She put as many 
 raisins into her mouth as it would comfortably 
 hold, and went on again. 
 
 "Beloved Miss Rose, — Would you wear the 
 accompanied box for my sake, I mean its contents, 
 which Jones minor (that wretched little muff in 
 the fifth form, you know) said he should buy 
 for you, the impudense of the youngster. I 
 expect some jam to-morrow and shall send you 
 a pot. Ever your devoted and respecful admirer, 
 W. Stiggings. P.S. — I hope you have less bother 
 now with those beastly lessons. Miss Brabazon's 
 a tyrent." 
 
 The box contained a very smart brooch, for 
 which W. Stiggings, who was a year older than 
 Jones minor, had given ninepence. Miss Rose 
 fastened it into her dress and figured off before 
 the glass, eating alternately the raisins and the 
 barley-sugar. Emma had not called her down, 
 or come to see after her, so she thought she 
 might write her acknowledgments, and took out 
 a pencil and some delicate miniature note-paper 
 straw-coloured and notched round the edge. 
 
 " Dear Mr. Loftus, — Thank you for the scent- 
 
MISS ROSE'S LOVE-LETTERS. 187 
 
 paper, it's very delicious, but not so nice as that 
 almond-rock you sent me. I've no more time, for 
 fear Emma should come up. Ever yours, Rose 
 B. P.S. — I saw you all riding that donkey on 
 the common, why didn't you look up ? I was 
 with Jessie Gall and their governess." 
 
 This accomplished, she went on to the next, 
 taking them in rotation. 
 
 " Dear Mr. Brown, — The barley-sugar's first- 
 rate ; I've eaten it nearly all. It's a love of a 
 bonnet. I wanted Emma to let me have a blue 
 mantle like it, and she went and bought a black ! 
 Ever yours, Rose B. P.S. — Please excuse the 
 smuge ; an old raisen out of my drawer got 
 crushed on it." 
 
 And the next was to Jones minor. 
 
 "Dear Mr. Jones, — I'm very sorry about the 
 brooch ; perhaps you could get me something 
 else. Don't you ever speak to Stiggings — I 
 shouldn't. The raisens are grity ; perhaps you 
 droped them. Do pay out that Mother Butter. 
 She told Emma the other day I was a little 
 minx. Couldn't you steal her cat ? So no more 
 at present from yours ever, Rose B. P.S. — You 
 ought to do some dictation." 
 
 And then came the last. 
 
 " Dear Mr. Stiggings, — The brooch is beautiful ; 
 
188 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 I Ve got it in my frock now, but daredn't go 
 down in it for fear of Emma. I wonder you 
 could ever mention Jones minor to me. Why do 
 you speak to him ? I don't. I like jam, apricot 
 especially. The lessons are worse than ever, and 
 I wish German was buried. Emma's going to 
 have me put into linear drawing, or some such 
 horrid name, so I mean to break all the pencils. 
 Ever yours, Rose B. P.S. — I'd tell you of some- 
 thing I heard from Jessie Gall, only I'm afraid 
 Emma will be up." 
 
 These various missives were directed to the 
 gentlemen, each of them receiving the title of 
 " esquire," and Miss Rose locked up her treasures, 
 the brooch included. A little cousin of hers who 
 was in the junior class, and ran in at will, was 
 made the messenger on either side ; otherwise 
 the young men might have found it difficult to 
 convey their offerings to the shrine. 
 
 One dark evening Mrs. Butter was in her 
 kitchen, making toast for her not very welcome 
 lodger, who had descended from his room of con- 
 cealment to talk to her and enjoy the warmth, 
 when there came a sudden and imperious knock- 
 ing at the casement. Down went the toasting- 
 fork, and Tom Brabazon sprang from the fire 
 into- a dark corner. 
 
MISS ROSE'S LOVE-LETTERS. 189 
 
 " Not there, Mr. Tom," she whispered. " Better 
 go upstairs again ; it's safest." 
 
 One fear only was in the mind of both — that 
 this peremptory summons must mean mischief to 
 the fugitive hiding from the law. Mrs. Butter, 
 when he had escaped, drew the heavy red 
 curtain from before the window, and looked out. 
 She expected to see some officers of justice there, 
 or something as formidable ; her heart rose to 
 her mouth ; he was her old master's son, with all 
 his faults and sins, and she would have shielded 
 him with her life. 
 
 " Don't open the door," softly cried Tom Bra- 
 bazon, from the stairs. 
 
 Between the light inside and the darkness out, 
 combined with her own flurry, Mrs. Butter could 
 see absolutely nothing. A form in a hat, as of a 
 short stout man, at last made itself dimly visible 
 to her, but he seemed to be standing with his 
 back to the window ; at least, she could discern 
 no features. 
 
 " What do you please to want, sir ? " she called 
 out, deeming it well to be civil. 
 
 Instead of making any answer, the glass was 
 rapped at again, more peremptorily than before. 
 Mrs. Butter drew the casement open ; it had 
 upright iron bars on the outside, so there 
 
.190 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 was no clanger that any one could make his 
 way in." 
 
 " What is it ? " she asked. 
 
 But still the man never spoke ; and now that 
 her eyes were growing accustomed to the dark- 
 ness, she saw that he had no face, or, if he had a 
 face, it was enveloped and hidden from view. A 
 disagreeable feeling, as of some vague fear, stole 
 over her. 
 
 " What is it, sir, I ask ? Won't you please to 
 say what you want ? " 
 
 All in a moment, without warning, the man 
 burst into a blaze. Blazed up as if he had been 
 coated with pitch or stuffed with gunpowder, 
 and had suddenly caught fire. Mrs. Butter, 
 nearly beside herself with terror, darted back 
 from the window, uttering scream upon scream. 
 
 For some little time all was confusion. Mr. 
 Henry, and Tom Brabazon, the one brought from 
 his room by the cries, the other forgetting his 
 privacy, came out-of-doors, each with a bucket of 
 water. But the burning man, who appeared to 
 have arrived on an iron barrow, was suddenly 
 wheeled to a safe spot off the premises, and a set 
 of gleeful savages were dancing and shouting 
 round him, while he blazed away. Tom Brabazon 
 stole indoors again. 
 
MISS ROSE'S LOVE-LETTERS. 191 
 
 Need you be told that this was the work of 
 the college boys ? It was the "jolly lark " hinted 
 at by Jones minor to Miss Rose. They had made 
 a straw figure, introducing a little gunpowder, 
 and fired it before Mother Butter's eyes for her 
 especial edification. 
 
 Dancing, howling, shouting, the boys did not 
 see the approach of Mr. Baker until he was 
 close upon them. He had happened to be pass- 
 ing within view, and ran up in terror. They 
 took flight then ; and indeed there was nothing 
 to wait for, for the figure had nearly emitted 
 his last spark. Mr. Baker, rather in fear still, 
 perplexed, and outrageously angry, threw out 
 his arms in the dark, but only succeeded in 
 grasping one : the rest eluded him. That one 
 was George Paradyne. Mrs. Butter, in a state of 
 fury, came out with her tale. 
 
 et I'll cane you, at all events,"' said Mr. Baker 
 to his captive. " Come with me." 
 
 " I have not done anything," said George. " I 
 don't know now what has happened." 
 
 " I'll teach you, you vagabond, what has 
 happened," stuttered Mr. Baker, still further 
 exasperated by the assumption of ignorance, 
 which he entirely disbelieved. " Come along." 
 
 He marshalled George Paradyne away to the 
 
192 
 
 OHVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 hall, holding his jacket collar. Every boy had 
 got back before them. About twenty were in 
 the fray, and Mr. Baker had not distinguished 
 one of them. They were seated sedately at their 
 evening lessons now, in common with the rest, 
 and not to be distinguished. The angry master 
 got out his cane. 
 
 " One single moment, Mr. Baker, before you 
 strike me," said George Paradyne. " I declare 
 that I was not in this. I knew nothing of it : I 
 was going to Mr. Henry's for my usual reading 
 when I came upon the blaze. Surely they will 
 tell you I was not in it ! They never do let me 
 join in anything." 
 
 Mr. Baker paused, cane in air. George Para- 
 dyne had certainly been amongst the throng : he 
 did not believe that he was not joining in the 
 mischief. 
 
 u I was not in it, indeed, sir ; I had only run 
 up when you came. I was asking what it was." 
 
 " Who was in it, if you were not ? " asked Mr. 
 Baker. " You saw." 
 
 (t I saw some of them." 
 
 "Tell me who they were. I shall cane you if 
 you don't." 
 
 George looked round on the boys, as if to say, 
 " Will none of you exculpate me ? " They 
 
MISS ROSE'S LOVE-LETTERS. 193 
 
 dropped their eyes on their books, and made no 
 response. 
 
 "I shall cane you, Paradyne, if }<ou tdon't 
 tell." 
 
 " I can't help it, sir. I will not tell." 
 
 He took his punishment, a very severe one. 
 Pulling his jacket on his stiff and aching arms, 
 when it was over, he once more looked at the 
 boys as he went out. And they, in their heart 
 of hearts, felt that George Paradyne, the despised, 
 was made of nobler stuff than they were. 
 
 Orvilie Coll %c, 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 A FAINTING-FIT. 
 
 In one of the houses in Prospect Terrace there 
 sat a family at early breakfast. A nice family ; 
 the growing up sons and daughters loving 
 and obedient, the father and mother anxiously 
 training them to good. It was the Talbots. 
 They had left their close residence in Pimlico, 
 and taken this in the healthier country district ; 
 having moved in at the recent quarter. Mr. 
 Talbot was a tall, spare man, rather absorbed 
 in cares ; Mrs. Talbot a pleasant woman, with a 
 countenance and demeanour serenely cheerful, 
 imparting in some way an idea of peace. J ames, 
 known to you as Earl of Shrewsbury, was the 
 eldest son. He was at the breakfast-table now, 
 for this was the last day of the Easter holidays, 
 which he had been spending at home. 
 
 Yes, time had gone on at Orville, as it goes 
 with us all. April was in, and the Easter 
 holidays were now at an end. There was 
 
A FAINTING-FIT. 195 
 
 nothing much to record of the last term, no 
 special event. Mrs. Butter overcame her fright 
 in time, but* not her anger ; Tom Brabazon 
 disappeared again ; the German master was 
 patiently working; and George Paradyne was 
 battling with the school enmity, and bearing 
 on his own way in spite of circumstances. He 
 would have done it less gallantly but for the 
 ever-constant, daily counsels of Mr. Henry. 
 Over and over again, but for that, the boy would 
 have broken down, for the battle against him 
 waxed fierce and strong. The step taken by 
 Sir Simon Orville, in inviting Mrs. Paradyne 
 and George to dinner on Christmas-Day, meant 
 to be a healer of strife, turned out just the 
 reverse. Trace, powerless to resist it, concen- 
 trated his indignation within him to let it loose 
 on the head of the unhappy boy later. Not 
 violently, not in any manner that could be taken 
 up, he was civil to Paradyne 's face; but he so 
 worked craftily on others, that a regular cabal 
 set in against George Paradyne. Mr. Henry, so 
 to say, bore the brunt for him. He soothed the 
 insults, he talked the boy's resentful spirit into 
 peace, he cheered him bravely on, he encouraged 
 him to persevere and be patient. The Talbots 
 were speaking of this enmity as they sat at 
 
19G 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 breakfast. James suddenly interrupted to put 
 a question to his father. 
 
 " Papa, shall yon not be late ? " 
 
 Mr. Talbot danced at his watch and smiled. 
 The idea of his son's oivino; him a caution on 
 that score ; he, the most strictly punctual clerk 
 the bank possessed. " It's odd how a feeling of 
 dislike does arise in schools against a particular 
 boy," he observed. " There's sure to be good 
 cause for it. These instincts are generally to be 
 trusted." 
 
 " Papa, what do you call instinct ? " 
 
 " What do I call instinct ! " repeated Mr. 
 Talbot. " I should have thought you were old 
 enough, James, to know what instinct meant, 
 without my telling you." 
 
 James laughed. "Because I think in this 
 case our instinct is for Paradyne instead of 
 against him. I know mine is." 
 
 " Then why is he disliked ? " 
 
 " Well, I don't know. There is something not 
 square, I believe, known to a few of the seniors 
 only. The feeling against him is very strong." 
 
 Mr. Talbot rose, and put his watch in his 
 pocket. He always breakfasted with it on the 
 table. " I don't understand at all," he said ; 
 " but I must be going now." 
 
A FAINTING-FIT. 197 
 
 James went to the front-door and opened it. 
 Now that he had risen, you could see James 
 Talbot's height. He was already nearly six feet, 
 almost the tallest in the school. The boys were 
 wont to say that the shots had made him grow. 
 Mr. Talbot walked away quickly, and a boy, 
 wearing the college cap, came up and accosted 
 James at the door. At the same moment Mrs. 
 Talbot came out in commotion. 
 
 " Oh, James, my letter ! Papa was to have 
 posted it in town. Run and give it to him." 
 
 " Allow me," said the stranger, raising his 
 trencher to Mrs. Talbot, and taking the letter 
 from her hand. She looked at him, and was 
 struck with the fine character of the attractive 
 countenance — the candour of the large grey 
 eyes. 
 
 " That's Paradyne," whispered James. 
 
 " That Paradyne ! Then I am sure " 
 
 But he had accomplished his mission, and was 
 coming back again, laughing at the haste he 
 had made. " Mr. Talbot bade me say he did not 
 know there was any letter to take." 
 
 " No ; I forgot to tell him. Thank you very 
 much." 
 
 He lifted his cap to her again, as she went in 
 with the earl. 
 
1 
 
 198 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 "James," she said to her son, "you tell me 
 that the school has a prejudice against that 
 boy." 
 
 " Indeed it has. Something more than a pre- 
 judice* We are all against him." 
 
 " And your motive— your reason, I should 
 say { 
 
 "I really don't know. The prejudice is there, 
 and we all share in it, and that's all." 
 
 " Oh, James, is it right ? " 
 
 " Perhaps not. I have thought it not quite 
 the thing all along ; but one must go with the 
 stream. They are very poor, those Paradynes. 
 Don't look angry, mamma; I am not speaking 
 it as a reproach." 
 
 "I hope not. I think a son of mine would 
 scarcely do so. They cannot well be poorer 
 than we are." 
 
 " Yes, a great deal. It is our education that 
 keeps papa poor — mine especially. I shall try 
 to repay you for it some day, mother mine. A 
 vision comes over me now and again of gaining 
 the Orville. I should get to college then, and 
 all would be easy." 
 
 " You vain boy. The Orville will be for one 
 of your seniors, sir/' 
 
 Talbot laughed. "Yes, I fear it is only a 
 
A FAINTING-FIT. 
 
 199 
 
 vision from dreamland. But, oh, mother" — and 
 his tone changed to solemn earnestness — " what 
 a boon it would be ! " 
 
 " Tell me why you dislike George Paradyne," 
 resumed Mrs. Talbot, breaking the slight pause. 
 
 " I don't dislike him. I like him in spite of 
 all. One can't help admiring his spirit; he 
 throws off all our shafts so bravely. He is one 
 of the most open, generous fellows possible. I 
 see you don't understand it, and I don't under- 
 stand it myself. Few of us do. There's an 
 awful feeling about his going in for the Orville." 
 
 Mrs. Talbot gave it up as hopeless, and opened 
 the book for the ten minutes' reading to the 
 children, never omitted in the house. 
 
 As the term went on, the uncomfortable feel- 
 ing grew greater and greater. But there was 
 little time for anything excepting study, for the 
 Oxford examination was approaching fast. 
 
 One hot Saturday afternoon, when the college 
 had holiday, Mr. Henry went to the railway- 
 station to inquire after an expected parcel of 
 books. Saturday afternoon was no holiday for 
 him. He had three private lessons to give in it. 
 As he left the station, walking very fast to keep 
 his time at Mr. Gall's, a sharp, sudden pain seized 
 him. He was leaning against the fence of the 
 
200 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 plantation, white and faint, when Sir Simon 
 Orville passed. 
 
 " Why, bless me, what's the matter ? " exclaimed 
 that hearty gentleman. " Have you been run 
 over \ 
 
 Mr. Henrv smiled : his colour was coming 
 back again. He said something about a sudden 
 pain. t 
 
 " Been eating green gooseberries ? " asked the 
 unsophisticated man. " I caught young Dick 
 buying a quart. He's devouring the lot." 
 
 ft It took me here," said Mr. Henry. " It's 
 gone now." 
 
 '/ Why, that's near the heart ; it couldn't have 
 been there, I should think," said Sir Simon, 
 peering at him curiously. " Well, we are close 
 at home ; come in to Pond Place and rest." 
 
 " Thank you, Sir Simon ; I am all right now. 
 I must go on quickly to my pupils." 
 * "Til tell you what it is, sir; you are over- 
 working yourself. . That's my opinion." 
 
 " Oh no. Folks can't do too much at my age." 
 
 " That depends upon the amount of strength : 
 I could have plodded on night and day ; you seem 
 to get more of a lath than ever. What's the 
 reason you never will accept my hospitality ? 
 Got any dislike to me ? — taken up a prejudice ? 
 
A FAINTING-FIT. 
 
 201 
 
 I know I'm a plain man, without education ; but 
 you might put up with that." 
 
 "If I could only show you how I respect you, 
 Sir Simon ; if I could only live to be of service 
 to you ! " was the impulsive answer. " But, 
 indeed, I have never time for visiting : the little 
 Galls are waiting for me now." 
 
 And away he went through the plantation, 
 leaving Sir Simon a little puzzled at the earnest- 
 ness of the words and manner ; for they seemed 
 to imply more than was on the surface. 
 
 That afternoon, in the very midst of explaining 
 to Master Fred Gall an abstruse difficulty in the 
 Latin grammar, Mr. Henrv leaned back in his 
 chair and quietly fainted away. With a hulla- 
 baloo that might have been heard at the distant 
 college, the children threw open the door and 
 scattered away pell-mell. 
 
 It brought forth Mrs. Gall and her eldest son, 
 who had stepped in home, as he had the liberty 
 to do on holidays. They took off his neckcloth 
 and brought him wine, and were very tender 
 with him. 
 
 "Do forgive me," he murmured, in deep con- 
 trition for the trouble he was causing. " The 
 heat must have overpowered me j I have been 
 walking fast." 
 
202 
 
 : - v ✓ 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Mrs. Gall would not hear of his continuing 
 the lesson. She made him lie on .the sofa and 
 rest. She and her children had grown to like 
 him very much, at which the senior boy, in 
 his prejudice, silently shrugged his shoulders. 
 But there was something about him this after- 
 noon, in his passing helplessness, his gratitude 
 for the care shown, that appealed to William 
 Gall's better feelings and half won his heart. 
 He could not rest long ; he had a German lesson 
 to give at five o'clock, and must go home first 
 for the necessary books. When he went out, 
 Gall went with him, and offered his arm. 
 
 "You will walk all the better for it, Mr. 
 Henry. Years back I used to have fainting-fits 
 myself, and know how they take the strength 
 away." 
 
 Mr. Henry accepted it, and they walked on 
 together. He had always liked Gall : never 
 a better head and heart an fond than his. 
 Leaning too readily, perhaps, to the prejudices 
 of the school he partially swayed; but Mr. 
 Henry allowed for that : others might have done 
 it more offensively. Gall had never taken an 
 active part in the cabal against young Paradyne, 
 or in the contempt lavished on the German 
 master ; but he had tacitly acquiesced in it. 
 
A FAINTING-FIT. 203 
 
 Some of the boys happened to be in the quad- 
 rangle, and to describe the commotion when Gall 
 passed arm-in-arm with the enemy — as Trace 
 was in the habit of calling Mr. Henry — would be 
 beyond any pen. Gall, thoroughly independent 
 always, vouchsafed a cool nod to the sea of 
 astonished faces, and continued his way. If 
 anything could have daunted him, it was the 
 supercilious contempt on Bertie Loftus's hand- 
 some face : anything that Gall did was sure to 
 excite that, for there was no good feeling between 
 them. Mr. Henry called for some coffee on 
 going in : coffee was his panacea for most 
 ailments. 
 
 a You'll stay and take a cup with me," he said, 
 cordially, to Gall. " I feel quite well now. It 
 must have been the heat." 
 
 Mrs. Butter brought the coffee and the two 
 chatted together. Gall had never seen so much 
 of Mr. Henry in all the past months as in this 
 one hour, and he felt ashamed for having turned 
 the cold shoulder on him. 
 
 " I hope I shall see more of you, Mr. Henry, 
 than I have seen hitherto," he said, when he was 
 shaking hands to leave. " Is there nothing I can 
 do for you ? If there is, tell me. I hope you'll 
 not have a renewal of this." 
 
204 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 "Thank you," replied Mr. Henry, looking 
 straight at him with his pleasant eyes. " I wish 
 I could get you to alter one thing — the persecu- 
 tion of young Paradyne.'' 
 
 « Well, it is too bad," observed Gall. " But I 
 can't make the school like Paradyne if they dis- 
 like him." 
 
 " Can you tell me why they dislike him ? " 
 asked Mr. Henrv ; for times and again it had 
 struck him that the particulars of the Liverpool 
 business must have been privately circulated by 
 Trace or Loftus. 
 
 " No, that I can't," frankly answered Gall. " I 
 have heard Trace hint at some reason for dislike, 
 but he never said what. Miss Brabazon asked 
 me about it once, but I did not learn anything. 
 I think they are vexed that he, a new fellow, 
 should have his name down for the Orville Ex- 
 hibition." 
 
 (i That should not cause them to persecute 
 him." 
 
 <( True. But, you see, when once a prejudice 
 arises, it is not easy to allay it." 
 
 " Did it ever occur to you to realize Paradyne's 
 position to your own mind ? " asked Mr. Henry. 
 " He is clever, generous, forbearing ; wishing to 
 live at peace with all ; and yet he is subjected 
 
A FAINTING-FIT. 
 
 205 
 
 to this cruel persecution, and for no cause that I 
 can find out. Think it over, Mr. Gall, at your 
 leisure ; and now good-bye, and thank you for 
 your company." 
 
 Mr. Henry sat back in his chair, listening to 
 the senior boy's departing footsteps. There 
 were times when he felt utterly depressed, as if 
 every bit of spirit and energy had gone out of 
 him. He was in a false position at Orville 
 College, and he knew it. Since the first day of 
 his entrance he had been fighting a battle with 
 conscience ; this of itself, with his sensitive mind, 
 was enough to wear him out ; it needed not his 
 hard work added to it. 
 
 " I cant keep it up," he said to himself, as he 
 rose and went out to give his lesson. " And it 
 is not right I should. Once the Oxford examina- 
 tion's over, the end shall come; and then, if I 
 have to leave the college, why, I must leave it. 
 I'd rather be back at Heidelberg," 
 
 Meanwhile Gall was " thinking over " the 
 matter in regard to Paradyne ; not because Mr. 
 Henry had desired him to do it, but on his own 
 score. Gall's was a just nature; he felt vexed 
 with himself for the past ; angry with the school 
 in general. 
 
 It was not an opportune moment for Loftus to 
 
206 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 meet him, with his supercilious face, his still 
 more supercilious words. In the middle of the 
 grass, near the gymnasium-ground, they en- 
 countered each other. The undercurrent of 
 enmity between these two was of long-standing, 
 and Gall, at least, had inwardly and bitterly 
 resented it. What Loftus said was never pre- 
 cisely known ; some stinging taunt, reflecting on 
 the "new friendship," meaning little, perhaps, 
 but the other was not in a mood to bear it. The 
 next moment, Gall had knocked him down. 
 
 He lay sprawling, the distinguished Loftus, 
 his golden curls in contact with the base earth, 
 his handsome nose bleeding. Gall stood erect, 
 with compressed lips ; the wondering boys 
 were flocking up, and Mother Butter's dog 
 stood by, barking fiercely, as if it were a raree- 
 show. 
 
 Loftus rose. Whether he would have struck 
 again was a question ; he was not deficient in 
 personal bravery, but these elegant dandies 
 rarely go in for blows. No opportunity was 
 given one way or the other, for Mr. Henry, 
 hastening up, stepped between them. 
 
 "Move away," said Loftus to him. "What 
 business is it of yours ? " 
 
 " The business of authority," was Mr. Henry's 
 
A FAINTING-FIT. 207 
 
 answer, delivered with calm decision. " So long 
 as I hold the position of master here, I shall act 
 as such when need arises. Gentlemen," and he 
 looked at both equally—'' there must be no more 
 of this." 
 
 " You need not be alarmed on your friend's 
 behalf," said Loftus, with an ugly stress on the 
 " friend." " You, Gall," — and he turned to him 
 — u shall answer to me for this, later." 
 
 They moved away in different directions, Gall 
 one road, Loftus another, Mr. Henry a third ; 
 and the astonished boys stood, looking after them 
 with a vacant stare, hardly able to believe that 
 the transitory scene had been real. 
 
208 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 , IN OXFORD STREET. 
 
 Miss Brabazon was walking through Oxford 
 Street that memorable afternoon, taking her 
 time, as befitted the heat of the day, looking 
 into the shop-windows, which, truth to say, bore 
 attraction 'for her, as they do for most persons 
 who see them rarely. 
 
 " I dare say I could get it here," she thought, 
 halting at a jewellers shop and finally entering 
 it. She had broken the key of her watch and 
 wanted a new one, but wished it of a peculiar 
 pattern. A middle-aged man came forward, 
 whom she took to be the master. Yes, he had 
 keys of the shape she described, he said, and 
 reached out a tray. 
 
 While he was fitting the key to the watch, 
 Miss Brabazon's eyes went roaming (naturally) 
 amidst the many attractive articles of plate and 
 jewellery. They alighted on a gold pencil with a 
 diamond set in the top. Except that the stone 
 
IN OXFORD STREET. 209 
 
 was considerably smaller, it was very much like 
 the one lost from the college. 
 
 " That is a beautiful pencil ! " she exclaimed. 
 
 " Yes, ma'am. The diamond makes it also 
 valuable." 
 
 " Is it not unusual to see a diamond set in a 
 pencil-case ? " 
 
 H Rather so/' he replied. " I have made them 
 to order before now. We have a better one than 
 that, but it's not for sale. Not yet, at least. It 
 is one of our pledges in the other shop ; was left 
 with us some months back." 
 
 " Do you mean it was — pawned ? " she asked, 
 bringing out the word gingerly, as ladies in 
 general do. 
 
 " Yes, ma'am." 
 
 A thousand thoughts caine crowding over her ; 
 a suspicion, almost amounting to an instinct, 
 that it was the pencil they had lost. " When 
 was it left with you, do you say ? " 
 
 " Some time last autumn ; either in September 
 oi' October." 
 
 " I wish you would let me see it," she ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 " It is quite against all rule, ma'am, to show 
 our pledged goods," was the reply of the jeweller. 
 " Is it ? But if you would ! The truth is — I 
 
 Orville College. 14 
 
210 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 don't see why I should not tell you — we lost one 
 about that time. I do not wish to claim the 
 pencil, only to see it for my own satisfaction, just 
 to set my doubts at rest. They have been " — 
 dreadful, was the word on her tongue, but she 
 paused in time and substituted another — " tire- 
 some.' 7 
 
 The jeweller was an honest man ; courteous 
 and considerate ; one of nature's gentlemen. It 
 was, as he said, against the rule to show pledges 
 left with them ; but the young lady seemed very 
 anxious, and was evidently sincere. 
 
 " I am Miss Brabazon," she resumed, drawing 
 out her card-case and giving one of her cards to 
 him. " My father is Dr. Brabazon, of Orville 
 College ; you may have heard of it and of him. 
 Indeed you may trust us not to make any fuss 
 or trouble about this." 
 
 " Orville College," repeated the jeweller. " I 
 am almost sure that was the address given with 
 the pencil. I think the person who pledged it 
 said he was a master there." 
 
 A rush of conviction and the image of Mr. 
 Henry came over her together. " Do let me see 
 it," she said; " I am certain it is the same." 
 
 He went into the other shop by a communi- 
 cating door, was away for several minutes, and 
 
IN OXFORD STREET. 
 
 211 
 
 came back with a box in which was the pencil. 
 She only needed to take one glance at it; the 
 chased gold was bright as ever, the diamond 
 flashed with all its brilliancy. It was Dr. Bra- 
 bazon's. 
 
 " Yes, it is papa's," she exclaimed. " Who 
 pledged it ? " 
 
 " The name in the book is Henry J ebb ; I have 
 been looking. But there seems to have been 
 
 some doubt whether- Simms," broke off 
 
 the jeweller, " step this way." 
 
 " Henry Jebb ! " mentally repeated Miss Bra- 
 bazon, as a young man, running his hand through 
 an amazing head of light hair, came in from the 
 other shop. 
 
 "Tell this lady the particulars of the trans- 
 action I have been asking you about," said his 
 master. "When you took in this pencil, you 
 know." 
 
 "It was Watson that took it in, sir, not me; 
 but I was standing by and heard what passed. 
 The gentleman came in, mem," he continued, 
 turning to Miss Brabazon, " and said he wanted 
 a little temporary accommodation for a few days, 
 and he pulled the pencil out of his waistcoat- 
 pocket, mem, and asked what we'd lend upon 
 it; as much as ever we could, he hoped, for he 
 
212 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 was hard up till his remittances came. Well, 
 Watson seeing a pencil like that, with the 
 diamond stone in the top, was rather sharp ; he 
 asked whether it was his own, and if it wasn't a 
 family relic, and lots more things; he was quite 
 down upon him, mem, in fact, and gave him a 
 look from head to foot as if he didn't think him 
 exactly the one to be offering such an article. 
 ' Hadn't you better call in the nearest policeman 
 and tell him to question me ? ' says the customer. 
 ' I can go where I'm known if you decline to 
 negotiate.' Well, what with his coolness, and 
 his composed manner, and his gentleman's voice, 
 Watson thought it was all right, mem, and lent 
 him seven pounds upon it. ( What name ? ' says 
 Watson. ' Henry,' answered he, and stopped. 
 ' Henry what ? ' says Watson ; 1 is that the 
 surname or Christian name ? ' and the stranger 
 stroked his chin for a moment, looking at him. 
 'I suppose I must give it in ?' said he, 'Henry 
 Jebb.' ' What address ? ' asks Watson next. 
 'Oh, Fleet Street/ said he. 'That won't do 
 this time/ says Watson, ' I should like the real 
 one.' 'Then take it/ said he, picking up the 
 money and putting it in his pocket, and he 
 gave the address that is in the book, sir," — turn- 
 ing to the jeweller— "'Orville College. 'I'm one 
 
IN OXFORD STREET. 213 
 
 of its masters/ he went on, ' and that pencil was 
 presented to me by the pupils, so you may be 
 sure I shall redeem it. In a week's time from 
 this it will be in my pocket again.' But here 
 it is still," concluded the speaker; "and it often 
 
 • 55 
 
 is so. 
 
 " You have a good memory, Simms," observed 
 his master, smiling. 
 
 "And so I have, sir. I won't take upon me 
 to say that those were the precise words used, 
 but I know they are not far out on either side. 
 Watson said afterwards that he'd lay half-a-crown 
 Henry was the right name, though he put it 
 down as Henry Jebb.' > 
 
 " Was he a young man ? " asked Miss Braba- 
 zon; feeling how superfluous was the question 
 in her conviction. 
 
 " Oh yes, mem ; youngish, that is." 
 
 " That's all, Simms ; you may go. Has this 
 helped to solve your doubts at all, ma'am ? " con- 
 tinued the jeweller, turning to Miss Brabazon. 
 
 " It has indeed," she sadly said. " We have 
 suspected him — at least some of us did — from the 
 first. His name is not Jebb. But I would rather 
 not say any more about it. Do not think me 
 uncivil," she hastened to add; " indeed I am 
 sensible of your courtesy, and thank you very 
 
214 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 much. You will keep the pencil safe ; and 
 please keep — if you would so far oblige me — the 
 matter secret too." 
 
 He came round to open the door for her, 
 assuring her of his discretion, and that the 
 pencil would be perfectly safe. 
 
 " Mr. Henry ! " she repealed over and over 
 as;ain to herself as she went home. " And I had 
 nearly overcome those doubts of him that so 
 pained me. But the impudence of his using 
 poor, unconscious Mr. J ebb's name ! " 
 
 And the " impudence " of the thing did strike 
 upon her so forcibly that, in spite of her distress, 
 she stood still and gave way to a burst of 
 laughter, unable to restrain it within bounds. 
 
 Dr. Brabazon was alone in his study when she 
 entered, looking over some books just brought 
 in. As if anxious to get the communication 
 over, she sat down at once on a stool at his feet, 
 and told him all. It must be remembered that 
 his suspicions had never been directed to Mr. 
 Henry, and for the first few minutes he really 
 thought his daughter was dreaming, or that the 
 day's heat had affected her usually cool brain. 
 
 " It is impossible, Emma. Steal my pencil ! — ■ 
 Mr. Henry ! My dear, you don't know what 
 you are saying." 
 
IN OXFORD STREET. 
 
 215 
 
 " Papa, I am very sorry to say it. You must 
 judge for yourself; but I don't see how it can 
 have been otherwise. You have not been listen- 
 ing to me." 
 
 " Begin again. Surprise took my listening 
 faculties away." 
 
 She took off her bonnet, and began again ; 
 telling him of Trace's suspicions and their 
 foundation; of her recent discovery of the 
 pencil, and what passed. " Is there any room to 
 doubt, papa ? " 
 
 " Stay a moment, Emma ; why did you not 
 inform me of this doubt of Mr. Henry at the 
 time ? " 
 
 " Because I thought, as you do now, that it was 
 so very unlikely and also— I feared— that some 
 one altogether different might have taken it," 
 
 « Who ? " 
 
 " Forgive me, papa ; I know how you dislike 
 the name to be mentioned— Tom." 
 
 Dr. Brabazon frowned. "How could you 
 possibly have suspected him when he was not 
 near the place ? That comes of letting your 
 thoughts run upon him always. You should 
 have told me this about Mr. Henry." 
 
 She sat, looking out apparently at the boys in 
 the playground, and asking herself whether to 
 
216 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 tell all now — that Tom was near the place the 
 evening of the loss. But to what end ? To 
 hear of his being near only destroyed her father's 
 rest; and the suspicion was now quite removed 
 from him. 
 
 " He must have intended to redeem it within 
 a week, as he said, papa ; or he would never 
 have disclosed the fact of his being one of the 
 masters here; hoping, I suppose, to replace it 
 before it was missed. I wonder why he did not 
 doit?" 
 
 " Emma, I could have trusted that young man 
 with untold gold." 
 
 " What shall you do about it ? " 
 
 " I don't know what to do," said the doctor, 
 rousing himself from a pause of perplexed 
 thought. " Look you, child ; he must stay here 
 until the Oxford examination. To discharge 
 him now might peril the boys' passing." 
 
 " I see. Of course it might. And he is so 
 excellent a master 1 " 
 
 " I wish ; I ivish I had not heard this." 
 
 Emma wished so too; wished, rather, there 
 had been nothing to hear. " His staying on a 
 little while will not make matters w r orse, papa," 
 she resumed; "lie might stay until the end of 
 the term. We have missed nothing since. And 
 
IN OXFORD STREET. 
 
 217 
 
 if I had not happened to go into that shop for a 
 watch-key, we should be in just as much ignorance 
 as we were before." 
 
 "If!" said the doctor, "if! life is half made 
 up of ifs. I'll take a night's rest upon this 
 unpleasantness, Emma ; meanwhile keep strict 
 counsel." 
 
 " I shall keep that always, poor young man. 
 I can't help being sorry for him ; he is so hard- 
 working and so friendless; and, papa, with it 
 all, he is a gentleman. But what about the 
 pencil ? " 
 
 " Time enough to think of that," said the 
 doctor. "It won't run away." 
 
 It was all utterly incomprehensible to Dr. 
 Brabazon. As he said, he could have trusted 
 Mr. Henry not only with untold gold, but with 
 things far more precious. He thought that 
 some great emergency, some urgent need of 
 money, must have tempted him ; it had tempted 
 others before him, as the world's history can tell. 
 It struck the doctor that in this must lie the 
 secret of Mr. Henry's demeanour; there was 
 always a sort of timid reticence observable to 
 him, not to others. " As if — I declare, as if he 
 were conscious of having committed some wrong 
 towards me ! " cried the doctor aloud, the new 
 
218 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 thought striking him. Whatever his degree of 
 guilt, Dr. Brabazon felt certain it was bitterly 
 repented of. To part with him before the 
 Oxford examination, thereby suddenly cutting 
 the thread of the French and German instruction, 
 was not to be thought of : and the head-master 
 buried the unwelcome knowledge within his 
 breast, and suffered things to go on as usual. 
 I It was drawing so near now, that all other 
 interests gave place to it. There was a good 
 deal of rivalry amongst the boys going up for 
 it; there was some jealousy, a little disputing. 
 The remoter competition for the Orville prize 
 was lost sight of now. It was at the option of 
 the head-master to send the boys up for this 
 Oxford examination or to retain them, according 
 as, in his judgment, they were sufficiently pre- 
 pared or the contrary. The elder ones, those 
 whose age would preclude trial another year, 
 were to go ; that was certain ; and take their 
 chance : but in regard to the rest it lay with 
 Dr. Brabazon. Only, if they did not go up for 
 the Oxford ; or, going up, did not pass ; they 
 could not compete for the Orville. And of the 
 candidates perhaps there was not one, Gall ex- 
 cepted, who did not secretly pray that Paradyne 
 might not be allowed to go up. Altogether 
 
IN OXFORD STREET. 
 
 219 
 
 there was as much excitement and commotion 
 just now in the college over the coming Oxford 
 examination, as there is in a borough on the eve 
 of a general election. 
 
 Mr. Loftus sat in his bedroom at Pond Place, 
 fingering his cherished pistols. It was the day 
 after his encounter with Gal], and he was spend- 
 ing it at Sir Simon's. Loftus had not been 
 himself since the mishap; he was not one to 
 cherish revenge, in a general way, but he did 
 in this instance firmly resolve that Gall should 
 suffer. On all occasions of his visits to his 
 uncle's these- pistols were got out, their state 
 ascertained, their shape and points admired. It 
 was Sunday afternoon, but Loftus was rubbing 
 them up with wash-leather ; he and Leek, who 
 stood by, talking in a desultory manner. 
 
 " Loftus, I should not care to possess pistols if 
 I had to keep them locked up out of sight," 
 cried Leek, rather inopportunely. 
 
 " Ah," said Loftus, " wait until I am my own 
 master, I wish I might use them," he added, 
 ♦significantly. " I could put a little bullet into 
 somebody with all the pleasure in life — that is, 
 if he were not toa great a coward to meet me \ 
 but snobs are always cowards. Give me that 
 oil, Onions." 
 
220 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " You mean Gall," said Onions, handing the 
 phial, and taking out the cork by way of 
 facilitating operations ; upon which a strong 
 smell of bergamotte was diffused through the 
 room. Onions gave a sniff. 
 
 " I say, Loftus, this is hair-oil ! " 
 
 " It will do ; I've no other. Yes, snobs are 
 safe to be cowards ; it's in their blood, and they 
 can't help it," observed he, dropping some oil on 
 the bright steel and delicately rubbing it. " I'd 
 lay you all I'm worth ; I'd lay you these pistols, 
 Onions, that if I called out Gall, he'd laugh in 
 my face." 
 
 " Bosh, Loftus ! Folks don't fight duels now," 
 was the slighting remark of Onions. 
 
 " Not on this side the Channel. No ; and 
 that's what the fellow would shelter himself 
 under, an obsolete custom. Gall has insulted 
 me, and if I live I'll make him surfer for it. I 
 should like to put a bullet into him," continued 
 Loftus, grandly. 
 
 "It was too bad," said sympathizing Onions. 
 " I should pitch into him, Loftus." 
 
 Mr. Loftus threw up nis head. "Pitching in," 
 was not in his line, or anything so vulgar. " It 
 was a £reat mistake to allow duelling to go out," 
 he observed, in his lordly manner. " There's no 
 
IN OXFORD STREET. 
 
 221 
 
 way left now for gentlemen to resent an insult. 
 Yon can't fight a fellow with your fists, as if you 
 were a prize-fighter ; you can't bring an action 
 against him, and let things be blabbed out to the 
 world." 
 
 " You can kick him downstairs," said Onions. 
 
 Mr. Loftus scorned a refutation. "Just lay 
 hold of this end, will you, while I rub. Mark 
 my words, Onions, before fifty years have gone 
 over our heads, duelling will be in again." 
 
 " I say ! is this Sir Simon coming up ? " 
 
 Loftus listened for a moment, and then bundled 
 pistols and leather and oil into the drawer. Sir 
 Simon was passing to his own room, and there 
 was no certainty that he would not look into 
 this. So for the time the polishing and the 
 discussion were alike cut short. But on the 
 following morning, Onions, whose tongue was 
 as open as his own nature, got talking to 
 the school. And the matter reached the ears of 
 Gall, 
 
 " Says he would like to meet me in a duel ! — 
 says he is a better shot than I ! Is he ? If I 
 chose to take him at his word and meet him, he'd 
 see who was the best shot." 
 
 " And so I am a better shot," affirmed Loftus, 
 coming forward to face Gall. (t What should you 
 
222 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 know about shooting ? It is an art that belongs 
 to gentlemen." 
 
 In point of fact, neither of the two could shoot 
 at all. Gall lifted his finger* 
 
 " Look here, Loftus. This is not a time to be 
 taken up with petty interests : I can't afford it, 
 if you can ; neither shall the school. We'll settle 
 matters, you and I, when the Oxford's over." 
 
 " Agreed. Mind you don't flinch from it," was 
 the scornful conclusion. 
 
 Gall spoke rather without his host, in saying 
 that the school should not waste its time in dis- 
 putes. At that very moment, the school was 
 divided into groups, some taking Gall's part, some 
 taking Loftus's, some differing on, their own 
 score. After morning study, the various dis- 
 sensions seemed to have merged into one single, 
 outbreak, and that was between Loftus minor 
 and Paradyne. Paradyne had been taunted well 
 that morning, by Dick especially, and he turned at 
 length on the taunter. It was in the quadrangle. 
 
 "Because I have borne what hardly any one 
 else would, you think I emit retaliate; you 
 think I am a coward ! Try me, Dick Loftus." 
 
 jDick — ] 10 t, impulsive, passionate Dick — dashed 
 in and struck the first blow. That was his 
 answer. Off went the jackets, the boys closed 
 
IN OXFORD STREET. 
 
 223 
 
 round in a ring; it was to be an impromptu, 
 stand-up, hand-to-hand fight. 
 | And the very cries would have decided it, 
 could cries decide. Every encouragement was 
 heaped cheerily on Dick, every insult that tongue 
 can utter was levelled at Paradyne ; never had 
 the feeling of the school been more palpably 
 displayed than now. Paradyne stood his ground 
 bravely : cool, collected, retaining his temper and 
 his self-possession, he proved a great deal more 
 than a match for Dick, who had very shortly to 
 acknowledge himself beaten. Paradyne had not 
 a scratch upon his face ; parrying all blows suc- 
 cessfully, to this he chiefly confined himself, 
 and, instead of punishing Dick, had been con- 
 tent to show that he could have punished if he 
 would. 
 
 "And now," said he, as he put on his jacket, 
 "as you see that I can fight, perhaps you'll let 
 me alone for the future. I shan't take things so 
 patiently as I have done." 
 
 He set off to run home to dinner ; and a glow 
 of admiration went out after him from all who 
 were unprejudiced. The boy had half won their 
 hearts with his gallant bearing;. 
 
 He appeared at his desk as usual in the after- 
 noon. Dick Loftus was at his, a little sore about 
 
224 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 the arms. Suddenly, amidst that silence which 
 follows the first settling down of a large number 
 of students, a voice was heard. 
 " Who has done this ? " 
 
 It came from Paradyne. He was standing 
 with a paper of many sheets in his hand, and 
 had spoken aloud in his shock of surprise. The 
 paper was a Latin essay, to go in that night to 
 the head-master; it had taken him many days 
 to write it. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " asked Mr. Jebb. 
 
 Paradyne left his place and carried up the 
 paper. It was torn, blotted, soaked in ink 
 almost from beginning to end. The contents of 
 one inkstand could scarcely have put it in the 
 state it was. 
 
 " What is it ? " cried Mr. Jebb, gazing at the 
 black relic. 
 
 " It is my Latin essay, sir. I left it clean and 
 perfect in the desk after morning school." 
 
 " Your Latin essay. You left it Non- 
 sense, Paradyne," broke off Mr. Jebb, "you must 
 have had an accident with it : you have been 
 upsetting the ink." 
 
 The whole school was staring and wondering. 
 On the merit of these essays was supposed to 
 'lie very much the decision of the head-master 
 
IN OXFORD STREET. 
 
 225 
 
 whether their author should or should not go up 
 for the Oxford. The school denied all knowledge 
 of the affair. The first desk, collectively and 
 individually, protested they had had no hand in 
 it, and a whisper arose that Paradyne had done 
 it himself to hide the poorness of his Latin. 
 There was no time to attempt another. 
 
 " He can't go up for the Oxford now/' were the 
 first words that greeted Paradyne's ears when 
 the hall rose ; and they came from Dick Loftus. 
 
 " Did you do it ? " cried Paradyne, turning 
 sharply upon him, 
 
 " No, I did not," answered Dick; his red face 
 and his honest eyes raised fearlessly to Para- 
 dyne's. "You beat me this morning in a fair, 
 stand-up fight ; but I'd scorn to do a mean trick 
 of this sort." 
 
 "I believe you," said Paradyne, " and I beg 
 your pardon for asking." 
 
 " And I am sorry that you should lose your 
 chance for the Oxford," added Dick, not to be 
 outdone in generosity. " I have never said 
 either, as some of them do, that you ought not 
 to go up for the Orville : it's as fair for you to 
 compete as for the rest, for what I see." 
 
 But all chance for Paradyne, either for the one 
 or the other, was over, in the opinion of the 
 
 Orville College. 15 
 
226 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 school. Some of the better-natured felt sorry 
 for him, and said it. Paradyne bore himself 
 bravely before them ; not a cloud on his brow, 
 not a shadow on his lips proclaimed aloud the 
 bitterness of his defeat. But, later, when he was 
 sitting at Mr. Henry's, he astonished that gentle- 
 man not a little by bursting into tears. 
 
 <( I had taken such pride in that essay ! I had 
 looked forward to this examination with so much 
 certainty of success. And now to have it all 
 destroyed in a moment ! " 
 
 " Hush, George ! You may go up yet." 
 
 " No, I shall not ; I can see that Brabazon 
 thinks I did it myself. I might just as well 
 never have worked on for the examination ; I'd 
 better not have come to Orville. It's awful 
 treachery ! " he burst forth presently, his tone 
 changing as anger superseded the sobs. "I 
 know this has been done by some of them. Oh, 
 what a life it is to lead ! And there's another 
 thing — the mother has been counting on my 
 success." 
 
 There were rare times and seasons when Mr. 
 Henry was so utterly dispirited himself, that it 
 seemed like a mockery to attempt to impart 
 consolation or preach of patience to another. 
 This was one. The trouble lay heavier on him 
 
IN OXFORD STREET. 
 
 227 
 
 than it did on the boy. As he sat alone, after 
 George's departure, and took up the Book, more, 
 it must be confessed, from custom that night than 
 from any comfort he thought to find — for, in 
 truth, he felt entirely beaten down, worn, sick, 
 weary— it opened of itself at a part that seemed 
 — ay, that seemed to have been written expressly 
 for him. 
 
 " My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, pre r 
 pare thy soul for temptation. Set thy heart 
 aright, and constantly endure, and make not 
 haste in time of trouble." 
 
 And by the time he had read on to the end of 
 the chapter, which is the second of Ecclesiasticus, 
 peace and trust had come back to him. 
 
228 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CROSS-PURPOSES. 
 
 The long-worked-for Oxford examination was 
 over, and the results were at length known. Irby 
 and Fullarton had not passed ; Powell had not 
 gone up for it by the decision of the head-master ; 
 the rest had passed, including Paradyne. All 
 George Paradyne's apprehensions and the school's 
 forebodings had proved alike mistaken, for Dr. 
 Brabazon had sent up Paradyne in spite of the 
 damaged essay. In his glee, George Paradyne 
 heartily forgave all, and was his own bright self 
 again. The studies went on again vigorously 
 until July: the great prize, the Orville, had to 
 be competed for yet. 
 
 In July the school rose for the long vacation, 
 and Dr. Brabazon could no longer put off the 
 explanation with Mr. Henry, which he had 
 deemed it well to defer until the term should be 
 over. To say the truth, he shrank from it. To 
 convict this hardworking, painstaking gentleman 
 
CROSS-PURPOSES. 
 
 229 
 
 of theft— and such a theft ! — was a most un- 
 pleasant task to enter on. He let a day or two 
 pass, and whilst he was seeking for an oppor- 
 tunity to speak, it was afforded by Mr. Henry 
 himself The heat, or something else, seemed to 
 be retaining its spite against the German master ; 
 and on the third day of the vacation, when he 
 was giving Miss Rose her usual lesson, he fainted 
 away without notice, just as he had that other 
 day at Mr. Gall's. He had a short cough occa- 
 sionally, and symptoms of blood-spitting. 
 
 The doctor sent Rose away and sat with him 
 when he was restored, and rang for his favourite 
 beverage, coffee. " You shall not go until you 
 have taken some, and the child's lesson can be 
 continued another day," said he, peremptorily 
 and kindly, in answer to remonstrances. "Do 
 you think you can be very well ? " he continued, 
 the weary look of pain on Mr. Henry's face 
 striking him forcibly. 
 
 " Not very ; perhaps I have a little over- 
 worked myself," was Mr. Henry's reply. " Some- 
 times I think this place — the air, I mean— does 
 not agree with me." 
 
 " Have you anything on your mind ? " asked 
 the doctor ; and either the nature of the question 
 or its suddenness brought a flush to Mr. Henry's 
 
230 
 
 ORV1LLE COLLEGE. 
 
 face. They were in the study, seated opposite 
 each other near the large window, the deserted 
 playground, silent now, lying beyond it in the 
 vista ; so that the quick flush was perfectly per- 
 ceptible to Dr. Brabazon. 
 
 a Now," thought he, " for my opportunity : I 
 could not have a better. Mr. Henry, ' he resumed, 
 aloud, u I have for some time fancied tha,t you 
 had some care or trouble that you were conceal- 
 ing especially from me." 
 
 A pause. A yearning look of what seemed 
 like detection — detection pleading for pardon- 
 crossed Mr. Henry's countenance. The hour he 
 had been dreading for months was come, and he 
 was not ready for it ! He sat in uncomfortable 
 suspense, not knowing how much or how little 
 the master knew, pressing his thin fingers 
 together, his elbows resting on the arm of the 
 chair. 
 
 " That some unpleasant trouble was on your 
 mind, I have undoubtedly seen/' resumed the 
 doctor. " Now that the opportunity for ex- 
 planation has arrived, I think you must afford 
 it to me." 
 
 " I cannot disclose it to you now, sir," said Mr. 
 Henry slowly, and with evident pain. " Perhaps 
 in a day or two " 
 
CROSS-PURPOSES. 
 
 231 
 
 " But suppose no disclosure is needed — that I 
 know it already ? " interrupted the master. 
 
 " Is that so ? " asked Mr. Henry, lifting his 
 face. 
 
 " It is. The affair has unhappily come to my 
 knowledge ; not, of course, the inducement — the 
 —the leading motive for yielding to the tempta- 
 tion. I cannot describe to you how it has pained 
 me. Had you been a son of my own, I could 
 scarcely have felt it more. It seemed that I 
 might so fully trust you." 
 
 f< Since when have you known it ? " asked Mr. 
 Henry in a low tone. 
 
 " For some weeks now. I did not stir in it at 
 the time," continued the master, brushing a large 
 fly off his black waistcoat, " on account of not 
 interrupting the classes of the boys who were 
 going up for the examination. And, that over, I 
 thought things might go on to the vacation as 
 they had gone on so long." 
 
 u Then you intend to discharge me, Dr. 
 Brabazon ? " 
 
 The doctor could not help thinking it was 
 rather an unnecessary question. He played with 
 his paper-weight on the table. 
 
 " What do you think about that, Mr. Henry ? " 
 
 " Of course I have feared so. But yet " 
 
232 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " But yet what ? " 
 
 " Oh, sir, I'd rather not go on, I was going to 
 speak of leniency — of consideration. But you 
 might think it only made my offence worse." 
 
 "I will show you all the leniency in my 
 power. I think my having delayed the ex- 
 planation proves that my intentions are not 
 hostile, and I will be your friend if I can. You 
 were, I conclude, led into this by some over- 
 
 helming pecuniary pressure, as others have 
 been before you, and then found that you could 
 not redeem your act. This is Emma's view of 
 the case as well as mine. Why did you not 
 make a friend of me, and tell me your difficulty ? 
 I would have lent you the money." 
 
 " What money, sir ? " 
 
 " The money you had need of. It was a poor 
 sum to peril one's future for — seven pounds. 
 And why did you use Mr. Jebb's name ? " 
 
 Mr. Henry had been staring with all his eyes, 
 as if the words bewildered him. " I don't quite 
 understand, sir, w r hat it is you are talking of." 
 
 d Of my pencil, that you took from this room 
 and pledged in Oxford Street for seven pounds," 
 returned the head-master, nettled at the assump- 
 tion of ignorance and innocence. " Why do you 
 force me to speak out so plainly ? " 
 
CROSS-PURPOSES. 233 
 
 Mr. Henry rose up, his whole attitude, his 
 face, one entire questioning astonishment. 
 " Why, Dr. Brabazon, what is it that you would 
 accuse me of?' 5 he exclaimed. 
 
 " Of the theft of the gold pencil. Of your 
 having taken it out of this inkstand — this ink- 
 stand " — laying his hand upon the article — " and 
 making money upon it." 
 
 The charge was so exceedingly different from 
 the one feared by Mr. Henry, and seemed in 
 itself so entirely absurd and ludicrous, that he 
 burst into a laugh — laughed, it might be, in 
 very relief. 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir, a thousand times. 
 You cannot seriously suspect me capable of such 
 a thing. Steal your pencil ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied Dr. Brabazon, feeling rather 
 bewildered. " Did you not come in at this 
 window and take it, and then pledge it the next 
 day in Oxford Street for seven pounds, and say 
 you were a master here, and give in Mr. Jebb's 
 name instead of your own ? " 
 
 " Certainly not. What can possibly have in- 
 duced you to fancy it ? Oh, sir, don't you see 
 that you might trust me better than that ? " 
 
 "Well, I had thought I could," answered the 
 doctor, feeling hopelessly bewildered. "I said 
 
234 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 so to Emma. You see, one of the boys had seen 
 you that night walking about before the window ; 
 and there were other attendant circumstances — 
 never mind now. I am very sorry to have said 
 this to you if you are innocent/' 
 
 "Which of the boys was it that saw me ? " 
 
 "Trace, I think. It was he who spoke to 
 Emma/' And the doctor, feeling a conviction 
 that his accusation was really a mistaken one, 
 gave a summary of the details. Mr. Henry 
 urged him to accompany him at once to the 
 jeweller's shop, that the matter might be set at 
 rest ; nay, he demanded it. 
 
 " A moment ere we start, Mr. Henry. If this 
 is not the trouble on your mind, what is that 
 trouble ? You cannot deny that there's some- 
 thing. What is its nature ? " 
 
 u Spare me the question a little while, Dr. 
 Brabazon," came the answer, in a strangely im- 
 passioned tone. "I have been wishing to tell 
 you all along, but I — I — have been unable ; and 
 the conflict has robbed my days of peace, my 
 nights of rest. Perhaps — in a few days — in a 
 day even, I may disclose it to you." 
 
 " What can it be ? " cried the wondeiing doctor, 
 gazing at him earnestly. " Have you done any- 
 thing wrong ? " 
 
CROSS-PURPOSES. 
 
 235 
 
 "Yes, very wrong; but — it is neither theft 
 nor murder," he added, his eyes lighting rip with 
 their luminous smile ; the smile that so strangely, 
 one could not tell how, imparted confidence to 
 whomsoever it was cast upon. 
 
 They took the first conveyance and were soon 
 in Oxford Street. The master of the shop was 
 in, as before, and listened to a few offered words 
 of explanation. He called the same young man 
 in — Simms. 
 
 " Look at this gentleman," he said, indicating 
 Mr. Henry. "Do you recognize him as one of 
 our customers ? " 
 
 Mr. Simms ran his eyes over Mr. Henry, and 
 shook his head conclusively. " No, sir ; I don't 
 remember ever to have seen him." 
 
 " Is he the gentleman who pledged that gold 
 pencil with the diamond top ? " 
 
 " Oh clear, no, sir ! That person was older than 
 this gentleman. They are not in the least alike.' , 
 
 "Just so/' said Dr. Brabazon. "Will you 
 give me a description of that person ? " 
 
 Mr. Simms complied. " A party getting on 
 for thirty-five, I should say, sir ; rather shabby 
 than not, but talked off-hand like a gentleman. 
 Hair had a reddish cast : and party walked, I 
 believe, a little lame." 
 
23G 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Lame ! " exclaimed the doctor in a startled 
 tone. 
 
 " You did not mention any lameness the other 
 day, Simms," spoke the jeweller. 
 
 " No, sir ; I didn't know it then. When I was 
 telling Watson afterwards about questions being 
 asked as to who had pledged that article, he said 
 the party walked lame ; leastways he limped in 
 troino* out of the shop. I hadn't noticed it, and 
 so I told him ; but Watson was positive." 
 
 Dr. Brabazon went home leaning on Mr. 
 Henry's arm, as if he needed support. 
 
 " Forgive me for having entertained a doubt 
 of you," he murmured, as he wrung his hand at 
 parting. " Perhaps when you tell me of this 
 trouble of yours I may be able to make it up to 
 you. I know now who it was took my pencil." 
 
 And so did Mr. Henry know ; for he had 
 recognized the description. Mr. Tom Brabazon 
 had been the culprit, and had no doubt enjoyed 
 the joke of giving in the Reverend Mr. Jebb's 
 name, and taking in the shopmen with his 
 assumption of innocent inexperience. Before 
 the time had expired, he would probably have 
 enclosed the ticket to Dr. Brabazon, or Emma, 
 with Mr. Jebb's name on it as large as life. 
 
 As Mr. Henry was turning from the college- 
 
CROSS-PURPOSES. 
 
 237 
 
 gate, Sir Simon Orville's pony-carriage drew up, 
 himself and Trace in it, the latter driving. Sir 
 Simon ran after Dr. Brabazon, who was then 
 crossing the lawn ; Trace, conveniently near- 
 sighted to the German master, remained in the 
 carriage. However, Mr. Heniy went up to 
 him. 
 
 " Trace, I have a question to ask you. I 
 understand you have been suspecting that it 
 was I who took the head-master's pencil. Will 
 you tell me what your reason was ? " 
 
 Trace felt taken aback. He had not a great 
 deal of moral courage. " Oh," said he, shuffling 
 with the reins, " that's an old affair now, past 
 and gone." 
 
 i( Not quite past and gone yet, Trace. What 
 could have led to your suspecting me ? Will 
 you tell me the truth in this ? I have a reason 
 for asking." 
 
 " Of course it was only a doubt. Some one 
 must have gone in and taken it, and Lamb saw 
 you there before the window. And — you appear 
 to be always so inconveniently short of money 
 as to make a few pounds an object," candidly 
 added Trace, plucking up his courage. " Pardon 
 my alluding to it." 
 
 " Slight grounds. I don't think I should have 
 
238 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 suspected you on such. Was there no other 
 reason ? " 
 
 " Except that you are a sneak and a cad," rose 
 to Trace's lips. But he did not speak it, and 
 answered with a monosyllable, <l None." 
 
 " Then, was it a kind or good thing of you to 
 go with these suspicions to Miss Brabazon, the 
 master s daughter ? Had the doctor been a 
 different man from what he is you might have 
 utterly ruined me. A charge of this nature 
 cannot be refuted, in most cases, as easily as it is 
 made." 
 
 " Have you refuted this ? " asked Trace, turn- 
 ing full upon him, 
 
 " Yes ; at once and entirely. I did not know 
 until to-day that it stood against me." 
 
 " Then I must tender you my apologies," re- 
 turned Trace, but without the least sign of 
 apology in his tone ; rather it seemed to have 
 borrowed the haughty sound of his cousin's, 
 Bertie Loftus. " There was no harm done, it 
 appears, so don't let us have a fuss raised now." 
 
 " I am not one to raise a fuss. You cannot but 
 be conscious that to you, Trace, I have been 
 especially tolerant — some might say forbearing. 
 I fear it has been lost upon you." 
 
 " You have been very kind, no doubt," 
 
CROSS-PURPOSES. 
 
 239 
 
 cynically returned Trace. " I do not wish more 
 tolerance or forbearance shown to me than to 
 others. Neither am I conscious of having re- 
 ceived more." 
 
 " No ? Yet I have been keeping some of your 
 secrets, Trace. Suppose I had betrayed you in 
 the matter of Paradyne's essay ? " 
 
 " Of Paradyne's essay ? " echoed Trace, seizing 
 the whip and flicking the ear of one of the pretty 
 ponies. " I don't think you know what you are 
 talking about." 
 
 " Yes, I do, and so do you. When I saw the 
 blotches of ink on your wristband that after- 
 noon, and asked what had caused them, that you 
 should so carefully tuck it out of sight, you knew 
 as well as I did that I guessed the secret. I did 
 not tell of you. It would have been a shocking 
 thing, ruining you with the school and with the 
 masters. Not even to forward the interests of 
 Paradyne in a just cause, would I injure you. I 
 wonder if you will ever understand me, Trace, or 
 get to learn that I would be your friend and not 
 your enemy ? " 
 
 Trace cut the air with his whip, and at that 
 moment Sir Simon came back, holding out his 
 hand in his cordial manner. 
 
 " You are not looking fat and rosy, Mr. Henry. 
 
240 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Fagged with the term : it has been a heavy one. 
 Why don't you do as we are going to do — take 
 a trip over the water ? " 
 
 " To Germany, Sir Simon ? " 
 
 " Germany !— that's your paradise," laughed 
 Sir Simon. "We are going to Boulogne — not 
 much crossing there, you know, which I confess 
 doesn't agree with me. We get over in an hour- 
 and-a-half. You should try it yourself. Good- 
 day ! " 
 
 The pony-carriage rattled off, and Mr. Henry 
 turned to Mrs. Paradyne's. He had a little 
 matter of business to arrange with her. But 
 matters of business were not always palatable to 
 that lady ; 'and there ensued an unprofitable 
 argument between herself and her visitor. He 
 sat at the table in the little drawing-room, his 
 elbow on it, his thin cheek resting on his hand. 
 Mrs. Paradyne, dropping her w^ork, a glove of 
 George's that she was mending, talked at him 
 from the sofa, and in her quiet, persistent way, 
 allowed no reasoning but hers to be heard. 
 Seated near her mother was Mary Paradyne, a 
 bright-looking girl of twenty, with her brother 
 George's great grey eyes. She had come home 
 in June, having left the school in Derbyshire, 
 and was seeking daily teaching at home. A 
 
CROSS-PURPOSES. 
 
 241 
 
 Mrs. Hill, living near Pond Place, was negotiating 
 with her. 
 
 " Where's George ? " asked Mr. Henry, when 
 he at length rose to leave. 
 
 Mrs. Paradyne would not answer. She was 
 resenting something that Mr. Henry had said. 
 He approached Miss Paradyne to shake hands, 
 but she left her seat and followed him out. 
 
 " You are right and mamma is wron£, 5> she 
 whispered, with the handle of the closed door in 
 her hand, and the tears gathering in her eyes as 
 she lifted them to his. " Oh, I wish she would 
 not be so unjust to you. George is spending the 
 day at William Gall's." 
 
 All the answer Mr. Henry made was to bend 
 down and kiss her lips. A very suggestive 
 action, and certainly not discreet. If the boys 
 had only seen ! 
 
 Orville College. 
 
 1(5 
 
242 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ACROSS THE WATER. 
 
 The boat was ploughing its way across the 
 Channel, receding from Folkestone, gaining on 
 Boulogne-sur-mer. It was a bright, warm, calm 
 day in August ; and as Sir Simon Orville sat on 
 the upper deck, steadily as he could have sat 
 in his own chair at home, he thought what a 
 charming passage that was between the two 
 points, and how silly he had been never to have 
 tried it before. 
 
 For — if the truth must be told — Sir Simon 
 Orville had never made more than three water 
 trips in his life : one to Ramsgate, from London ; 
 the other two, the short crossing to the Isle of 
 Wight. He had called them all equally " going 
 to sea ; " and as it happened that the water had 
 been particularly rough on each occasion, and 
 Sir Simon terribly ill, his reminiscences were 
 not pleasant. To find himself, therefore, gliding 
 
ACROSS THE WATER. 
 
 243 
 
 along as smoothly as if the Channel were a sea 
 of glass, was both unexpected and delightful. 
 
 The sky was blue overhead ; the water blue 
 underneath ; the slight breeze caused by the 
 motion of the vessel was grateful on the warm 
 day, and Sir Simon thought himself in Paradise. 
 And now, as they were nearing the French town, 
 there came gliding towards them the steamer 
 that had just left it, her deck crowded with 
 merry passengers, congratulating themselves, like 
 Sir Simon, at the calm voyage. The vessels 
 exchanged salutes, and each passed on her way. 
 
 And now the harbour was gained ; the boat 
 was made fast, and the passengers began to land. 
 The first thing that Sir Simon did on terra 
 firma was to turn himself about and gaze around, 
 perfectly bewildered with the strange scene and 
 the unknown tongue. It was so new to him : 
 he had never been out of his own country in his 
 life. Bertie Loftus, who knew something of the 
 place, and prided himself on his French, conse- 
 quently was obliged to speak it as soon as he 
 landed, drew his uncle to the custom-house 
 through the sea of gazing faces. That passed, 
 they found themselves in the midst of a crowd 
 of touters, shouting out the names of their 
 respective hotels, and thrusting cards forward. 
 
244 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Hotel du Nord," said Bertie, grandly, waving 
 his hands to keep off the men, with an air of 
 condescension. 
 
 " But what is it ? What do they want ? 
 What are these cards ? " reiterated Sir Simon. 
 " Goodness, boys, what's that ? " 
 
 "That" was a string of the fish women in their 
 matelotte costume, dark cloth short petticoats, 
 red bodies, and broad webbing braces. They 
 were harnessed to a heavy truck of luggage, 
 already cleared, and starting with it to one of 
 the hotels. 
 
 " Uncle, we shall never get on if you stay like 
 this. That's nothing : the women do all the 
 work here." 
 
 Up came four or five more women and sur- 
 rounded the party, bawling into Sir Simon's 
 bewildered ears with their shrill and shrieking 
 voices, evidently asking something. Things have 
 changed now, and women no longer help at the 
 arrival of the steamers ; but at the time of which 
 I write they worked harder than the men. 
 
 " What on earth are they saying, Bertie ? " 
 
 Now Mr. Bertie's French only did for polite 
 life, and Anglo-French intercourse. To be 
 attacked by a regular Frenchman with his per- 
 plexing tongue, and (as it seemed) rapid utter- 
 
ACROSS THE WATER. 245 
 
 ance, puzzled Bertie always : what must it have 
 been then when these fishwomen attacked him 
 with their broad patois ? 
 
 " Come along, uncle ; they don't want anything. 
 Allez vous-en," rather wrath fully added Bertie 
 to the ladies. Which only made them talk the 
 faster. 
 
 " Bertie, I shall not go along : the poor women 
 must want something, and I should like to know 
 what. What — do — you — want — ladies ? " asked 
 Sir Simon in his politeness, laying a stress upon 
 each word. " Speak English ? No speak French, 
 me. 
 
 Jabber and shriek, all the five voices at once, 
 for there were five ladies. Sir Simon put up his 
 hands and looked helplessly at Bertie, who was 
 feeling rather helpless himself just then. 
 
 " They are asking if you have any luggage, 
 and if they may carry it to your hotel, Sir 
 Simon," spoke a free, pleasant voice, on the 
 burst of laughter. And Sir Simon turned to 
 behold George Paradyne, and seized his hand in 
 gladness at being relieved from his dilemma. 
 
 To hear the boy interpreting between Sir 
 Simon and the women ; to note that his French 
 was ready and fluent as theirs, and with a much 
 more refined sound in it, was somewhat mortify- 
 
246 
 
 0RV1LLE COLLEGE. 
 
 ing to Bertie Loffcus. The women disappeared, 
 George talking fast and laughing after them. 
 
 " What brings you here ? When did you come ? " 
 asked Sir Simon, keeping him by his side. 
 
 " We came yesterday, Sir Simon. I am with 
 the Galls. They kindly invited me to accompany 
 them. We are at the Hotel du Nord." 
 
 " The Galls here and at the Nord ! " almost 
 shouted Sir Simon in his delight. " I shall have 
 somebody that I can speak English with." 
 
 Yes ; the Galls had made friends with George 
 Paradyne and brought him to Boulogne with 
 them. Sir Simon had already been a week or 
 more from home, and knew nothing of these 
 movements. William Gall was not yet with 
 them : he was coming later. The Talbots were 
 coming; the Browns were coming; Leek and 
 his mother, Lady Sophia, were already there. 
 Sir Simon remarked that it seemed like an 
 arranged party. Such, however, was not the 
 case. 
 
 4 * What a lingo, to be sure ! " cried Sir Simon, 
 as he trotted on up the hot and blazing port. 
 « Why, actually those little street urchins are 
 jcibbering French ! Halloa ! stop ! " he added, 
 coming to a sudden halt opposite the goods' 
 custom-house. " Where's Dick ! " 
 
ACROSS THE WATER 
 
 247 
 
 No one remembered to have seen Dick since 
 the landing. " He'll turn up, sir,'' returned 
 Loftus, slightly annoyed at the slow progress 
 they were making. " Dick won't get lost." 
 
 Sir Simon did not feel so sure upon the point ; 
 he thought he might get lost himself in that 
 helpless foreign town, where he was feeling more 
 strange and bewildered every moment. But 
 Dick came running up from behind, dragging 
 with him a tall, square-built man with a 
 thoughtful face and grey hair. Sir Simon nearly 
 shook his hands off, for it was Mr. Gall. 
 
 "What a mercy!" said he, " I never was so 
 glad in my life ; did not know anything of your 
 coming. We have been a week at Chatham, 
 near my poor brother Joe, the hop-dealer, who 
 made that sad failure of it. You know him, 
 Gall : I wanted to see how he and the wife an$ 
 chicks were off, poor things, and we put up at 
 an inn there." 
 
 Dick shook hands with Paradyne ; Dick 
 listened to the news that Onions was in the 
 town, and that Talbot was arriving, with a sort 
 of rapture : the Browns too, major and minor ; 
 the more the merrier for Dick. 
 
 A few days more, and the different friends 
 and schoolmates had collected there. It was 
 
248 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 indeed as if they had premeditated the gathering. 
 Some went grandly via Folkestone, some more 
 economically by the boat from London : that 
 little muff, StiggingSj who was fond of writing 
 to Miss Rose, was invited to make the trip in a 
 sailing-vessel, invited by the captain ; he was 
 awfully sick all the way, and landed more dead 
 than alive. The Galls and Sir Simon's party 
 were at the Hotel du Nord; the Talbots had 
 lodgings in the Rue Neuve Chaussee ; the Browns 
 took a furnished house in the oj)en country, 
 beyond the Rue Royal ; and Lady Sophia Leek, 
 who had no acquaintance with the rest, and 
 made none with them, was staying at the Hotel 
 des Bains. And the time went on. 
 
 But that Sir Simon Orville was the most 
 unsuspicious of men, he had undoubtedly not 
 failed to detect that some ill-feeling was rife 
 between his friend Gall's eldest son and Bertie 
 Loftus. For three whole days after William 
 Gall's arrival, they did not exchange a word 
 with each other ; on the fourth, a quarrel, not 
 loud, but bitter, took place on the sands ; and 
 those low, concentrated quarrels are worse than 
 violent ones. People, scattered in groups at only 
 a few yards' distance, did not hear it ; but they 
 might have seen the white faces raised on each 
 
ACROSS THE WATER. 
 
 249 
 
 other with an angry glare, had they been less 
 occupied with themselves, with their gossip, 
 with picking up shells. Bertie Loftus w T as 
 cherishing the remembrance of his insult, and 
 paying it off in fourfold superciliousness now. 
 
 Sir Simons mind was too agreeably filled to 
 afford leisure for detecting feelings not on the 
 surface : everything was new to him, everything 
 delightful. The free and easy life in the French 
 town; the sociable salon, w 7 here they sat with 
 the windows open to the street, the passing 
 intimacy with the rest of the guests, the suffi- 
 ciently-well-appointed meals in the dining-room 
 — the lingering breakfast, the chance •luncheon, 
 the elaborate dinner — were what he had never 
 before met with. Mr. Bertie Loftus considered 
 it a very ordinary state of things; but it 
 was after the social, simple-minded man's own 
 heart. There was the pier to walk on, with its 
 seats at the end, whence he could watch the 
 vessels in at will, and revel in the view of the 
 dancing waves ; there was the garden before 
 that gay building that Sir Simon could not 
 pronounce, the etablissement, where he could sit 
 in the sun or the shade watching the croquet 
 players, and reading his newspaper ; there was 
 the terrace beyond, with its benches; there were 
 
250 01WILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 the sands stretched out in the distance. An 
 upper terrace too, where he could place himself 
 at a small round table and call for lemonade in 
 the summer's heat. Sir Simon would be now in 
 one spot, now in another, his Times and telescope 
 in hand, his friend Gall not far off. And Mr. 
 Gall was a sensible, shrewd man, looked up to 
 in the City as the head of a wealthy wholesale 
 business ; he was not despised by his own 
 people, however he might be by Bertie Loftus. 
 What with the attractions out-of-doors and the 
 attractions within, Sir Simon thought Boulogne 
 pleasant as a town of enchantment. 
 
 "A scandal-loving, vulgar, crowded, disreput- 
 able, unsavoury place, sir!" w r as the judgment 
 some new acquaintance passed upon it one day, 
 to the intense approval of Bertie Loftus. But 
 Sir Simon shook his head, and could not see it. 
 
 Sir Simon stood at the end of the pier one 
 afternoon, his telescope to his eye, ranging the 
 horizon for the first appearance of the London 
 boat. He was looking in the wrong direction 
 for it, but that was all one to happy Sir Simon. 
 Young Paradyne put him right. By that boat 
 he was expecting Mr. and Mrs. Loftus. Some 
 business had taken them unexpectedly to London, 
 and Sir Simon had written to say, " Come over 
 
ACROSS THE WATER. 
 
 251 
 
 here and be my guests." It suddenly struck 
 him that the sight of the boy by his side, Para- 
 dyne, might call up unpleasant recollections to 
 Mr. Loftus. Sir Simon had grown to like the 
 boy excessively ; but that was no reason why 
 Mr. Loftus should tolerate the intimacy. 
 
 On came the good ship, the City of Paris, 
 pitching and tossing, for the waves were wild 
 to-day, and Sir Simon felt thankful he was not 
 in her. She had only just saved the tide. Back 
 down the pier he hurried, in time to see the 
 passengers land; Dick and Raymond Trace 
 crowding eagerly against the ropes. Dick leaped 
 them, and had to go through the custom-house 
 for his pains, kissing his mother between whiles. 
 She was like her brother Simon, in features ; 
 simple once, but a little pretentious now. The 
 tears rushed to Sir Simon's eyes when he saw 
 that her hair was grey. Very grey indeed just 
 at present, and her face too, with the contrary 
 wind and the sickness. Mr. Loftus — a slender, 
 aristocratic-looking man, courteous in manner, 
 but Avith a great deal of Bertie's hauteur in his 
 pale and handsome face — had not suffered, and 
 was ready to greet all friends in his calm, 
 gentlemanlike fashion. 
 
 There are many ropes about that part of the 
 
252 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 port, as perhaps some of you know. Mr. Loftus, 
 a very near-sighted man, with an eye-glass 
 dangling, contrived to get his feet entangled in 
 them ; he would undoubtedly have fallen, but 
 that some one darted to the rescue and held him 
 up. Mr. Loftus saw a stripling almost as tall as 
 himself, with a frank, good-looking countenance, 
 and open, bright grey eyes. 
 
 " Thank you," he said ; " 1 must look to my 
 steps here, I find. Who is that nice-looking- 
 lad ? " he subsequently asked of Sir Simon. 
 
 " Oh, never mind him," cried Sir Simon ; u let 
 us get on to the Norde," as he always called the 
 hotel. t{ Eliza looks half dead." 
 
 " But where s Albert ? " inquired Mr. Loftus, 
 who had been looking about in vain for his 
 eldest son. 
 
 Sir Simon could not tell where he was, and 
 wondered at his absence. He little thought that 
 Mr. Albert Loftus was detained with Gall, the 
 two quarrelling desperately out by Napoleon's 
 column. Things had come to a most unpleasant 
 pass between them. 
 
 Mrs. Loftus went to lie down; Mr. Loftus, 
 declining refreshment until dinner-time, was 
 ready to walk about with Sir Simon and be 
 shown the lions. That good-hearted and 
 
ACROSS THE WATER. 
 
 253 
 
 estimable knight took him to a favourite bench 
 of his on the lawn — or plage, if j-ou like to 
 call it so — of the etablissement, which seemed 
 almost deserted under the blazing afternoon sun. 
 The sea was before them, the harbour on the 
 left, the heights on the right. Here they sat at 
 their ease, and the conversation fell upon Mr. 
 Trace, Raymonds father. 
 
 " It is nearly a twelvemonth now since Robert 
 Trace wrote to me," observed Sir Simon; "I 
 can't make it out. We have never been so long- 
 before without hearing. Have you heard from 
 him?" 
 
 " No," answered Mr. Loftus. " But my not 
 hearing goes for nothing. I don't suppose Ave 
 have exchanged letters three times since we sepa- 
 rated in Liverpool four, nearly five, years ago." 
 
 " Is there any cause for that ? " asked Sir 
 Simon. 
 
 " Well, I can hardly say there is. We did not 
 agree in opinion about the winding-up of affairs 
 that unfortunate time, and I was vexed with 
 Robert Trace : but we parted good friends." 
 
 " He took too much upon himself ? " 
 
 " Yes ; would carry out his own opinions, 
 would not listen to me, or let me have a voice in 
 anything ; and did it so quickly too. Whilst I 
 
251 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 was saying such a thing ought to be done in 
 such a manner, he did it, and did it just the 
 reverse. I have always thought that if Robert 
 Trace had managed properly we might have 
 gone on ao*ain and redeemed ourselves. The fact 
 is, his usually cool judgment was stunned by the 
 blow. But it is of no use speculating now on 
 what might have been. How was he getting on 
 when you last heard ? " 
 " I don't know." 
 
 The words were spoken in a peculiarly em- 
 phatic tone, and it caused Mr. Loftus to glance 
 inquiringly at Sir Simon. The latter answered 
 the look. 
 
 "He was at Boston, you know; had got to- 
 gether some sort of an agency there, and was 
 doing well. In one of his letters to me, he said 
 he was in the way to make a fortune. Some 
 capitalists whom he named were establishing a 
 great commercial enterprise, a sort of bank I 
 fancy, and had offered the management to him, 
 if he could take shares to the amount of two 
 thousand pounds, which must be paid up. He 
 could furnish the one from his own funds, he 
 said, and lie asked me to lend him the other. 
 In less than a twelvemonth it should be repaid 
 to me with interest." 
 
ACROSS THE WATER, 
 
 255 
 
 " And what did you do ? " 
 
 " Lent it. I was willing to give him another 
 help on to fortune ; and Trace, you know, was a 
 long-headed fellow, the very last to be deluded 
 by any trashy bubble not likely to hold water. 
 So I despatched him the thousand pounds by 
 return mail." 
 
 " You were always too liberal, Simon." 
 
 " Better be too liberal than too stingy," was 
 the rather impulsive answer. H I should not like 
 to remember on my death-bed that I had refused 
 assistance to friends in need, for the sake of 
 hoarding my gold. What good would it do me 
 then ? " 
 
 " And how did it prosper him ? " 
 
 "I don't know. I got an acknowledgment 
 from him of its receipt — just a line. I believe I 
 can repeat the words, 'Dear Simon, my best 
 thanks to you for what has now come safe to 
 hand. Will write by next mail/ The next 
 mail, however, brought me nothing, nor the next, 
 nor the next. After that came a letter, dated 
 New York; in it he said he had left Boston, 
 and would give me particulars later. They have 
 never come." 
 
 " That's strange. How do you account for 
 it ? " 
 
256 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Sir Simon did not answer for a minute. "I 
 think the projected enterprise failed/' he said at 
 length ; " and Eobert Trace lost his own money 
 and mine too. I think he is trying to redeem 
 his position in a measure before he writes and 
 confesses to the failure. It is no good reason 
 for maintaining silence ; but Robert Trace always 
 was sensitive on the matter of pecuniary losses, 
 especially of his own. I suppose the Americans 
 were more clever than he and took him in, and 
 he does not like to confess it." 
 
 " What are you going to do with Raymond ? " 
 
 " I don't know. I shall be in a dilemma 
 unless we speedily hear from his father. Should 
 he gain the Orville prize he will go to the 
 university ; but as to what he is to be — of 
 course, it lies with his father to decide. I pro- 
 pose business to him — any sort he'd like; but 
 he turns his nose up at it, just as disdainfully as 
 Mr. Bertie could do." 
 
 Mr. Loftus smiled. " Bertie wants to read for 
 the bar ; but I fear it will be uphill work. He 
 ■ — there's the fine lad that saved me from 
 stumbling," he broke off, as Paradyne and 
 another shot across the sands. " You did not 
 tell me who lie was. He has a nice face." 
 
 "Ill tell you if you wish; but your prejudices 
 
ACROSS THE WATER. 
 
 257 
 
 will rise up in arms like so many bristles. That's 
 young Paradyne." 
 
 " Paradyne ! Not Arthur Paradyne's son ? " 
 
 " It is." 
 
 " But what brings him here with you ? " re- 
 turned Mr. Loftus ; his voice taking a cold, 
 haughty tone. 
 
 " There, I knew how it would be," said Sir 
 Simon, with a laugh, and turning round to make 
 sure there were no listeners, he told the par- 
 ticulars to Mr. Loftus : of George Paradyne's 
 happening to enter Orville College, of Raymond's 
 discovery, and of the head-master's appeal to 
 himself. " The lad is as nice a lad as ever lived," 
 he concluded, " and why should his father's fault 
 be visited upon him ? " 
 
 A moment's pause, and Mr. Loftus's better 
 reason asserted itself. He was of a generous 
 nature when his pride did not stand in the way, 
 or, as Sir Simon put it, his prejudice. 
 
 " Certainly. Yes ; I should have said the 
 same, had Dr. Brabazon consulted me. Let the 
 boy have a chance. But, Simon, how is he 
 supported at that expensive college ? The widow 
 protested she had the merest pittance of an 
 income left." 
 
 "I don't know how. Somebody, perhaps, has 
 
 Orville College. 17 
 
258 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 taken them by the hand : I can't tell what 
 people of misfortune would do without. I show 
 the boy kindness, not only because I like him, 
 but that I promised something of the sort to 
 Mary." 
 
 * To Mrs. Trace ? " 
 
 " I did," affirmed Sir Simon, to the evident 
 surprise of his brother-in-law. " She had been a 
 hard, cold woman, as you know ; but the light 
 broke in when she was dying. It changed her 
 nature — as of course it would, or it had not been 
 the true blessed light — and she grew anxious for 
 others. More than once she spoke of the Para- 
 dynes; their fate seemed to lie like a weight 
 upon her. ' If ever you can lend them a helping 
 hand, Simon, do it/ she urged ; ' do it for our 
 Saviour's sake.' I can see her blue, pinched lips 
 now, and the anxious fever in her eye as she 
 spoke," he added dreamily, " and I promised. 
 But I would help the lad for his own sake, apart 
 from this." 
 
 Mr. Loftus made no comment : to confess the 
 truth, he could not quite understand why Mrs. 
 Trace should have done this. He raised his 
 double eye-glass. 
 
 " Is not that Albert ? " he asked. " There in 
 the distance, with one or two more young men." 
 
ACROSS THE WATER. 259 
 
 And Sir Simon looked forward to the direction 
 in which he pointed. 
 
 Close to the water they stood, three of them — 
 Bertie, for it was he, and Gall, and Leek. The 
 tide was nearly out, and Bertie and Gall had 
 found their way round the point, from the 
 heights down to the sands, a long round, 
 wrangling all the way. Had Mr. Loftus and Sir 
 Simon but possessed an ear-glass as well as an 
 eye-glass, they might have heard more than was 
 meant for them. That Bertie Loftus was bent 
 upon aggravating Gall by every means in his 
 power, short of vulgar blows, was indisputable ; 
 each word he spoke was an insult, a taunt ; and 
 Gall, who had rebelled against this kind of treat- 
 ment from Bertie, when it was implied more 
 than expressed, was nearly stung to madness. 
 
 " Why don't you have it out, and have done 
 with it ? " he passionately cried, stopping short 
 as thev came round in view of the etablissement 
 and its frequenters. " If you keep on like this, 
 you'll provoke me to kick you to ribbons." 
 
 Bertie smiled derisively. Kick him to ribbons ! 
 His legs were twice as long as Gall's, if it came 
 to kicking. Not that Bertie would have played 
 at that. " There's no chance of having it out 
 with you" came the coolly contemptuous answer. 
 
260 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 • 
 
 <( The only way which, gentlemen use to ' have 
 things out ' you don't understand, and can't be 
 expected to." 
 
 Leek espied them from a distance and came 
 running up. It was at this moment that Mr. 
 Loftus's glasses happened to fall upon them. 
 
 " Look at him, Onions," cried Bertie, indi- 
 cating Gall by a sweep of the hand that was the 
 very essence of insolent scorn. " He is asking 
 me to go in for a game of kicking." 
 
 " I am saying that I'll kick you if you don't 
 stop your row," cried Gall, his very lips white 
 with passion. " And so I will." 
 
 " I never did see two such fellows as you," 
 was Leek's comment. " You can't meet without 
 insulting each other. What's come to you 
 both ? " 
 
 Bertie Loftus wheeled round on his heel in the 
 soft sand, and confronted Gall closely, face meet- 
 ing face. " Look here, here's a last chance — will 
 you meet me ? " 
 
 " Meet you ? " 
 
 " Yes, meet me. Don't pretend to misunder- 
 stand. I have my pistols at the hotel." 
 
 " Perhaps you brought them on purpose," said 
 Gall, sneeringly. 
 
 " Perhaps I did. Will you make yourself into 
 
ACROSS THE WATER. 
 
 261 
 
 a gentleman for once, if you can, and meet 
 
 me?" 
 
 " Why, you don't think I should be such an 
 idiot as to go out to fight a duel, do you ? " 
 wonderingly asked Gall, while Leek burst into a 
 laugh. " People don't do that now, Mr. Loftus." 
 
 " Gentlemen do. Ask Leek : he's one. Of 
 course, you can't be expected to understand that. 
 Others shelter their cowardice under plea of the 
 law — of custom — which is so much sneaking 
 meanness. I knew how it would be, and that's 
 why I said nothing before. If you did agree 
 to meet me, you'd steal off by dusk, and give 
 notice to the police." 
 
 "Loftus, I am no more a coward than you 
 are ; but I know what's right and what's wrong." 
 
 "Just so. And shelter yourself under the 
 ' right.' Cowards can only be true to their 
 nature." 
 
 Gall lifted his hand as if he would have struck, 
 but let it fall again. He was by no means 
 so cool in temper as Bertie Loftus; and a cool 
 temper is sure to win the day in the end. It is 
 of no use to pursue the quarrel further ; the harsh 
 and abusive words would not tend to edification ; 
 but the result was a very deplorable one. 
 
 That evening Leek went into the Rue Neuve 
 
262 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Chaussee, to call upon James Talbot, and took 
 him out in the moonlight. " Come on the pier/' 
 he said ; " it will be quiet there, and I want to 
 speak to you. Have you seen Gall ? " 
 
 " No, but I have had a note from him/' 
 answered Talbot. " He says in it he relies upon 
 me to be his friend. I can't make it out." 
 
 They went on to the quiet pier and paced it 
 slowly, the bright moon dyeing the scene with 
 her lovely light. An open-air concert was being 
 held in the garden estrade, its coloured lamps 
 flickering, its listeners flirting and promenading. 
 The garish windows of the ball-rooms flung their 
 light abroad — what a contrast to that pure light 
 riding in the sky ! Away they pressed to the 
 top of the deserted pier, out of sight and hearing. 
 The tide had turned and was coming in; the 
 wind was rising; the waves roared and leaped 
 against the end of the pier. There Leek told 
 his story : that Gall and Loftus were about to 
 fight, and he had promised to be Loftus's second ; 
 Talbot was to perform that office for Gall. 
 Talbot could not believe his ears. 
 
 " Fight — a — -duel ! " he uttered, in blank as- 
 tonishment, leaving a pause between each word. 
 " Surely they would never be such fools/' 
 
 " They will, earl." 
 
ACROSS THE WATER. 268 
 
 "Not with my help, then. I'd put the police 
 on the track." — 
 
 " It would do no good," returned Leek, shaking 
 his head : " they'd evade the police. Look here, 
 Shrewsbury : when fellows are determined to go 
 in for a thing of this sort, be assured they will 
 go in for it, by hook or by crook. Loft us, it 
 seems, has been bent on it for some time, and lie 
 has so managed to stir up Gall, that I don't 
 know now which is the more ea^er of the two/' 
 
 " And suppose either of them should get killed 
 — or both ? " debated the earl. " I say, Leek, 
 this is an awful thing." 
 
 Leek nodded gravely. A little fishing-boat 
 lay alongside the pier in the harbour, stranded 
 there in attempting to come in when the late 
 tide was nearly out; she was just getting afloat 
 now, and two men on board her were making 
 some bustle, talking in low tones. Leek and 
 Talbot stood looking down upon her as if 
 attracted to interest : in reality they were ab- 
 sorbed in their own thoughts. 
 
 " I told them it was an awful business," spoke 
 Leek, in answer to the last remark, " but I 
 might just as well have said it to the wind. 
 Well, let us talk it over, old fellow. We must 
 be men for once, and do the best we can." 
 
264 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Talbot held out no longer. And the two paced 
 about, settling preliminaries, planning and devis- 
 ing. A matter of this nature seemed to carry 
 them beyond their years, to change them from 
 young men into old ones. Returning to Leek's 
 room at the Hotel des Bains, they took out the 
 pistols, which Loftus had resigned to Leek, and 
 examined them preparatory to their being loaded 
 later. By some untoward fate, while the weapons 
 were in their hands, Brown major, making a call 
 on Leek, burst into the room. Talbot hurried 
 the pistols out of sight, but the gentlemen 
 were both so confused that Brown could not 
 help suspecting something extraordinary was 
 in the wind; and said so. In the irresistible 
 attraction that gossip presents, they imparted 
 the secret to' him. Mr. Brown sat down on 
 Leek's portmanteau, while he got over the 
 news. 
 
 " I wouldn't have believed it of Gall," he said 
 at length. 
 
 " Nor I at one time," returned Talbot. " Loftus 
 has taunted him into it." 
 
 Brown major sat nursing his leg, and revolving 
 possibilities. " Suppose bad comes of this, 
 Shrewsbury — what about you two ?" 
 
 " What do you call bad ? n 
 
ACROSS THE WATER. 265 
 
 " Why, if they should get shot — killed. You 
 might be taken up and put in prison." 
 
 Of course it was not a pleasant suggestion. 
 " They'll not give it up," said Leek, with a rueful 
 look. 
 
 " Suppose you gave up, Onions, you and the 
 earl ? " 
 
 " They'd get other fellows for seconds, and call 
 us cowards." 
 
 " I don't like those French prisons," gloomily 
 observed Brown major. "If once you get in, 
 you never know when you'll get out again. We 
 knew a man who was put in one for two 3 r ears." 
 
 " What had he done ? " 
 
 " He owed some money ; nothing else. When 
 he had been in about two vears, his friends in 
 England clubbed together and got him out. My 
 father was one. You should hear what he saj 7 s 
 of the place. They serve up the soup in a 
 bucket." 
 
 " Nice ! " cried Leek. 
 
 "J wouldn't run the risk of getting into one," 
 resumed Brown, who was evidently of a prudent 
 turn. " They should fight their duel without 
 me first. Why, Onions, what would your mother 
 say? 
 
 Onions turned his head quickly towards the 
 
260 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 door with a somewhat scared look, as if he feared 
 Lady Sophia might be coming in then. 
 
 " All you have to do, Brown, is just to hold 
 your tongue, and respect the confidence we've 
 given you. Whatever consequences come of it, 
 you won't be called upon to answer for them." 
 
 " Right, old fellow," cheerfully answered Brown, 
 who was really one of the last to interfere un- 
 pleasantly. " You know I'm safe ; I was only 
 thinking of you two. The thing shall go on 
 without any interruption from me." And the 
 thing did go on — as you will find in the next 
 chapter. 
 
 " Somewhere on the heights, out beyond 
 Napoleon's column, I think," suggested Leek in 
 a whisper to Talbot, as they were separating for 
 the night. " I'll go with you to pick out a snug 
 spot to-morrow. You'll not fail us at the last, 
 earl ! 
 
 " I'll not fail you, Onions. Good-night." 
 
( 267 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 dick's rescue. 
 
 Not on the exposed heights by Napoleon's 
 column, but a little way beyond it, down in an 
 unfrequented hollow, the meeting spot for the 
 duel was fixed. Onions and the earl went out 
 when breakfast was over the next day, and 
 chose it after due deliberation. They explored 
 some fields over at Capecure, beyond the lines of 
 rail ; but, for some reason known only to them- 
 selves, rejected that side of the town. Gall and 
 Loftus appeared not to care where the spot 
 might be, provided it were somewhere. The 
 time was to be sunrise on the following morning, 
 or as soon after it as they could get out of the 
 hotel and make their way to the spot. 
 
 Does it not seem ridiculously absurd to be 
 recording this ? But I can only relate what 
 took place ; and college students come to the 
 age of these had accomplished such an end 
 before. You may deem that Leek or Talbot 
 
268 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 ought to have warned the police, but they did 
 not do so. I think that day added some years 
 to the experience of their lives. 
 
 And the two principals — Gall and Loftus — 
 what sort of sensations do you suppose were 
 theirs ? Did they look forward to their possible 
 fate — death — with calmness ? Was the unruffled 
 exterior, shown to the world, a type of the un- 
 ruffled mind within ? No, you cannot suppose 
 it. Loftus was perhaps the less troubled of the 
 two, for his was the more composed and easy 
 nature ; but each had his share of — anticipation. 
 
 How could it be otherwise ? Try to realize 
 the situation to your minds, to make it your 
 own. With the rising of the morrow's sun you 
 are going out to be shot at yourself and to shoot 
 at another. Before that sun sets you may be 
 lying cold and dead ; your life in this world 
 over ; your soul before its Maker. It is very 
 solemn ; almost too solemn to write about. 
 When men go out to fight duels, they are repre- 
 sented to be full of inward bravery, as poets 
 have suno* and friends have boasted. Never 
 believe it. Or, if it be so, they have been living 
 without God in the world, callous to the eternal 
 future. Ah, no ! Physically brave, as to the 
 possible bodily wound, perhaps ; but not brave 
 
DICK'S RESCUE. 
 
 269 
 
 as to the consequences it may involve — a sudden 
 rush, uncalled, into eternity. 
 
 Leek and James Talbot were here, there, and 
 everywhere — men of importance that day. 
 Choosing the meeting spot took them the whole 
 morning. Next they had an interview with the 
 two principals conjointly, and, to give them 
 justice, did all that argument could do to induce 
 the affair to be abandoned. Mr. Brown, ready 
 to burst with the great secret confided to him, 
 and of which he could not talk, went to everv 
 conceivable corner of the town in search of the 
 two other sharers of the secret : and went in 
 vain. He found them at length, when the after- 
 noon was passing, at the Hotel des Bains, in 
 Leek's chamber. As on the previous night, they 
 had the pistols out, and this time they did not 
 hurry them away. 
 
 " Well, how's it going ? " demanded Brown, 
 breathless with the wind and his own haste. 
 
 " How should it be going ? " retorted Leek, not 
 pleased at being pursued by Brown major like 
 this. 
 
 "Is it off?" resumed Brown, wiping his hot 
 face. " It's such a wind, Onions." 
 
 " No, it's not off, and it's not likely to be off. 
 Lock up the pistols now, Shrewsbury." 
 
 « 
 
270 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " But it's awful, you know," continued Brown, 
 mounting the foot-rail of the bed, and placing 
 himself astride upon it. "When I got up this 
 morning it seemed to me too improbable a thing 
 really to take place. Suppose one of 'em gets 
 killed ? I say, Shrewsbury, couldn't you per- 
 suade them off it ? " 
 
 Lord Shrewsbury gave his head an emphatic 
 shake. "We have been at both of them, Gall 
 and Bertie, and tried everything. You might 
 as well speak to two posts. Let it drop, Brown ; 
 it's of no good bothering us." 
 
 Brown let it drop, and did it with a good 
 grace : lie was powerless. " Have you engaged 
 a surgeon ? " he asked. 
 
 " A surgeon ? No." 
 
 " But you'll have to take one. A surgeon's a 
 necessary appendage to duels. Sometimes each 
 side take its own." 
 
 Singularly perhaps to say, this "necessary 
 appendage," as Brown major put it, had not 
 been thought of by the seconds. They looked 
 at one another in the pause that ensued. Onions 
 broke it, more emphatically than politely. 
 
 " To speak to a French doctor might blow the 
 whole thing. He'd go right off to the police." 
 
 "But you can't take two fellows out to shoot 
 
DICE'S RESCUE. 
 
 271 
 
 at each other without having a surgeon at hand," 
 debated Brown major, opening his eyes in his 
 simple manner. " Don't you see it, Shrewsbury ? 
 Suppose they got wounded. Whilst you were 
 running to find a doctor, one of 'em might bleed 
 to death." 
 
 " Both might, for the matter of that," acknow- 
 ledged Lord Shrewsbury, tilting himself against 
 the tall secretaire. " Brown's right, Onions. It's 
 odd we never thought of it." 
 
 Onions turned to the window, open to the 
 unsavoury harbour, and stood there in silence. 
 He did not see his way clear on this new point. 
 Not a single doctor in the town was known to 
 him ; every one of them might prove a traitor. 
 And, moreover, he had some private doubts of 
 his French, if it came to a delicate negotiation. 
 
 " Look here," exclaimed Brown major, briskly, 
 a happy thought striking him ; " would not my 
 brother Bob do to go out with you ? He is at 
 St. George's Hospital, you know, takes his turn 
 to go round with the surgeons as dresser. He 
 has his case of instruments over here, and I know 
 he'd be true." 
 
 The suggestion was seized upon, and Brown 
 major flew off and brought back his brother. 
 Mr. Robert Brown — a young man of twenty, 
 
y 
 
 272 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 with a fresh, round, good-natured face — -affirmed 
 that he could bind up wounds and restore faint- 
 ing patients to life with the most skilled hand at 
 St. George's ; ay, and extract a bullet, if it came 
 to that. He gave his promise to keep the secret, 
 and seemed to look forward to the affair as a 
 piece of delightful fun, rather than one of 
 solemnity and danger. 
 
 This settled, Leek and Talbot went down on 
 the port, deeming it well to show themselves to 
 their friends, lest suspicion should be excited. 
 When we have a momentous secret on hand, vou 
 know, we are apt to fear the world may miracu- 
 lously discover it. Gall and Loftus were both 
 there on the plage before the etablissement. 
 Indeed it seemed that half the town had gathered 
 on the port, here and in various other parts, to 
 Avatch the turbulent sea. None could have dis- 
 cerned anything unusual in the demeanour of 
 the two young men, soon to be combatants in a 
 great tragedy. Both were a little silent, but that 
 was all. 
 
 The wind had been rising higher and higher 
 since the previous day. These London inland 
 people called it a hurricane, and gazed on the sea 
 with an interest that partook of awe. It was 
 indeed very rough — sailors might have said half 
 
DICK'S RESCUE. 
 
 273 
 
 a gale ; but the boat from Folkestone had 
 ventured out, and, after a long and difficult 
 passage, was trying to make the harbour. On 
 the pier, people unused to this could not stand 
 without difficulty, and chose rather the safer parts 
 on the plage. Some of the boys were gathered 
 on the sands, near to that little yellow house, the 
 Maison de Sauvetage — rather an ominous name 
 to-day. 
 
 "I'll bet you five shillings that she gets in, 
 and that I take my bath," said Dick Loftus, hot 
 in dispute; for they had been telling him he 
 could not attempt that dangerous sea to-day, 
 and different opinions existed as to whether the 
 steamer would or would not get in. " And here's 
 the five shillings to deposit/' added Dick, proud 
 of having so much to display, a most unusual 
 thing with him. " Come now, you, Onions ; you 
 needn't laugh like that." 
 
 Onions was laughing to show his ease. He 
 had an important role to maintain, and the eyes 
 of the world were upon him. 
 
 But for the white fleecy clouds chasing each 
 other across the blue sky, the day would have 
 been particularly bright and clear. The waves 
 of the receding tide were coming in with a high 
 white froth, breaking and lifting their foaming 
 
 Orville College. 18 
 
274 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 heads. George Paradyne was talking to a man 
 belonging to the " Societe de Naufrage," and the 
 rest were listening to the boy's pure French. 
 
 " You have not got the boat out to-day," he 
 observed, alluding to the rescue boat that is 
 always in close attendance during bathing hours. 
 
 u She's not needed/' crustily returned the man, 
 who seemed a crusty subject. " What bathers 
 would venture into this sea ? " 
 
 George Paradyne glanced at Dick, as much as 
 to say, Hear that. But Dick chose to take no 
 notice, and the Society man walked away. 
 
 u If this wind does jiot go down the meeting 
 will have to be put off," whispered Leek, in 
 undertones, to Bertie Loftus. " The charge might 
 be blown off at a tangent, and take us seconds 
 instead of vou." 
 
 <; Don't be fool enough to talk of it here, 
 Onions," came the rebuking answer, and Bertie 
 caught up a glass and looked at the boat. She 
 was labouring hard ; her white funnels rolling 
 from side to side. 
 
 But she made her way, and drew near the 
 port at last. People changed their places to 
 watch her in. Mr. Dick Loftus, in secret con- 
 nivance with himself, was left alone, and he 
 seized the opportunity. " Danger in bathing 
 
DICK'S RESCUE. 
 
 275 
 
 to-day indeed ! " contemptuously thought Dick. 
 " I'll teach them better/' 
 
 Not very many minutes, and all at once a cry 
 broke from the treacherous waters. The boys 
 turned at it. running from far and near. Mrs. 
 Loftus and Mrs. Gall, who had much trouble to 
 keep their petticoats down over their crinolines, 
 looked in the direction and wondered what the 
 cry meant ; and Mr. Loftus came sauntering 
 up. Like his son Bertie he rarely hurried. Sir 
 Simon trotted in more quickly. Another cry ! — 
 a cry as from one hopelessly drowning. 
 
 "It's Dick! it's Dick!" shrieked Bertie. 
 M Where's the boat ? Where's the man ? " 
 
 Dick it was, who had been experimenting 
 on the waves on his own account. They ran 
 hither and thither, shouting for the man, calling 
 for the boat ; but the man did not answer, and 
 the boat was not on service to-day. Whilst they 
 were running like madmen, all in confusion, Mr. 
 Loftus stood in helpless despair — a very incapable 
 man, he, in any emergency. 
 
 But see ! While they have been crying and 
 calling, another has been working. Some one 
 who threw off his superfluous clothing, plunged 
 into the waves, and is nearing the drowning boy. 
 He gains— he gains upon him ! He has him in 
 
276 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 his grasp now, and is turning to battle back to 
 shore again ; and a silent prayer is going up 
 from many a heart to heaven. There ensues a 
 pause of agonized suspense ; and then a low 
 murmur of thankfulness, gradually rising into a 
 shout of admiration, breaks from the spectators. 
 Sir Simon Orville fairly hops about in his ex- 
 citement, while the tears run down his cheeks. 
 
 " Who is it that has saved him ? " asked Mr. 
 Loftus, feeling as if one half of his substance, all 
 the gratitude of his remaining years, might well 
 be given in recompense. The beaming, generous 
 grey eyes of the rescuer met his in answer, and 
 he knew them for George Paradyne's. 
 
 Mr. Dick was conveyed in rather an igno- 
 minious fashion to the Maison de Sauvetage, 
 followed by a long tail, who were shut out un- 
 ceremoniously. Brown major's brother, an- 
 nouncing himself in obscure French as a 
 " doctoor," was allowed to enter. The attendants 
 placed Dick in one of the beds that the room 
 contained, and a French surgeon, springing it 
 was hard to say whence, appeared upon the 
 scene. But no vigorous means of resuscitation 
 were resorted to, simply because the patient, 
 who was not very far gone, revived without 
 them. George Paradyne, meanwhile, was quietly 
 
DICK'S RESCUE. 
 
 277 
 
 dressing himself, throwing off thanks and homage 
 as he best could. Sir Simon Orville, however, 
 would not be thrown oft*. He took possession of 
 him and carried him back in triumph to the 
 Hotel du Nord to dinner. 
 
 George was shown to a chamber to brush his 
 wet hair, when Mr. Loftus came in, and held out 
 his hand. 
 
 " How can I show my gratitude to you for 
 what you have done ? " 
 
 " Oh, sir, it does not deserve any particular 
 gratitude," was the boy's laughing answer, as he 
 resigned perforce his right hand, while his left 
 held the hair-brush. " I am very glad I happened 
 to be there." 
 
 " Where did you learn to swim like that ? 
 
 " In the West Indies, when I was a little 
 fellow. Papas regiment was quartered there. 
 We had an old black servant, who taught me. 
 He used to carry me to the water, and let me 
 sport in it like an alligator. Few can swim as 
 I do." . 
 
 ■• I have been very distant to you since I came 
 here. You must have observed it," resumed Mr. 
 Loftus, making the confession as an atonement 
 in his generous impulse ; and indeed he had 
 markedly held himself aloof from the boy in his 
 
278 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 pride and condemnation. "This has made me 
 ashamed of myself." 
 
 " Don't say anything, sir. I quite understood 
 it. If my father had been the rogue you believed, 
 it was only what I, as his son, deserved." 
 
 "As I believed," repeated Mr. Loftus, com- 
 miseration in his tone. " All the world believed 
 it." 
 
 " I know they did, sir." 
 
 " Well, it is not what I can enter upon with 
 you; and I begin now to see how unjust my 
 feeling to you has been. I — - — " 
 
 " But I wish you would enter upon it, sir ; I 
 wish you would let me say how certain I am 
 that my father was innocent," interrupted George, 
 his face becoming flushed, his eyes raised full 
 and earnestly to Mr. Loftus's. " I was only a 
 young lad when it happened, between twelve 
 and thirteen ; but I was old enough to judge. 
 Why, Mr. Loftus, but for feeling myself free of 
 that inheritance of guilt, could I have gone On 
 bravely as I have, and done battle with the 
 difficulties thrown in my path — the contempt I 
 have had to stand ? At Orville College there 
 has been a dead-set against me from the first — 
 an awful opposition ; and I am quite sure that 
 past charge against my father is the foundation 
 
DICK'S RESCUE. 279 
 
 of it, though it may not be generally known to 
 the school. When I feel inclined to give in, 
 beaten and hopeless, I say to myself, 'He was 
 innocent, and I'll bear up in spite of all this for 
 his sake ; ' and that gives me pluck to fight on 
 again." 
 
 " Did you know the particulars of the case ? " 
 asked Mr. Loftus, admiring the brave, hopeful 
 nature, in spite of his wonder that any such 
 opinion on the late Captain Paradyne' s case could 
 for one moment obtain, even with his son. 
 
 " Yes, every one of them," replied George. " I 
 don't suppose there was a single item that I did 
 not get by heart. The sudden discovery — made 
 first of all by you, sir — that something seemed 
 wrong, and then the looking into it privately by 
 yourself and Mr. Trace, and your finding out the 
 frauds, and the arrest of my father. If he had 
 only lived out the investigation he would have 
 disproved the charge." 
 
 " You wish me to speak of this unreservedly 
 to you, I see, as if you were a stranger," ob- 
 served Mr. Loftus, in answer, as it seemed, to the 
 boy's vehemence. 
 
 "Yes, sir, if you please. I used to wish I 
 might speak to you of it at the time, and get you 
 to look at it in the light I saw it." 
 
280 
 
 ORYILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Then, knowing the details, how could you, 
 and how can you, fancy that your father was not 
 guilty ? Remember, my boy, you have asked for 
 this, and I wish to speak with all kindness. He 
 was the only one connected with the office who 
 could have done it. The clerks had not the 
 opportunity." 
 
 "Who did do it I can't say, though I have a 
 doubt; but my father it was not," answered 
 George. " 111 tell you a little matter that hap- 
 pened, sir; not much, you'll say. A week or so 
 before the explosion I was doing my Latin exer- 
 cise one evening in the study at home, when my 
 father came in and sat down behind me. He 
 was very quiet, and I forgot he was there ; but 
 when I got up to put my books away I saw him. 
 He was leaning forward with his elbow on his 
 knee, pulling at his whiskers, as he w 7 ould do 
 when in deep thought ; and he must have been 
 like that, quite still, all the time. ' What are 
 you thinking of, papa ? ' I said ; ' what's the 
 matter ? ' He came out of his reverie then, and 
 put his hand upon my shoulder in his fond 
 manner. 'The matter's this, George,' he said, 
 'I have a suspicion that something wrong is 
 going on in the office, and I cannot make out 
 how, where, or what. I am not up to business, 
 
DICK'S RESCUE. 281 
 
 and that's the truth. Either of my partners 
 would find it out in no time.' ' Why don't you 
 tell them ? ' I asked. ' I am waiting till the sixth 
 of next month,' he said ; ' that may put things 
 straighter than, to my mind, they are. If it does 
 not, I shall speak to Mr. Trace.' But you know," 
 added George, his great eyes suddenly overflow- 
 ing, " that before the sixth of the next month — 
 September — he was dead. Mr. Loftus, I could 
 stake my own life that he was sincere when he 
 said that." 
 
 Mr. Loftus made no comment. It was the 
 sixth of each month that they used to balance 
 up their accounts. 
 
 " After he was taken back to prison the day of 
 the examination," continued George, " they let 
 me go in to see him. I was with Mr. Hopper, 
 and he took me in. I burst out crying. My 
 father laid hold of my hand, very grave and 
 kind ; f George, I am perfectly innocent/ he said, 
 ' do not distress yourself. I am a little be- 
 wildered at present, it's true ; and I must under- 
 stand what the frauds have been, and how 
 committed, before I can refute them. You 
 remember my saying to you, that I had a 
 doubt ; I wish I had spoken at once, instead of 
 waiting to see whether I was right or wrong. I 
 
282 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 wish I had telegraphed to the Isle of Wight for 
 Mr. Loftus, and had the whole thing investigated. 
 But that must be done now. Tell your mamma 
 from me, that it is all right ; tell her it is a 
 mistake, or something worse, on the part of those 
 who have charged me. My boy, you have never 
 had cause to blush for your father, and you have 
 none now.' I was sent out then, Hopper telling 
 me to wait outside for him, whilst he spoke to 
 my father. He came out soon, and I went home, 
 and " 
 
 George Paradyne broke down. He leaned his 
 head on the dressing-table and fairly sobbed. 
 Mr. Loftus touched him gently, and said a 
 soothing word. 
 
 " In an hour or two after that, word was 
 brought that he was dead," presently resumed 
 George. "He died with the suspicion of the 
 guilt upon him, and no one cared to refute it. I 
 talked to Hopper till he said I worried him, 
 asking him to take it up. Then I went and saw 
 Mr. Trace, and told him all this; but he only 
 shook his head, and spoke kindly to me, and said 
 there was no doubt. I knew there was no doubt, 
 but it was the other way ; no doubt of my 
 father's innocence." 
 
 " Will you let me ask you one question, 
 
DICK'S RESCUE. 
 
 283 
 
 George ? If your father was not guilty, who, in 
 your opinion, was ? " 
 
 " I don't much like to say," was the answer. 
 " And at the best, it is only a doubt." 
 
 " I think you had better say it." 
 
 " I fancied it was Hopper." 
 
 " Hopper ! " repeated Mr. Loftus, lifting his 
 head quickly. " No ; that was impossible." 
 
 u His manner made me doubt him at first ; it 
 was very singular. I am sure that he knew who 
 was guilty ; and I think it was himself. And then, 
 sir, you know he disappeared very soon after." 
 
 " Yes ; that is, he disappeared from Liverpool. 
 He may have taken a clerkship in some London 
 house. But Hopper could not have been guilty. 
 There's the dinner-bell. Once more, let me 
 thank you for the service you have rendered my 
 boy Eichard." 
 
 George Paradyne followed Mr. Loftus down- 
 stairs, conscious that his words had made no sort 
 of impression upon him. It was always so : 
 himself against the world. Even his own mother, 
 his father's wife, had never listened to this per- 
 sistently expressed belief in the innocence. Mr. 
 Loftus knew the theory to be a mistaken one ; 
 but he thought none the worse of the boy for 
 entertaining it. 
 
284 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE DUEL. 
 
 The dinner-table was full. Old Felix, the head- 
 waiter, had caused a separate table to be laid for 
 the party of which Sir Simon Orville was re- 
 garded as the head ; it included the Galls, the 
 Loftuses, young Paradyne, and a friend of Mr. 
 Gall's, named Bouncely, just arrived by the train 
 from Paris ; all, in fact, save the resuscitated 
 Dick, who had been brought home, and was 
 upstairs between hot blankets. 
 
 It was a very singular thing that the conver- 
 sation at this side-table of theirs should turn on 
 duelling. Bertie Loftus, recounting it later to 
 Onions, called it a " droll chance." But nothing 
 happens by chance in life. Mr. Bouncely, a 
 ponderous gentleman in black, with gold 
 spectacles, a huge bunch of seals hanging down 
 from a chain in a bygone fashion, and who was 
 an alderman or sheriff, or something grand and 
 great of that nature in the City, had recently 
 
THE DUEL. 
 
 285 
 
 been enjoying a brief sojourn at Frankfort-on- 
 the-Maine. He was brim-full of a duel just 
 fought there ; had not, as he expressed it, got 
 over the horror yet. 
 
 " It arose out of a quarrel at the gaming-table ; 
 as quite three-fourths of these duels do arise," 
 said he, beginning upon his fish. " Two young 
 fellows of most respectable connections, students 
 yet, one training for medicine, the other for the 
 Bar, went out with their seconds in the early 
 morning- and shot each other. One died on the 
 spot, the other is lamed for life." 
 
 " Ugh ! " exclaimed Sir Simon. " One can 
 hardly believe such a thing in these sensible, 
 matter-of-fact days." And Gall and Loftus, 
 seated at opposite corners of the table, glanced 
 accidentally at each other, and dropped their 
 eyes again. 
 
 "The one killed was an only son — an only 
 child — and his mother is a widow," continued 
 Mr. Bouncely, bending his spectacles on some- 
 thing just placed before him, if by good luck 
 they should distinguish what the compound 
 might be. " She has been nearly out of her mind 
 since ; all her enjoyment in life is gone. It is 
 very awful when you reflect upon it." 
 
 "Poor thing; yes, it is indeed/' interposed Mrs. 
 
286 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Loftus with compassion. " Every mother must 
 feel for her." 
 
 " Ma'am, I spoke of the thing itself; not of 
 the poor mother. That is not the awful part 
 of it." 
 
 William Gall, passing the water, which some- 
 body asked for, happened to catch sight of his 
 mother's eyes; bent to hide the tears that had 
 gathered in them. 
 
 "I was alluding to him, ma'am; the young 
 man himself," resumed Mr. Bouncely, willing 
 that Mrs. Loftus should be fully enlightened. 
 " What is his future fate to be t Where is he 
 now ? now, at this very time, let us ask, when 
 we are left on the earth, here, eating a good 
 dinner ? God placed him in the world to do his 
 duty usefully and faithfully, and to fit himself 
 for a better ; not to hurry himself out of it at his 
 own will and pleasure, a suicide." 
 
 <f A suicide," repeated Mrs. Loftus, who was 
 apt to take things literally. " I thought the 
 other killed him." 
 
 " Why, dear me, madam, what can you call it 
 but a case of suicide ; what else is it ? " asked 
 the City man. " They stand up deliberately, the 
 pair of them, to shoot, and be shot at ; each one, 
 no doubt, hoping and striving to kill the other 
 
THE DUEL. 
 
 287 
 
 first. I should not like to rush into the presence 
 of my Maker uncalled for, with murder on my 
 hand, and passion in my heart." 
 
 " Ah, no ! " shuddered Mrs. Loftus. " It is very 
 dreadful." 
 
 " He was about half-an-hour dying ; perfectly 
 sensible and conscious that life was ebbing away 
 fast, past hope," resumed Mr. Bouncely. " What 
 could his sensations have been as he lay there ? 
 — what awful despair must have reached him ; 
 what bitter repentance ! It makes one shudder 
 to think of it." 
 
 It seemed as though Mr. Bouncely were im- 
 parting somewhat of his own strong feeling on 
 the subject to the table. And, in truth, such 
 reflections were enough to make even the care- 
 less shudder. 
 
 " What would he have given, in that one half- 
 hour of agony, to undo his act of folly, that poor 
 dying young man ! " he continued. " He was a 
 Lutheran, and had been religiously trained ; ' the 
 child of many prayers/ said a friend of the 
 mother to me. Ah, what petitions of anguish, as 
 he lay in his remorse, must have gone up to his 
 Saviour for pardon, for grace, even for him." 
 
 And so the conversation continued, this duel 
 being the topic to the end of dinner. It seemed 
 
288 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 to Gall and Loftus that Mr. Bouncely kept it up 
 on purpose : when any one strayed to a different 
 subject, he recurred to this. As they were 
 crossing the court-yard after rising, to go into 
 the public drawing-room, or to their rooms up- 
 stairs, as inclination led them, some one touched 
 Gall on the arm. It was Talbot, who had been 
 waiting under the porte-cochere. Gall stepped 
 aside with him, apparently just taking a look at 
 the street and at the library-windows opposite, 
 lighted up. 
 
 " I thought I'd come and tell you, Gall, that 
 the wind's gone down," whispered Talbot. " I 
 have been on the pier with Onions, and it's 
 nothing like as high ; so there will be no impedi- 
 ment on that score. We got talking to an old 
 fisherman, and he says it will be calm by morning. 
 How's Dick ? " 
 
 " Oh, he's all right," answered Gall, speaking 
 more as if he were in a dream than awake. At 
 least, it sounded so, and Talbot glanced at him. 
 
 " Are you going to the ball to-night ? " asked 
 Talbot, a carriage whirling by with flashing- 
 lamps probably suggesting the remembrance of 
 the ball to him. 
 
 " No," said Gall ; and for the life of him he 
 could not have helped the sudden sense of the 
 
THE DUEL. 
 
 289 
 
 general unfitness of things that just then came 
 over him. Balls in one place, duels and death 
 in another. 
 
 "Onions is gone. His mother made him go. 
 At least he's gone in to dress for it. She wants 
 to go once, just to see what it's like, she says. 
 Onions was very mad, but he couldn't get out 
 of it." 
 
 "Ah, yes," answered Gall, thinking how much 
 happier Onions was than himself. " I must go 
 in, earl ; I promised Dick I'd sit with him after 
 dinner. Good-night." 
 
 Talbot put out his hand; an unusual occur- 
 rence, for the college boys were not given to 
 ceremony between themselves, either at meeting 
 or parting. Gall responded to it mechanically. 
 
 "I say, Gall," he said, as he held it, and his 
 voice dropped into a sort of solemn, concerned 
 tone, as if this, that he was about to say, were 
 serious and what had gone before was froth, 
 " must this go on ? " 
 
 " Must what go on ? " 
 
 " The business of to-morrow morning." 
 
 " Why, you know it must." 
 
 " I don't like it." 
 
 " Neither do I particularly." 
 
 " Then put an end to it before mischief comes " 
 
 Orville College. 19 
 
290 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " How ? " 
 
 " Why, shake hands ; you and Loftus. You 
 are both good fellows, as all the world knows. 
 It's a miserable thing that you should quarrel 
 and bring things to this point." 
 
 " I have not sought the quarrel. Loftus has 
 forced it upon me." 
 
 "Well, you did knock him down, you know. 
 Go to him and apologize for that, and perhaps 
 between you things may be made up." 
 
 " And be branded by him afterwards as 
 a coward — as no gentleman ! " was Gall's irritable 
 and indignant answer. " Talbot, there's not 
 another word to be said. This was forced upon 
 me in the first instance ; but I have taken it up, 
 and, haying done so, there's no retreating.' 
 
 " Then of course I can say no more ; but I wish 
 it were otherwise. At five o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, I'll be at the door here waiting for you. 
 Good-night. I've a bet with Onions that he 
 over-sleeps himself. What fun if he should ! 
 He brings the pistols." 
 
 Talbot walked away in the direction of the 
 Hotel des Bains ; he had to seek Leek yet ; and 
 Gall went upstairs to Dick's chamber in pur- 
 suance of his promise. Dick, however, proved to 
 be in a sound sleep, so he turned to his mother's 
 
THE DUEL. 
 
 291 
 
 sitting-room. Mrs. Gall was seated at one end of 
 the sofa, complaining of headache. 
 
 He had a headache, too, or perhaps it was 
 a heartache ; and he sat down on the sofa by 
 her, and let his head fall upon her shoulder. 
 Mrs. Gall was a little shrimp of a woman, with 
 a great deal of love for her children and gentle- 
 ness for the world in general, although the end 
 of her nose was so sharp and red. 
 
 " Are you not going down to the salon, 
 mother ? " 
 
 " No, dear. They will send me some tea here.' 7 
 " Nor to the rooms ? " 
 
 <c Not to-night, William. Papa's going, I 
 think, with the rest. You are going too, I 
 suppose ? " 
 
 " No : 111 stay at home with you." 
 
 a Nay, my dear," remonstrated Mrs. Gall, 
 supposing his motive was to keep her company ; 
 for she was accustomed to much consideration 
 from her children, as a gentle, loving mother is 
 sure to have. " I shall be quite well alone. You 
 must not deprive yourself of the evening's 
 pleasure for me. This ball to-night is the chief 
 one of the season." 
 
 " I am not going," he answered. " I did not 
 intend it, mamma." 
 
292 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 She lifted her hand as he lay there, to push 
 the hair from his brow, with a fond movement, 
 and stooped to kiss him. 
 
 " How hot your forehead is, William. Have 
 you a headache, too ? " 
 
 " Not much. A little." 
 
 "I think the wind brought mine on to-day," 
 observed Mrs. Gall. " That, and the fright con- 
 nected with Dick Loftus. William, that's a 
 brave boy, that young Paradyne. I'm so glad 
 we brought him." 
 
 "First-rate?" 
 
 "I cannot think why the college should 
 dislike him : it grows more and more of a puzzle 
 to me. He is very good-looking. Did you 
 notice his beautiful eyes and his flushed face 
 when Mr. Bouncely was giving us that narrative 
 at dinner ? He was quite a picture then. By 
 the way, William, what a most shocking thing 
 that was ! " 
 
 " Not pleasant." 
 
 " Not pleasant ! " repeated Mrs. Gall, rather 
 shocked at the apparently light tone. " Can you 
 imagine anything more dreadful ? A mistake, or 
 calamity, so long as it is confined to this world, 
 is not beyond the pale of remedy ; but — when it 
 comes to rushing into the next ! William, I am 
 
THE DUEL. 
 
 293 
 
 sure that thinking of that poor mistaken youth 
 has made my head worse." 
 
 William Gall gave no particular reply ; his 
 mother thought he was sleepy, and said no more. 
 Sleepy ! with the consciousness on his soul of 
 what he was about to do ! with the awful 
 amount of responsibility, already making itself 
 heard, that was weighing him down ! There 
 was no such blessing as sleep for him. 
 
 It might be the last time he should ever, in 
 life, be thus with his mother. It might be his 
 last evening on earth. Oh, life looked very fair, 
 now that he was possibly about to quit it. Scenes 
 of the past and present, pleasant realities of 
 existence, seemed to come crowding into his 
 mind with strange persistency. The " old house 
 at home," with its home comforts and home 
 affections ; the days at Orville College with their 
 hopes and interests ; the future career he had 
 been rather given in anticipation to carve out 
 for himself. Why, what a mockery it seemed ! 
 Here was he, a candidate (though he had never 
 much thought he should get it) for the Orville 
 prize — long before the time for bestowing it 
 came, he might be cold in his grave, half for- 
 gotten ! What a mockery seemed all things, if 
 it came to that : his education at all ! his train- 
 
294 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 ing ; nay, even his having been born — were this 
 to be the ending ! The more serious, solemn 
 part that Mr. Bouncely had enlarged on in 
 the other case, of what might come after 
 death, William Gall simply dared not glance 
 at. No wonder that his brow grew hotter and 
 hotter. 
 
 " I'll go to my room, I think," he quietly said, 
 rising, as his reflections became more and more 
 keen, his assumption of equanimity simply 
 intolerable. "Good-night, mother, dear." 
 
 She was surprised at the abrupt salutation ; at 
 the long, passionate kiss he pressed upon her 
 lips ; at the yearning, singular love in his eyes. 
 But before she could say anything he was gone ; 
 gone to shut himself in his own room, with his 
 troubles and his fear. Not fear of the shot itself 
 or the pain it might bring ; William Gall was of a 
 sufficiently brave nature; but fear of the results 
 that might follow in its wake — of the eternity 
 he might be flying into. And yet, so powerful 
 upon him was received custom, the conven- 
 tionalities of the world ; so great a dread had he, 
 in common with others, of being pointed at as a 
 coward, that he let the thing go on, and would 
 not stop it. An almost irrepressible wish had 
 come over him, whilst he was with his mother, 
 
THE DUEL. 
 
 295 
 
 to tell her the truth ; but that might not be, and 
 he thrust it back again. 
 
 Bertie Loftus was getting over the evening in 
 a different way. Bertie, in full dress, was ex- 
 hibiting his handsome self at the rooms. He 
 talked, he laughed, he danced ; he was so un- 
 usually active and gay that Raymond Trace, with 
 his unfailing discernment, wondered what Bertie 
 had been about, and knew he was only killing 
 care. Bertie denied it when Trace asked ; there 
 was his care, that split he had made in his left- 
 hand glove. " Wretched kid it must be," he said, 
 with alight laugh. With a light laugh ; with an 
 assumption of careless gaiety : but nevertheless 
 every pulse in Mr. Bertie's inward heart was 
 beating with something that was more akin to 
 pain than pleasure ; and the loud notes of the 
 music seemed to be so many pistol-shots going off 
 in the air. 
 
 " Be on the ground in time, Loftus," whispered 
 Mr. Leek, as he passed in the wake of the Lady 
 Sophia's scarlet cloak, who had soon had enough 
 of it, and was leaving early. "Five o'clock 
 sharp, mind." 
 
 "All right, Leek." And subsequently when 
 Bertie Loftus himself took his departure, as he 
 and his party, a couple of coachfuls, rattled along 
 
296 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 the port, he looked out at the glistening water 
 and wondered whether he should ever see it 
 again. He might wish the morrow over ; he 
 might wish that what was to take place in it 
 could be stopped ; but that was impossible. 
 Pride was in the ascendant with both him and 
 Gall, you see ; and of course gentlemen cannot 
 act against the convenances of society. 
 
 The morning rose ; warm, bright, clear ; with 
 a stiffish breeze yet, but nothing to intercept 
 work or pistol-shots. Gall found his way out of 
 the hotel, and saw the faithful Talbot waiting, 
 his back propped against the shutters of the 
 parfumeur opposite. Gall felt in better spirits 
 than he had been last night, as most of us 
 do when light has chased away the darkness. 
 And, perhaps, he was willing to show himself 
 gay. 
 
 " Good-morning, Shrewsbury ! How long 
 have you been there ? " 
 
 " Only five minutes. I say, is it not a glorious 
 morning ? Couldn't have a better/' cried the 
 earl. He seemed in spirits too. It was well 
 to put a good face on what could not now be 
 avoided. 
 
 They walked to the appointed place, commenc- 
 ing the route by the Rue d'Assas, and so 
 
THE DUEL. 
 
 297 
 
 upwards. It was a good step, even when they 
 had left the town behind. Carriages had been 
 proposed the previous day ; but they were afraid 
 to engage any lest the affair should become 
 known. These two were on the spot first. 
 Certainly the seconds had chosen well ; the place 
 was appropriate enough to what had to be done 
 on it. It was a bit of flat, low ground, where 
 the grass was short, lying rather in a hollow, and 
 sufficiently secluded. The sea sparkled in the 
 distance over the heights ; the open country was 
 stretched out on the other hand ; Boulogne lay 
 below. A very few minutes, and Mr. Leek 
 appeared in full spirits, carrying the case of 
 pistols. 
 
 " How are you, Gall, old fellow ? " he asked, 
 gingerly despositing the case on the ground. 
 " I'm not long after you, you see, Shrewsbury. 
 Where's Loftus ? " 
 
 "Not come yet," answered the earl. He put 
 his arm within Leek's, and drew him off a little 
 way, talking of the preliminaries in an under- 
 tone ; not so low, however, but that Gall might 
 have heard had he chosen to listen. Gall sat 
 down on a gentle ridge of the land, and waited. 
 Soon the others came back again ; Onions re- 
 marking with an off-hand manner, as if he 
 
298 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 wanted to show himself at ease, that they should 
 have a broiling day. 
 
 They waited on ; waited and waited. Ex- 
 pectation grew into wonder. Loftus and Mr. 
 Bob Brown had arranged to come together, but 
 neither came. Had Loftus's valiant courage 
 deserted him at the eleventh hour ? Hardly ; 
 but Gall felt gratified that he was not the one 
 to be tardy. 
 
 As the clocks were striking six, a shout was 
 heard, and three figures bounded on to the 
 heights. Brown major was the first — and his 
 company had not been bargained for ; on the 
 contrary, he had been expressly told by the 
 seconds he was not to come. But the meeting 
 was a great deal too tempting to be withstood ; 
 as Brown major remarked, he might never have 
 the luck to get such a chance again. Bertie 
 Loftus, in a white heat, began explaining their 
 unfortunate detention. He shared a double- 
 bedded room at the hotel with Dick, and just as 
 he was about to get up and dress himself, Sir 
 Simon Orville, anxious for Dick's health, walked 
 in without ceremony, sat himself down on Dick's 
 bed talking, and never (as Bertie phrased it) 
 went out again. 
 
 " I couldn't get up while he was there," cried 
 
THE DUEL. 299 
 
 Bertie, speaking savagely in his mortification ; 
 " it might have betrayed the whole thing. You 
 should have seen the guy he was ; he had on 
 grey drawers, with a white stripe across 'em, and 
 a long tassel hanging behind from his cotton 
 night-cap." 
 
 There was no time to be lost. It was already 
 too late by a good hour, and Leek and Talbot 
 bestirred themselves with a will. The only one 
 of the party who looked grave, somewhat un- 
 willing, was Mr. Robert Brown. What had been 
 great fun in prospective, was very serious now 
 that the time for action came ; and the young 
 doctor felt the responsibility that his two or 
 three years of seniority gave him. Putting out 
 of view the possible consequences, he saw that 
 a large share of the blame might afterwards rest 
 upon him. 
 
 " I wish you would make it up, gentlemen," 
 he urged. 
 
 Nobody listened to him. The seconds were 
 busy pacing the ground, looking to the pistols, 
 holding communion in an undertone. Gall and 
 Loftus were exchanging a civil sentence now 
 and then, to show their indifference. Both were 
 outwardly calm, though perhaps it strained their 
 nerves to appear so ; Brown major, with a 
 
300 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 scared look in his round eyes, went dodging 
 about restlessly, and rather wished, than other- 
 wise, that he had not come. 
 
 " All's ready," cried the seconds, returning to 
 them. Of course they knew very little if any- 
 thing of the executive of such meetings, but 
 were doing things according to the best of their 
 judgment. 
 
 " We are putting you sideways to the sun, or 
 else one of you must have had it right in his 
 face," said the earl. 
 
 " Do we keep our hats on ? " asked Gall. 
 
 This was a poser. No one could answer the 
 question or say what the custom was. Talbot 
 thought they should be on, Leek thought 
 they should be off. Whilst the duellists stood in 
 indecision, the young surgeon settled it. 
 
 " Keep them on," said he. " What does custom 
 signify one way or the other ? " 
 
 " You must shake hands," said Onions. But 
 he had no sooner spoken than Lord Shrewsbury 
 whispered to him that it was prize-fighters who 
 shook hands, not duellists. However, the thing 
 was done ; and, as Mr. Brown remarked by the 
 other doubt, it could not matter. 
 
 They were placed facing each other, twenty 
 paces between them, and a pistol handed to 
 
THE DUEL. 
 
 301 
 
 each. Ah, how little Bertie Loftus, when he 
 bought those pistols in his pride a year ago, 
 dreamt of the grief they would bring him ! 
 Both of them, Gall and Loftus, were now as 
 white as chalk. The surgeon stood on the side 
 with a rueful face and compressed lips ; Brown 
 major removed himself to a safe distance — with 
 those inexperienced shooters there was no 
 knowing what direction the bullets might take ; 
 and the seconds as yet were standing close, each 
 behind his man. 
 
 " Present ! " said Leek, in so low a tone that 
 the doctor did not hear it. Onions might be 
 nervous. 
 
 " Fire ! " came the next word, after a moment's 
 pause ; and that was loud enough. 
 
 " Not yet ! not yet ! " shouted Robert Brown 
 in an agony, for the inexperienced seconds 
 had not removed themselves from the place of 
 danger. " Come away first, for the love of 
 Heaven ! " 
 
 He spoke too late. The combatants had fired 
 each his pistol ; the reports crashing out loud 
 enough in the morning air. There ensued some 
 momentary confusion, and Robert Brown's eyes 
 were, so to say, dazzled by anxiety and fear. 
 When his sight came to him, he saw that the 
 
302 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 rash seconds were uninjured; but the duellists 
 had both fallen, and were lying on the ground, 
 their white faces turned up to the full blaze of 
 the August sun. 
 
( 303 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 * 
 
 MR. LEEK IN CONVULSIONS. 
 
 Yes : both duellists had fallen, and lay on their 
 backs, their white faces upwards, and the pistols 
 beside them. The seconds were standing over 
 them with looks of horror, and the surgeon came 
 striding up. Gall was nearest to him, and he 
 halted there first. 
 
 " Where has it struck you ? " he asked, very 
 gently. 
 
 Gall, just able to speak, faintly said he did 
 not know. He thought in the small of the 
 back. 
 
 But this was impossible according to the 
 doctor's views. The bullet might have come out 
 at the back, but it certainly could not have gone 
 in that way. As Gall lay there, hardly knowing 
 whether he was dead or not, and the glorious sun 
 shining right into his eyes, an awful remorse 
 came over him. Now that it was too late, he saw 
 how easy it would have been to refuse to fight, 
 
804 
 
 CRY ILL E COLLEGE. 
 
 even at the risk of being called a coward. While 
 some cast that reproach on him, others would 
 have lauded him for his plain good sense. How- 
 fair, how very fair the world looked, now that 
 he was about to quit it ! 
 
 » <e Let's see," said Mr. Robert Brown, intending 
 to turn him on his face, but attempting it slowly 
 and gingerly. Truth to say, the operator in 
 embryo felt himself in a bit of a predicament : 
 he had never extracted a bullet in his life, and 
 was rather undecided which way to begin. Gall 
 groaned. 
 
 "Why, there's no sign of any injury here," 
 exclaimed the doctor in a tone of surprised 
 pleasure, as Gall went over in a lump. "The 
 coat's not touched. See if you can get up." 
 
 It was what Gall, beginning to recover the 
 shock and his senses together, was already doing. 
 Mr. Brown took his hand to help him, but there 
 seemed no need for it. He was up, and stood as 
 well as ever he had stood in his life. He walked 
 a few paces and found he could walk. The sur- 
 geon critically passed his eyes and fingers over 
 him, and came to the conclusion that — he was 
 not injured. 
 
 " You are not hurt ; you were not struck at 
 all," he cried, and the tears actually came into 
 
MR. LEEK IX CONVULSIONS. 
 
 .105 
 
 Mr. Bob's eyes, so glad and great was the relief. 
 " The bullet must have passed you." 
 
 He, Robert Brown, flew off to the other 
 wounded, Bertie Loftus. Bertie was on his feet 
 too, under convoy of Onions and Brown major. 
 Very much the same ceremony had been gone 
 through with him. A moment or two he had 
 lain as one dead, he also having been struck (as 
 he believed) in the small of the back, but had 
 got upon his feet without help, though with 
 much condolence. 
 
 " Why, you are not hurt, either ! " shouted Mr. 
 Robert Brown, in his astonishment. " Where on 
 earth can the bullets have gone ? " 
 
 It was quite true ; they were not hurt. As to 
 the bullets — they must have gone somewhere. 
 
 " What made you fall ? " reiterated the surgeon, 
 whose delight at this result caused his face to 
 glow like the rising sun. Neither of them could 
 say. Each thought he had been struck in the 
 back : each had felt the shot there. Bertie re- 
 peated this aloud : Gall said nothing. Gall was 
 Avondering how he could ever be thankful enough 
 to Heaven that he was yet in the world. How 
 fair it was ! how lovely looked the line of horizon 
 over the dark-blue sea ! 
 
 "I — don't — think — there — has — been — any 
 
 Orville College. 20 
 
300 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 duel/' slowly spoke Mr. Robert Brown, when he 
 revolved matters. (( Did they forget to load the 
 pistols ? " 
 
 " If there has been no real duel they must be 
 put up again/' volubly interposed Brown major, 
 quite forgetting, in this agreeable termination, 
 his recent fears. " Where was the good of all 
 the bother ? Where's the use of goiiig in for 
 satisfaction, if you don't get satisfaction? My 
 heart alive, who's this ? " 
 
 Who indeed ! Brown major's startled question 
 was caused by the appearance of a stranger on 
 the scene. He came puffing up at a sharp pace, 
 and Bertie nearly dropped into his shoes at the 
 apparition : for it was his uncle, Sir Simon. And 
 Sir Simon had heard the report of the pistols 
 too, and took in the truth at a glance. The 
 young surgeon, some view perhaps of self-excuse 
 in his mind, explained the affair in a few brief 
 words, and dwelt upon the fact that no harm had 
 come of it. 
 
 " You two wicked ones ! " exclaimed the really 
 shocked and scared Sir Simon to Gall and Loftus. 
 " Give me up those pistols, sir," he sternly con- 
 tinued to his nephew. " They shall never be in 
 your possession again." 
 
 It was easy to say, " Give me the pistols." 
 
MR. LEEK IN CONVULSIONS. 
 
 307 
 
 But the pistols had disappeared, and Bertie's 
 second with them. Before Sir Simon was seen, 
 or thought of, Mr. Leek had hastily shut the 
 pistols into their case, and glided quietly away 
 with them, unobserved. 
 
 " Where are the pistols ? " roared Sir Simon. 
 
 " Onions must have gone off with them," cried 
 Brown major, who seemed more at his ease alto- 
 gether than any of the rest. 
 
 Lissome and surefooted as any cat, Onions 
 was then making his way down the almost per- 
 pendicular descent between Napoleon's column 
 and the sands, the case of pistols safe in his 
 hands. When the descent was effected, he sat 
 down, partly to recover breath, partly to burst 
 into vehement laughter. Swaying his body from 
 side to side, it seemed that he never would leave 
 off, to the intense astonishment of a fisherman 
 going by with three mackerel dangling in his 
 hand from a string, who stopped to gaze at him. 
 
 Never, surely, did a pair of duellists take their 
 way off the field more ignominiously than ours ! 
 For nothing to have come of the meeting was 
 sufficiently lowering on the surface, whatever 
 the inward satisfaction might have been ; but to 
 be exposed the whole way to the fire of Sir 
 Simon's wrath — now thundering forth its con- 
 
308 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 demnation, now sunk in raillery — was hardly to 
 be borne. He treated them like a couple of 
 children. In the first place, he made them walk 
 arm-in-arm, and march before him ; himself, the 
 acting-surgeon, Brown major, and Lord Shrews- 
 bury bringing up the rear like so many con- 
 stables. Thus they made their way home, taking 
 the route through the Upper Town and down 
 the Grande Rue, for Sir Simon would go no other 
 way. Arrived at the hotel, the others having 
 dropped off on the road, he marshalled them into 
 his own room, shut himself in with them, and 
 talked to the two ; not in the angry or ironical 
 strain he had been using publicly, but in a 
 solemn, severe, and yet kindly tone, the tears of 
 emotion welling from his eyes. 
 
 " Shake hands, and be thankful to God," ho 
 wound up with, "for a great mercy has been 
 vouchsafed to you both this day. But for that, 
 you might just as well have been lying stark 
 upon the heights now." 
 
 He never supposed but that the pistols had 
 bullets in them. Any doubt to the contrary had 
 not been whispered to him. And the fact, as to 
 whether they had or not, remained yet to be 
 proved. 
 
 But the occurrence spoilt the pleasure in 
 
MR. LEEK IN CONVULSIONS. 
 
 309 
 
 Boulogne. It was looked upon in a very grave 
 light by both the families concerned, and they 
 resolved to cut short the visit and return home. 
 Sir Simon made a call upon Onions, and de- 
 manded the pistols, which were given up to him. 
 Never again were they seen by Bertie Loftus ; 
 and what Sir Simon did with them Bertie could 
 never get to know, but always thought he 
 dropped them into the waves of the receding 
 tide, and left them to drift out to sea. 
 
 Onions was back in London before they were. 
 Lady Sophia Leek, grown tired of her visit, as 
 was natural to her, wherever she went, crossed 
 over the clay before the large party. It was quite 
 the same to Onions whether he stayed or returned 
 home. He made himself happy anywhere. 
 
 Let us take a look at Mr. Henry. Whilst they 
 and others had been amusing themselves, he was 
 working as usual. He gave his private lessons, 
 he finished his translation, he accomplished 
 certain work that Mr. Baker had asked him to 
 do as a favour — working out some difficult 
 problems in Euclid. "You are as capable as I 
 am, Henry," said the mathematical master, " and 
 I want to go into Wales and see my poor old 
 father." And Mr. Henry had accepted the task 
 with a patient sigh. 
 
310 
 
 OKVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Yes, the translation was finished at last. It 
 had been a stupendous labour, considering the 
 little time Mr. Henry could give to it, and the 
 abstruse books he had been obliged to consult. 
 Had he foreseen what the task would be he 
 might not have entered upon it. And he had 
 made too light, by anticipation, of his legitimate 
 work in the college, for that had been greatly 
 added to by the ill-will of the boys. All the 
 trouble and labour they possibly could give him 
 they did give. Many and many a night, when 
 he might have been at his translation, was he 
 detained over their wretchedly false exercises, 
 rendered purposely as incorrect, and also as 
 illegible, as it was possible for the malice of 
 schoolboys to render them. Mr. Henry had felt 
 ill for some time now. It was hot summer 
 weather, and yet a sort of ague was upon him ; 
 but he did what he could to shake it off. 
 
 And that was a red-letter day when, the 
 translation completed, he set out with it for 
 London. It happened to be the same day that 
 Sir Simon and his large party were crossing over 
 from Boulogne ; but that had nothing to do with 
 Mr. Henry. The sun was bright, the skies were 
 clear ; his ailments and his weakness, the weary 
 night vigils, and the past fatigue in his labours, 
 
MR. LEEK IN CONVULSIONS. 311 
 
 all were forgotten, as he bore on to the, pub- 
 lisher's in Paternoster Row, and passed at length 
 through the swing-doors, carrying his heavy 
 parcel. 
 
 " Would you like to receive the money now ? " 
 inquired the publisher, after he had talked with 
 him. 
 
 " If you please. If not inconvenient." 
 
 Not inconvenient, certainly, to pay thirty 
 pounds ; and the money, in five-pound notes, 
 was given into his hand. " We shall send the 
 proofs to you, Mr. Henry ; no one but yourself 
 must correct them." 
 
 " Very well. You will present me with a copy 
 of the book for my own use ? " 
 
 " One copy, sir ! You shall have more than 
 that, and be w r elcome to them. Half-a-dozen, if 
 you like." 
 
 " Thank you very much. Then I can give a 
 copy to Dr. Brabazon, and send over another to 
 my old university." 
 
 He went out, his eyes quite luminous with 
 pleasure. The money in his pocket ; the learned 
 book (it might almost be called his book, so great 
 had been his labour) coming out immediately ; 
 copies to give to his friends ! For once Mr. Henry 
 forget his care, and seemed to tread on air. 
 
312 OKVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 But lie could not live on air ; and hunger was 
 powerfully reminding him of that fact when he 
 reached the Strand. He looked out for a 
 restaurant, and turned into Simpson's. Order- 
 ing some lamb and peas (recommended by the 
 waiter), he went out again to a shop close by, to 
 buy some trifle he wanted. As he was bounding 
 back into Simpson's, he found his coat-tails 
 seized, and turned to see a boy in the college 
 cap. It was Leek. 
 
 "Why, Onions ! " he exclaimed, calling him, in 
 his surprise, by the more familiar name, " I 
 thought you were in France. George Paradyne 
 wrote to me a day or two ago, and mentioned 
 
 you." 
 
 "We came over yesterday; Lady Sophia got 
 tired of the place," answered Onions. " The rest 
 are crossing to-day : I mean Loftus and Gall's 
 lot," he went on to explain with the customary 
 scant ceremony of- the college boys. " Oh, Mr. 
 Henry, we have had the jolliest lark ! I should 
 like to tell it yon." 
 
 " Do so," said Mr. Henry. " I am going to 
 have some dinner: will you take some with 
 me ?" 
 
 " Don't care if I do," returned Onions. " Lamb 
 and peas ! That's good, after the kickshaws 
 
MR. LEEK IN CONVULSIONS. 
 
 313 
 
 we've had in France. You'll laugh yourself into 
 a fit when you hear what happened there." 
 
 Seated at a table in the corner, Onions re- 
 counted his story, and ate his lamb and peas 
 between whiles. Mr. Henry treated him also to 
 some cherry tart. Onions ate and talked, and 
 exploded into bursts of laughter, contagious to 
 see and hear. The diners in the room turned 
 and looked; there seemed some danger of his 
 going into a fit himself. It was the duel he was 
 describing, and Mr. Henry, when the boy first 
 began, truly thought he was recounting a fable : 
 though it is possible, having been acclimatized to 
 Germany, that he did not feel so shocked at the 
 idea of the duel as the other masters might have 
 felt; say, the Reverend Mr. Jebb, for instance, 
 or Dr. Brabazon. 
 
 " You see, when they asked me and Lord 
 Shrewsbury to stand seconds, we didn't much 
 like it. Suppose one of them had got killed ? 
 But it was of no use our saying a syllable : Gall 
 and Loftus are both just as obstinate as pigs, and 
 a comet with a fiery tail wouldn't have turned 
 them. They thought their honour was involved, 
 you see. Oh, and what do you think ? Dick 
 went into the sea during a gale, and was all but 
 drowned." 
 
314 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Dick was ! " 
 
 " And Paradyne saved him/' continued Onions, 
 having got out of one tale into another. " Nobody 
 saw Dick go in, or knew he was in, until his 
 cries were heard. It was too rough for bathers 
 to venture that day, and the rescue boat was not 
 on duty, but Dick thought he'd try it on the sly. 
 And there he was, drowning without help. 
 Whilst the rest of us were rushing about wildly 
 to find the men, Paradyne quietly threw off his 
 jacket, plunged in, and went swimming after him 
 — and a deuce of a long way Dick had drifted 
 out with the tide. He is a brave fellow after all, 
 that Paradyne. You should have heard the 
 cheers when he came in with Dick ! " 
 
 Mr. Henry was leaning back in his chair, 
 absorbed in the narrative — a hectic on his cheeks, 
 a light in his eyes. Praises of George Paradyne 
 stirred every fibre of his heart. 
 
 " George never said a word of thio in his letter 
 to me." 
 
 " Oh, I dare say not j he's not a fellow to talk 
 of himself," was Mr. Leek's answer. " You never 
 saw such a swimmer. Well, Dick was saved. 
 We wondered afterwards whether, if he had been 
 drowned, it would have stopped the duel." 
 
 " And the duel really took place ? It seems 
 
MR. LEEK IN CONVULSIONS. 
 
 315 
 
 past all belief/' continued Mr. Henry. And 
 Onions went into convulsions again, and upset 
 his beer. 
 
 " I and Shrewsbury laid our heads together/' he 
 continued presently ; " we didn't want, you know, 
 to aid them in going in for such a chance as death. 
 Besides, duelling is over, let Bertie Loftus say 
 what he will. We agreed not to put bullets in 
 the pistols ; but that fool of a Brown major got 
 putting his foot into it, saying we must take a 
 surgeon. We couldn't say we wouldn't, for fear 
 of exciting suspicion, and he proposed his big 
 brother, who is at St. George's, and we took him. 
 What we feared was, that he might get looking 
 at the pistols ; which would have spoilt the game. 
 He didn't, though, and was in an awful fright all 
 the time. We placed our men at the distance of 
 twenty paces — you should have seen the com- 
 batants ; the two were as white as this table- 
 cloth — and gave the signal to fire. At the 
 moment the pistols went off, I gave Loftus a 
 smart knock in the back with some pieces of 
 brass that jangled frightfully ; Talbot gave Gall 
 the same, and down the two went, thinking they 
 were both shot. Oh, my goodness ! I shall never 
 get over it to the last hour of my life," broke off 
 Onions, struggling and choking. " Mr. Henry, if 
 
316 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 I were in church, — if I were watching somebody 
 dead, — if I were before the examiners for the 
 Oxford, and thought of it, I must laugh." 
 
 It seemed so, by the way he was laughing now. 
 
 " They thought they were shot, and there they 
 lay ; and Bob Brown came up with a long face, 
 getting out his case of instruments. ' Where 
 are you struck ? ' says he, beginning with Gall, 
 who was nearest him ; ' whereabouts has the 
 bullet gone into you ? ' ' I think it went into my 
 back/ says Gall, with a groan. ' Let's see/ says 
 Brown, delicately turning him a little, ' perhaps 
 it came out there. No, there's no hole in your 
 coat at the back. Why, you're not shot at all ! ' 
 he shouted, as Gall got up and felt himself. 
 And I and the earl had to keep our countenances, 
 and nearly died of it." 
 
 Mr. Henry was laughing quietly ; and the 
 room turned round once more and gazed at the 
 college boy. 
 
 " I made off with the pistols. That had been 
 arranged. Oh, I assure you we laid the pro- 
 gramme well, and rehearsed our parts over and 
 over again. My mother walked me off to a 
 miserable ball the previous night ; but Lord 
 Shrewsbury came to sleep in my room, and we 
 were practising the thrust upon each other's 
 
MR. LEEK IN CONVULSIONS. 317 
 
 backs till daylight. We got a brass candlestick 
 out of Lady Sophia's chamber, and battered it up 
 for the pieces ; the hotel people, finding it had 
 disappeared, thought my Lady must have 
 swallowed it. I've the brass still." 
 
 He laid his head down on the table, shaking 
 and convulsed. " Go on," said Mr. Henry. 
 
 " There's no more fun to tell. I made off 
 with the pistols for fear they should find out the 
 trick and fight in earnest — but they must have 
 gone to the town for bullets first. Sir Simon 
 Orville came on the scene then, and " 
 
 " Who had warned him of it ? " 
 
 "jMobody. His coming was accidental. He 
 went in early to Dick's room, to see how r he was, 
 and dressed himself afterwards to take a walk, 
 instead of getting into bed again like a Christian ; 
 and somehow r arrived at 'the spot by chance. 
 Wasn't there a row ? Shrewsbury says he never 
 heard any old fellow go on so. He made Gall 
 and Loftus shake hands, and marched them home 
 again before him arm-in-arm. That same day 
 he came to me, demanding the pistols, and 
 threatened to tell Lady Sophia of me unless I 
 promised never to help in such an affair of 
 iniquity again: that was what he called it 'an 
 affair of iniquity/ So I gave him up the pistols, 
 
318 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 and told him the truth at the same time — that I 
 and Talbot had not put any bullets in them. 
 You should have watched the change in him ! 
 He called me all sorts of charming names, and 
 shook my hand, turning himself about with 
 delight in his funny way, and said he'd be my 
 friend always and Talbot's too ; and then he put 
 his hand into his pocket and gave me— what do 
 you think ? — five golden sovereigns. But he 
 took the pistols ; and Loftus's belief is, that he 
 pitched them, case and all, into the harbour. 
 Oh, it was a lark, that duel ! I don't believe I 
 shall ever come in for such another." 
 
 It was the conclusion of the tale. The com- 
 pany, who had remained at the different tables 
 as if fascinated, began to move. They had 
 caught only a word here and there, and rose up 
 impressed with the idea that a peer of England, 
 the Right Honourable the Earl of Shrewsbuiy 
 and Talbot, had been one of the principals in a 
 duel ; news which they forthwith carried to their 
 friends. Mr. Henry paid for his dinner, and 
 went out with Leek. They were parting, for 
 their ways were not the same, "when the master 
 laid his hand upon the young man's shoulder. 
 
 "I wish I could get you to do me a favour, 
 Leek." 
 
MR. LEEK IN CONVULSIONS. 319 
 
 " That I will," was the ready answer. " What 
 is it ? " 
 
 " Make my duties easy to me next term, instead 
 of difficult. That is, help to make them so. No 
 one but myself, Leek, knows what I have to 
 battle with. Sometimes I think it is wearing 
 me out." 
 
 "Are you ill ? " exclaimed Leek, suddenly 
 noticing, now that they were in the sunlight, the 
 peculiarly worn look on the quiet and refined face, 
 
 " I am not very well. Perhaps I may give up 
 my post in the college." 
 
 "I say, though, you don't mean that! Are 
 we boys driving you aw r ay ? " 
 
 " That, and other things. I don't know how 
 it will be yet. But if I remain, I must get you 
 all to behave differently." 
 
 c< And so we will," cried Leek, in a generous 
 fit of repentance, and some shame ; as he re- 
 membered the impediments it had been their 
 delight to throw in the way of the foreign 
 master, and how patiently he had borne it all. 
 Leek could not help being struck with the look 
 of goodness, of truth, in the face before him, 
 though it might never have struck him -particu- 
 larly before ; and it suddenly occurred to him 
 to wonder whether they had been mistaken on 
 
320 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 sundry little matters. A man who has just 
 treated us to a good dinner can't be a bad man. 
 
 " Mr. Henry, was it you that told of the seniors 
 smoking, when there was a row last autumn 
 term ? " he asked impulsively. 
 
 " It was not. I answered this at the time." 
 
 " Then I'm blest if I don't believe it was 
 Lamb, after all ! He's a beauty. And I dare 
 say other things that they said of you were as 
 untrue ? " 
 
 " I dare say they were," replied Mr. Henry, 
 smiling. 
 
 " What a jolly shame ! Don't go away because 
 of us, Mr. Henry. It was all Trace's fault." 
 
 " Ay. Good-bye," he kindly added, as he 
 walked away to catch an omnibus that would 
 take him to Orville. 
 
 He went to Mrs. Paradyne's on his arrival 
 there. That lady was alone, evidently in a very 
 aggrieved temper. She sat in her usual place on 
 the sofa, in a once handsome but now faded 
 muslin gown, trimmed with sea-green ribbons. 
 Her bonnet lay on the table. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " inquired Mr. Henry. 
 
 " The matter is that Mary has not come home, 
 and she knows she was to have gone out with 
 me," was Mrs. Paradyne's fretful answer. " I 
 
MR. LEEK IN CONVULSIONS. 321 
 
 can't think what is keeping her. Mrs. Hill 
 should not do it." 
 
 He sat down by her on the sofa, reached out 
 his pocket-book, and gave her five of the bank- 
 notes lying in it. " I took my translation in 
 to-day," was all he said. Mrs. Paradyne began 
 counting them. She looked up. 
 
 " I thought you were to receive thirty pounds 
 for it. You have always said so." 
 
 " I did receive thirty. But " 
 
 " You have given me only twenty-five," came 
 the quick interruption ; and the tone was not a 
 pleasant one. 
 
 " I have kept one of the notes. I am sorry to 
 have to do so, but I want it." 
 
 " Want it for what ? " she asked, with a sur- 
 prised stress upon the word. " Only a day or 
 two ago you informed me you had no need of 
 money just now." 
 
 " True. I will tell you if you wish particularly 
 to know," he continued ; for she was looking at 
 him questioningly, and evidently waiting for the 
 information, as one who had a right to it. " You 
 have heard me speak of Carl Weber." 
 
 " That great friend and fellow-professor of 
 yours at Heidelberg. Well ? " 
 
 " I had a letter from him yesterday, telling me 
 
 Orvillc College. 21 
 
322 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 how much worse he is, and that his malady is 
 now confirmed beyond doubt — consumption. I 
 had another letter ; it was from young Von Sark, 
 who happened to write to me. He spoke of 
 Weber in it ; of the sad state of privation he is 
 in, of the inroads disease is making, and of his 
 almost utter want of friends. He has been ill so 
 long that people have grown tired of assisting 
 him. A five-pound note will lighten his way to 
 death." 
 
 Mrs. Paradyne made no dissenting answer; 
 but she was evidently not pleased. Taking out 
 her purse with almost an unladylike jerk, she 
 shut the five bank-notes into it with a sharp 
 click. 
 
 " I cannot help it," said Mr. Henry in low 
 tones. " He is in great need ; and friendless. It 
 seems to be a duty placed before me." 
 
 " Has he been improvident, that he should not 
 have saved ? " asked Mrs. Paradyne. 
 
 " No ; his salary was small, and he had his 
 mother to keep," was Mr. Henry's reply, looking 
 away from Mrs. Paradyne for a moment. " She 
 died two months ago ; the last of his relatives." 
 
 " Well, your giving away a bank-note more or 
 less is of little consequence," resumed Mrs. Para- 
 dyne, in a displayed sort of resignation, but 
 
MR. LEEK IN CONVULSIONS. 323 
 
 which bore a sound of irony to initiated ears. 
 " You will not earn many more bank-notes, if you 
 persist in your insane resolution of speaking to 
 Dr. Brabazon." 
 
 "I have told you why I must do that," he 
 gently said ; " do not let us go over the matter 
 again. As soon as he returns from Malvern, I 
 shall declare all. I have no resource but to do 
 it, and no argument can now change my resolu- 
 tion." 
 
 " Or bring you to your senses," retorted Mrs. 
 Paradyne. 
 
 " I have something to tell you that will please 
 you very much," he resumed, quitting the other 
 subject. 
 
 Mrs. Paradyne lifted her delicate hands in 
 deprecation, as if nothing could ever please her 
 again. 
 
 " It's a story of George's bravery. He has been 
 saving the life of young Loftus." 
 
324 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE, 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 TOLD AT LAST. 
 
 In passing the college-gates on his way home- 
 wards, after quitting Mrs. Paradyne, Mr. Henry, 
 very much to his surprise, saw Dr. Brabazon 
 going in. No further explanation had taken 
 place between them; for the doctor had been 
 staying at Malvern with his daughters. He 
 held out his hand to the young German 
 master. 
 
 "You are looking as much astonished as if 
 you thought I was my own ghost/' cried he, 
 jestingly. 
 
 "Well, sir, I should almost as soon have 
 expected to see it. I thought you were at 
 Malvern." 
 
 " A little matter of business brought me up I 
 go back to-morrow." 
 
 " To-morrow ! " echoed Mr. Henry. " Can you 
 let me speak to you before you return ? y he 
 continued on sudden impulse. 
 
TOLD AT LAST. 
 
 325 
 
 "Certainly. Come in with me now if you 
 like." 
 
 Dr. Brabazon led the way to his favourite 
 room, the study, and they sat down there in the 
 subdued light of the summer's evening. The sun 
 had set ; a crimson glow lingered in the west, 
 and the evening star shone in the clear sky. 
 Perhaps Mr. Henry was glad of the semi-light ; 
 it is the most welcome of all for an embarrassing 
 interview. 
 
 " I have been anxious for you to return," he 
 began in lpw, distinct tones. " I did not like to 
 make my communication to you by letter, and 
 yet there was little time to spare." 
 
 " Why so ? " interrupted the master. 
 
 " Because, sir, you may have occasion to 
 look out for some one to replace me in the 
 college." 
 
 " Are you going to leave ? " 
 
 " Not of my own accord ; but you will in all 
 probability dismiss me when you have heard my 
 confession." 
 
 He made a pause, but the doctor, waiting for 
 more, did not break it. They were, as usual, 
 near the window, and what light there was fell 
 full on Mr. Henry His hands lay on his knee, 
 listless ; his face was bent, in its sad earnestness, 
 
326 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 towards the master. A strange look of contrition 
 was upon it. 
 
 "I hardly know "which you would deem the 
 greater crime, Dr. Brabazon," he resumed ; " the 
 theft you were led to suspect me of, or the real 
 offence of which I am guilty. I have not stolen 
 property ; but my whole life since I came here 
 has been one long deceit/' 
 
 " Why, what can you mean ? " exclaimed the 
 doctor, who had nearly forgotten that there 
 remained anything to explain, and was again 
 putting full trust in his German master. 
 
 " Deceit especially to you, and in a degree to 
 others," came the reply. " I am not Mr. Henry. 
 Henry is only one of my Christian names. I am 
 Arthur Paradyne." 
 
 The doctor sat staring. " You are — ■ — 1 
 don't understand," he cried, breaking off in hope- 
 less bewilderment. 
 
 " I am Arthur Henry Paradyne, son to the 
 unfortunate gentleman who was associated with 
 the firm of Loftus & Trace in Liverpool ; son to 
 Mrs. Paradyne ; brother to Mary and George." 
 
 " Why, bless my heart ! " slowly exclaimed 
 the master, when he had taken in the sense of 
 the words ; and then he came to a full stop, and 
 fell into bewilderment again. 
 
TOLD AT LAST. 
 
 327 
 
 " I never intended to deceive you — never ! " 
 resumed the young man. " When I came over 
 to enter on the situation here, I fully meant to 
 disclose to you that I was Arthur Paradyne. 
 The name had not been concealed by any pre- 
 meditation ; but — if I ma}^ so express it — in the 
 ordinary course of things. I was always called 
 ' Henry ' at the University, and in the town of 
 Heidelberg. My father at one time was living- 
 there ; he was Mr. Paradyne with the Germans — 
 for they often forgot to give him his title of 
 captain — I, by way of distinction, was called Mr. 
 Henry. It is a foreign custom. In my case it 
 grew into use ; and before I left Heidelberg, I 
 believe three parts of the people there had for- 
 gotten I possessed any other name. I was 
 willing it should be so forgotten ;' after that 
 terrible calamity in Liverpool, Paradyne was a 
 tainted name ; and I took no pains to recall it tc 
 any one, friend or stranger. Can you wonder at 
 it, sir?" 
 
 " Go on/' cried Dr. Brabazon, giving no direct 
 answer to the question. 
 
 " The negotiations for my coming here were 
 made between you and Professor Von Sark, one 
 of our chiefs. You wrote to request him to supply 
 you with a master who could teach French and 
 
328 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 German. He knew I was wishing to do better 
 for myself, in point of remuneration, than I was 
 doing in the University, and proposed it to me. 
 It was what I had long wanted, and I begged 
 him to accept it for me. Until the negotiations 
 were concluded, I did not know that he had 
 throughout written of me by the name of Henry, 
 and by that only. It did not matter much, I 
 thought ; I could explain when I came." 
 
 " And why did you not ? " * 
 
 "Ah! there lies my sin," was the somewhat 
 emotional answer : and the head-master thought 
 the young man before him was taking almost 
 an exaggerated view of his offence. " The first 
 evening of my arrival, there w T as no opportunity : 
 many were coming and going, and you were 
 fully occupied; but when I heard myself 
 addressed in my own tongue as 'Mr. Henry/ 
 when you so introduced me to your daughter and 
 to the masters, my face flushed with shame : it 
 was so like premeditated deceit. I should have 
 told you that night but for the bustle that arose 
 in consequence of the accident to Talbot : it took 
 all opportunity away. The next morning the 
 bustle continued ; Talbot's friends came ; the 
 doctors came; it seemed that you had not a 
 minute for me. In the afternoon arose that 
 
TOLD AT LAST. 
 
 329 
 
 unpleasantness connected with the discover} 7 that 
 George Paradyne was — who he was; rendering- 
 it all the more essential for me to declare myself. 
 But still I could not get the opportunity : the 
 story would have been a long one : and I wished 
 to consult you as to whether I might not still be 
 generally known as Mr. Henry. Do you recol- 
 lect, sir, my meeting you in the stone corridor 
 just after tea, and asking if I could speak to 
 you ? 
 
 " I think I do. I was in a hurry, I know, at 
 the moment ■ for I had business at the railway- 
 station." 
 
 " Yes ; you were going out, and said quickly 
 to me, ' Another time, Mr. Henry, another time.' 
 I went down to Mrs. Paradyne's that evening, 
 and she — my mother — utterly forbade me to dis- 
 close it. ' Did I want to ruin them all ? ' she 
 asked. Was it likely that I, Arthur Paradyne's 
 son, should be retained at my post to teach the 
 college boys, when a question had arisen whether 
 George might be even allowed to study with 
 them ? It was a doubt that had never before 
 struck me; it staggered me now. My mother 
 took a different view of it. The fact of my 
 being a Paradyne could not make any difference 
 to the boys, or render me less efficient as a 
 
330 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE 
 
 master, she urged, so long as they were ignorant 
 of it. It was only by the knowledge that harm 
 could come. Well ; I yielded. I yielded, know- 
 ing how mistaken the reasoning was, utter 
 sophistry ; knowing how wrong a part I should 
 be playing; but she was very urgent, and — > 
 she was my mother. There's my secret, Dr, 
 Brabazon." 
 
 "A secret truly," observed the head-master, 
 leaning back in his chair, whilst he revolved the 
 tale. 
 
 " The weight of it has half killed me," returned 
 Mr. Henry, lifting his hand to his head, as if he 
 felt a pain there. " At any moment discovery 
 was liable to fall, bringing disgrace in its train. 
 It was not so much that I felt— or feared — as 
 the actual deceit itself. My life was a living lie, 
 every moment one of acted duplicity : I, set up 
 m a post of authorit} 7 , to guide and train others ! 
 When the school broke up for Christmas I begged 
 my mother to withdraw her embargo, and let 
 me speak then, but she would not. She would 
 see about it when George had passed his Oxford 
 examination, she said, not before. It is not with 
 her full consent that I speak now; but I laid 
 the only two alternatives before her — to declare 
 myself or leave the college — and she allowed me 
 
TOLD AT LAST. 
 
 331 
 
 to speak as the lesser evil. In any case I may- 
 have to leave." 
 
 "Well see; well see: I think not. Why 
 should you ? " added the master, apparently put- 
 ting the question to himself, or to the four walls 
 of the room, but not to Mr. Henry. " I am glad 
 to see young men respect the wishes of their 
 mother." 
 
 And Mr. Henry's respect for his — that is, his 
 sense of the law of filial obedience — was un- 
 usually great. But he did not say so. 
 
 "What a trouble that past business of your 
 father's must have been to you ! " exclaimed the 
 doctor, whose thoughts were roving backwards. 
 
 Trouble ! Mr. Henry shrank at the word, as 
 relating to it, even now. " It took every ray of 
 sunshine out of my life," he breathed. 
 
 " No, no • not every one/' said the master, 
 kindly. 
 
 H For a long, long time every ray of hope — of 
 life I may say — went out of me. And now my 
 — my hope lies elsewhere ; there's not much of 
 it left for daily use." 
 
 "Where does it lie?" questioned the head- 
 master, rather puzzled. 
 
 The young man gave no answer, unless a 
 sudden hectic that flushed his face, and was 
 
332 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 discernible even in the fading light, could be 
 called an answer. One, looking down at him 
 from beyond that tranquil sky, grey now, knew 
 where it lay, and what it was vested in. 
 
 " I had revered my father as the most honour- 
 able, just, good man living," he resumed, in a low 
 tone ; " a Christian man, a brave officer and 
 gentleman ; and when the blow came it seemed 
 to stun me — to take away everything that was 
 worth living for." 
 
 He spoke only according to the truth. The 
 blow was great. 
 
 " Have you been assisting your mother ? " 
 asked the doctor, remembering the stories 
 carried to him of Mr. Henry's saving habits. 
 
 " Oh yes." 
 
 "Ay," said the master, as if this explained 
 all. 
 
 Few young men have their hopes blighted on 
 the very threshold of life as his had been. His 
 prospects came suddenly to an end with the 
 shock. Not a doubt of his father's guilt had 
 penetrated his mind. The particulars, as written 
 to him circumstantially by Mrs. Paradyne, did 
 not admit of doubt. He had been working for 
 them ever since. Mrs. Paradyne had a very 
 small income of her own, not much more than 
 
TOLD AT LAST. 
 
 333 
 
 enough to find her in gloves and ribbons and a 
 new silk gown once in a way. Arthur (with 
 what little help her daughter could give) had 
 to do the rest. And she was not kind to him. 
 Perhaps it was the long separation — he over in 
 Germany, she in England — that estranged her 
 affections from him, her eldest son. In time he 
 wrote word to her that he had accepted an 
 engagement in England, at Orville College, and 
 suggested that George should be moved to it. 
 He had two ends in view — the one the advantage 
 of the boy ; the other that he might get some 
 intercourse with his mother and sister. He knew 
 how he should have to toil and pinch to meet 
 the additional expenses, but that seemed nothing. 
 A shadow of what the future was to be fell over 
 him before he had quitted Heidelberg ; for on the 
 morning of his departure there came a letter 
 from Mrs. Paradyne warning him not to make 
 himself known as Georges brother or as her son 
 at first, until they should have met and talked 
 the matter over. They did meet. On the even- 
 ing following that of Mr. Henry's arrival he 
 went to her house, as perhaps may be remem- 
 bered, since Mr. Raymond Trace chose, in a sense, 
 to assist at it. During that interview he had 
 a Jesson taught him — that the future was to be 
 
334 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 estrangement, or something akin to it, between 
 him and his family. He was to continue " Mr. 
 Henry," never to disclose himself as a Paradyne, 
 lest the authorities at the college should carp at 
 it ; in which case his means of assisting them at 
 home might cease. He saw how it was — that 
 he was valued only according to the amount 
 he could contribute to their support. His 
 generous love was thrown back upon him ; his 
 impulses of tenderness were repulsed ; he was to 
 be an acquaintance rather than a son. Mrs. 
 Paradyne w r as resentful at his having counselled 
 their removal to Orville, now that it was found 
 Trace and the Loftus boys were in the college, 
 which was manifestly unjust. Something very 
 like a dispute took place about the proposed con- 
 cealment of name. He refused to conceal it from 
 Dr. Brabazon ; she insisted that he should do so. 
 He yielded at last : she was his mother : but he 
 went away from the house wondering whether 
 he had not better return to Germany. Thus it 
 had gone on. Mr. Henry — or Arthur Paradyne, if 
 you would prefer to call him so — bearing his 
 burden as he best might, and toiling patiently to 
 fulfil the obligation he cheerfully accepted as his 
 own ; an obligation he never thought of repining 
 at. His heart felt crushed ; his mind was 
 
TOLD AT LAST. 
 
 335 
 
 weighed down ; but he only feared lest his health 
 should fail and the dear ones suffer. 
 
 " Look you/' interrupted Dr. Brabazon, rousing 
 himself from a reverie ; u you must remain as 
 f Mr. Henry ' for the present. The fact that you 
 are Arthur Paradyne does not hurt the boys; 
 but declaring it suddenly would cause a commo- 
 tion that might lead to I don't know what. Until 
 Christmas, at any rate, things shall go on as 
 usual. The competition for the Orville will then 
 be over ; and really, for my part, I don't see why 
 you should not drop the name of Paradyne, if it 
 pleases you to do so. No, I don't," added the 
 doctor, contesting the point with himself, as if he 
 were disputing it with an antagonist ; " and I 
 don't see what business it is of other people's, or 
 why any one should carp at it. So that's settled. 
 You are Mr. Henry still. But I wish you had 
 disclosed the truth at the beginning. It would 
 have made no difference." 
 
 "I wish I could have done it, sir," he said, 
 rising to take leave. " The concealment has told 
 upon me. Thank you ever for your kindness to 
 me this evening, Dr. Brabazon." 
 
 " I call that young man the victim of circum- 
 stances," thought the master. " It's a good, true, 
 and earnest nature, I am sure ; and " 
 
336 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Dr. Brabazon s words came to a standstill, as 
 he followed into the hall. There was Mr. Henry 
 propped against the front-door, instead of letting 
 himself out according to the custom of everyday 
 mortals. 
 
 " Why, what's the matter ? " exclaimed the 
 startled doctor, as the rays of the house-lamp fell 
 on a white face of suffering. 
 
 Mr. Henry rallied himself, and apologized with 
 a smile. He had only felt a little faint : it was 
 over now. 
 
 A little faint ! But he did not mention that 
 sharp pain, that strange fluttering at the heart, 
 which seemed so often to follow any extra 
 emotion or exertion ; and this day had brought 
 plenty of both for him. However, it was gone 
 now. 
 
 "Here, don't fly off in that haste," cried the 
 doctor, going out after him. '' Don't you think 
 you ought to have advice for that faintness ? " he 
 asked, as Mr. Henry turned. 
 
 " Yes, perhaps I ought." 
 
 "I should. You have been working your 
 strength away. Good-night." 
 
 Mr. Henry hastened home, wrote a short letter 
 to his sick friend Weber, enclosed the bank-note, 
 and went out to post it. As he emerged from 
 
TOLD AT LAST. 
 
 337 
 
 the short shrubbery, skirting the chapel, and 
 gained the road, he saw, to his surprise, Dick 
 Loffcus. 
 
 " Why, Dick ! Are you home again ? " 
 
 " Got home to dinner/' equably answered Dick, 
 his mouth full of sweetmeat he had come down 
 from Pond Place to buy. " We had a stunning 
 passage ; boat pitching like mad, and uncle 
 Simon and old Gall lit to die. Will you have 
 some ? " he asked, exhibiting the stuff in his 
 hand. " It's Gibraltar rock." 
 
 " Not I, Dick, thank you. I should have 
 thought you too old to eat that." 
 
 "Am I, though?" said Dick, biting a huge 
 morsel of the tempting compound. " It's jolly. 
 I say, how's Mother Butter ? " 
 
 " She's jolly," replied Mr. Henry, laughing. 
 
 " Give my respectful compliments to her, and 
 tell her I've come home. Do, please, Mr. 
 Henry." 
 
 Dick disappeared with a careless " good-night " 
 that rang out joyously in the evening air. Mr. 
 Henry, having missed the opportunity to ask 
 about his perilous bath at Boulogne, went on to 
 the railway-station, and dropped his letter into 
 the box. There was a popular superstition 
 obtaining, that letters posted there went quick, 
 
 Orville College. 22 
 
338 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 more quickly than if posted at the grocer's in 
 the village. He was taking the middle of the 
 road back, Sir Simon's grounds on one side, the 
 plantation on the other, — when fleet footsteps 
 came running behind him, and a pair of light 
 hands were laid upon his coat. He turned to see 
 his sister. 
 
 "Mary! What brings you here so late as 
 this ? " 
 
 She laughed as she explained : she was in a 
 merry mood. Mrs. Hill had taken them out a 
 little way into the country, and they missed the 
 train they ought to have come back by, and had 
 only now got in. She could not help it, and she 
 was running home to mamma and mamma's dis- 
 pleasure. 
 
 " You will catch it," said Mr. Henry, with 
 comic seriousness. " The mother had her things 
 on in the afternoon, waiting for you to go out 
 with her. Is that safe, Mary ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes. Just for once, Arthur." 
 
 For she linked her arm within his. Mr. Henry 
 looked round on the lonely road. "All right," 
 he said, " there's no one about. I have not had 
 you on my arm for a long while." 
 
 Was there no one about ? Mr. Eaymond 
 Trace, finding Pond Place insupportably dull on 
 
TOLD AT LAST. 
 
 339 
 
 his return, had come forth by way of a diversion, 
 to see any little thing there might be to see. 
 And was thus rewarded. Raymond Trace was in 
 an ill-humour with the world. Certain events 
 in Boulogne — the presence of George Paradyne, 
 in the first place; and his elevation in the favour 
 of not only Sir Simon and the Galls, but of Mr. 
 Loftus — had been insufferably offensive to him. 
 And this girl was the sister ! Crossing the road 
 with soft steps, as if he were treading upon eggs, 
 he followed them, keeping well under the shadow 
 of the hedge. He could see they were talking 
 earnestly together, and would have given one of 
 his ears to be able to hear. Truth to say, the 
 evident intimacv astonished Mr. Trace not a 
 little ; he thought he had come upon a mighty 
 secret, not creditable to the assistant-master at 
 Orville College, or to any other subordinate 
 individual, that might indulge in such. 
 
 " The worst is over, Mary," Mr. Henry was 
 saying. " Dr. Brabazon is at home, and I have 
 told him." 
 
 " Oh, Arthur ! " she exclaimed. " But I am 
 thankful it is done at last. What is the result ? 
 —your dismissal ? " 
 
 u Quite the contrary. He was all kindness. 
 I am to remain on as Mr. Henry. He says he 
 
340 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 does not see why I should not adopt the name 
 for good, and discard the other one. Will you 
 tell mamma this ? " 
 
 " Yes, I'll tell her. It will be a relief; she has 
 been dreading the communication like a night- 
 mare. And so you will stay on ? " 
 
 " If my strength permits me. Sometimes I 
 doubt it." 
 
 A sharp pang darted through her. u Arthur, 
 it grieves me that you should work as you do, 
 and yet meet with no reward. Mamma is not 
 what she ought to be to you ; I have told 
 her so." 
 
 " Hush, child ! it is the pleasure of my life 
 to work for you all. I wish I could do 
 more." 
 
 " I wish we were more grateful," came Miss 
 Paradyne's impulsive answer. " George and I 
 feel it terribly, Arthur. You should hear him 
 break out every now and then to mamma." 
 
 He interrupted her : he never would allow a 
 word of reflection on his mother : and began the 
 story of George's bravery, as related to him by 
 Leek. They did not meet a soul : that road was 
 always lonely at night. Miss Paradyne stopped 
 when they drew near the end, when the lighted 
 shops were in view in the distance. 
 
TOLD AT LAST. 
 
 341 
 
 " You must not come any farther with me, 
 Arthur. I shall run home in no time." 
 
 She withdrew her arm, but he stood yet a 
 minute talking, holding her hand in his. Then 
 he bent his face on hers for a farewell kiss (not 
 a soul was about, you know), watched her away, 
 and turned homewards. 
 
 Mr. Trace came out of the hedge's friendly 
 shade, trencher first, in a glow of virtuous 
 amazement. He had seen the signs of familiar 
 intercourse ; he had certainly seen the kiss ; and 
 his indignant feelings could only relieve them- 
 selves in a burst of words that might have been 
 more characteristic of Dick. 
 
 " Well, this is a go ! " 
 
342 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 sir simon's visitor. 
 
 Once more the school had met, and were at work 
 with a will. Ah, this was the real trial — that 
 could occur but once in three full years — the 
 competition for the Orville prize. Masters and 
 candidates were alike on their mettle, making 
 stern preparation for it. It was no child's play. 
 Gall, Lof tus, Trace, Savage, Brown major, Whitby ^ 
 Talbot, and Paradyne, were going up for it. 
 
 Who would win ? Some thought one would, 
 some another ; opinions were divided, a whisper 
 of bets reigned. Gall openly avowed he did not 
 expect to get it, Bertie Loftus made no secret of 
 not really trying : they chose to go up for it as 
 the seniors of the school, but they were regarded 
 as virtuallj 7 out of the contest. The more general 
 impression was that the real contest would lie 
 between Trace and Paradyne. 
 
 And none were more conscious that this was 
 likely to prove a fact than Trace himself. He 
 
SIR SIMON'S VISITOR. 
 
 343 
 
 was afraid of Paradyne. In spite of Trace's vain 
 self-esteem, there was a disagreeable conviction 
 within him that in the trial Paradyne's scholar- 
 ship might weigh down his own. A bitter pill 
 of anticipation for Trace to swallow from any 
 competitor : but from Paradyne — words could 
 not express his angry indignation: and he felt 
 inclined to question the divine ordering of events 
 that should have brought that one miserable 
 unit of creation in this offensive antagonism 
 with him. 
 
 Ten times a-day he said to himself that it 
 ought not to be. He was quite honest in think- 
 ing this : he believed he was just ; for he saw 
 things with a jaundiced eye. The son of the 
 man who had so signally failed in his duty to 
 the world in general, and to his father and Mr. 
 Loftus in particular, was out of place in Orville 
 College, the associate of honest gentlemen. It 
 had however pleased Dr. Brabazon to keep him 
 in it, and Trace thought himself worthy of a 
 gold medal at least for having buried the secret 
 of the past from the school. The far-famed duel 
 in Boulogne had become public property, to the 
 raging mortification of the two duellists, who 
 were chaffed unmercifully, and grew to wish that 
 duels had never been invented. The rescue of 
 
344 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Dick Loftus also spread from mouth to mouth, 
 and Paradyne was lauded as some young god 
 descended from Olympus. All so much heart- 
 burning for Trace. He had bitterly rebelled at 
 the favour shown to Paradyne in Boulogne, 
 asking what brought him there at all ; what 
 right he had there. He seemed fated to be 
 hunted by this Paradyne everywhere : a second 
 case of Faust and Mephistopheles. All that was 
 bad enough, but Trace, doing violence to his own 
 feelings, had passed it over. What, he began to 
 ask himself now, was — ought this fellow, this 
 waif of low descent, to be allowed to go in for 
 the Orville prize — the prize that all were burning 
 to gain, either for honour or money. Trace 
 pondered the question very seriously, and mean- 
 while fanned the ill-feeling against Paradyne, 
 which had been buried, into a smoulderino- 
 heat, that might burst at any moment into a 
 flame. 
 
 He fanned something else — -and that was a 
 vague rumour reflecting on Mr. Henry. That 
 gentleman's name became connected with Miss 
 Paradyne's in anything but a pleasant manner : 
 but as yet only by hints and innuendoes; the 
 school had got hold of nothing tangible. Bertie 
 Loftus asked Trace what the matter was, but 
 
SIR SIMON'S VISITOR. 
 
 345 
 
 Trace did not define it. " A bad lot, those Para- 
 dynes," he answered, drawing down the corners 
 of his respectable lips : a and the German is in 
 league with them." A terrible score had Trace 
 against Mr. Henry, if only from the fact that he 
 continued to assist, or, as Trace phrased it, to 
 coach Paradyne : but for that, Paradyne had 
 never stood a chance of wresting the Orvillc 
 prize from deserving fingers. And so, in this 
 uncomfortable and uncertain state, the time 
 went on. 
 
 One afternoon when October was passing, and 
 the great day of decision, the First of November, 
 was drawing near, it happened that in a very 
 difficult Greek lesson, Trace did badly, Paradyne 
 markedly well. They were before the head- 
 master, and he said a few rather sharp words to 
 Trace, whose failure he attributed to carelessness, 
 about allowing one younger to outstrip him. 
 " You'll stand no chance against him, Trace, if 
 you can't do better than this," added the doctor. 
 Perhaps he spoke lightly, without much thought ; 
 but Trace took the words to his heart, and let 
 them rankle there. 
 
 When tea was over, he went out alone, de- 
 bating with himself whether he should disclose 
 the past disgrace relating to Paradyne, and so 
 
346 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 stop his going up for the Orville. Trace was of 
 a concentrated nature, and liked this self-com- 
 muning. Pacing the plantation, he thought over 
 the question in all its bearings, and came to the 
 conclusion that to speak was a duty he owed to 
 society, and would be a righteous act in itself 
 This so far settled, he was about to leave the 
 tree, against which his back had been propped 
 for the last five minutes, and to go home, when 
 he saw a man come stealthily from a dark side- 
 path, and look out as if he were waiting for 
 some one. Trace had no objection to a bit of 
 private adventure, especially if it related to other 
 people's business, and remained where he was, on 
 the watch. 
 
 Up came Mr. Henry, making direct for the 
 stranger's hiding-place. That he had come to 
 meet him, was apparent ; and Trace stared with 
 all his eyes into the obscure light. He could not 
 make out much : they passed him very close 
 once, as they were talking together, and he 
 heard a few words from the stranger. 
 
 " I shall stop here, I tell you. The voyage " 
 
 Those were all the distinct words Trace caught 
 then. When they came back again, Mr. Henry 
 was speaking. 
 
 " Of course, if you are determined to remain, I 
 
SIR SIMON'S VISITOR. 
 
 347 
 
 cannot say you shall not : but I fancy you will 
 not succeed. And then, you know, there will be 
 the risk of " 
 
 So far only, this time, before they were out of 
 hearing again. Trace's ears were strained to the- 
 uttermost, but he caught only two words more, 
 and that from the stranger as they were parting : 
 " Mother Butter's." Mr. Henry walked quickly 
 towards home, the man disappeared into the 
 trees the other way, and Trace stayed where he 
 was, revolving the mystery. But he could find 
 no clue to it. 
 
 Clashing footsteps sounded now. One of the 
 boys was tearing home from the railway-station. 
 It was Lamb, with a parcel in his hand, and 
 Trace went to meet him. How it came about, 
 Trace never exactly knew, but while he was 
 saying to himself, " Shall I tell, or shall I not ? " 
 he told, and Lamb was put in possession of the 
 real facts relating to Paradyne : all the past 
 trouble ; the past disgrace ; that he belonged to 
 a family of fraud, and never ought to have been 
 at Orville. Nuts for Mr. Lamb to crack. But, 
 strange to say, no sooner had the secret escaped 
 Trace's lips, than a voice within seemed to warn 
 him that he had done wrong. It was too late to 
 repent ; Lamb went whispering the poison about 
 
348 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 with his stealthy tongue, and the school listened 
 eagerly. 
 
 A few days passed on without explosion. The 
 boj^s met in secret knots to take counsel, and felt 
 half paralyzed at their own audacious words. 
 They talked of mutiny, if Paradyne were allowed 
 to go up for the Orville ; they whispered of re- 
 bellion, if subjected longer to the authority of a 
 master so ill-doing as Mr. Henry. But they did 
 nothing. Not one would undertake the responsi- 
 bility of commencing hostilities, or of speaking 
 to the head-master : it was a practical illustration 
 of the old fable of the mice proposing to bell the 
 cat. And November was close at hand. 
 
 The rumours connecting Mr. Henry's name 
 with Miss Paradyne were by no means pleasant 
 rumours ; not tending to exalt either of them in 
 public opinion. When a young lady could be 
 guilty of taking evening walks with a school 
 usher, and very familiar walks indeed — as Mr. 
 Lamb could testify on Trace's private authority, 
 and did, turning up the whites of his eyes — of 
 course there was no more to be said for her. 
 
 So long as these rumours were confined to the 
 boys they did not affect Miss Paradyne per- 
 sonally ; but circumstances led to their being 
 whispered beyond the college. Mrs. Hill, the 
 
SIR SIMON'S VISITOR. 
 
 349 
 
 lady with whom she had the daily engagement 
 as governess, had gone unexpectedly to Torquay 
 for the winter months, in consequence of the 
 ill-health of one of her children, and Miss Para- 
 dyne had made another engagement with Mrs. 
 Talbot. On the evening previous to the day 
 she was to enter on it, the Earl of Shrewsbury 
 dashed home for a minute, and told his mother 
 confidentially that she must not have Miss 
 Paradyne for the girls ; that it " wouldn't do." 
 
 " Why will it not do?" questioned Mrs. 
 Talbot in surprise. 
 
 u Because it won't." 
 
 "James, to say so much, and no more, is 
 nonsense. You must tell me why." 
 
 But Talbot could not say why. Things had 
 not been made very clear to his understanding. 
 All he knew was, that something was " up " 
 about Miss Paradyne and Mr. Henry. He 
 supposed they were privately engaged ; but the 
 school was in arms against Miss Paradyne, 
 saying she went out walking with him at night, 
 and all sorts of things. She must not be allowed 
 to go there as governess. 
 
 " Don't you think, James, that this is arising 
 out of the ill-feeling entertained for Miss Para- 
 dyne's brother ? " quietly asked Mrs. Talbot. 
 
350 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " No, I don't think it is. Oh, there's a tremen- 
 dous row about him ! — going to be, at any rate," 
 broke off the earl in a parenthesis. u Well, 
 I can't stop, mother mine, but don't you admit 
 Miss Paradyne." 
 
 " Upon what plea can I refuse ? I have 
 engaged her. James — wait a moment. Upon 
 what plea can I refuse, I ask ? " 
 
 James Talbot looked puzzled and rueful. " I'm 
 sure I don't know," he answered, twirling his 
 trencher round and round. " I thought I'd 
 better tell you. I'm afraid they must be a bad 
 lot. Queer things are coming out about the 
 father : and Paradyne is not to go up for the 
 Qrville." 
 
 " Why ? " she exclaimed, half-startled, and 
 beginning to think the affair must be serious. 
 " Not go up for the Orville ! " 
 
 u The school would be in mutiny." 
 
 " James ! " 
 
 " It would. And Trace may make as certain 
 of the prize now as if he'd got it " 
 
 "Is there no chance for you, James?" she 
 asked, rather wistfully. 
 
 He laughed, and shook his head. " I have 
 done my best, but there's not the least hope for 
 any one against Trace. Had Paradyne gone in 
 
SIR SIMON'S VISITOR. 
 
 351 
 
 for it, there'd have been a close struggle between 
 the two — and I don't think victory would have 
 declared for Trace. About the father ? oh, I 
 can't stay to tell you," — preparing to dash off 
 again. " Queer rumours they are." 
 
 Queer indeed, and various ; as whispered 
 about from boy to boj\ The exaggerations 
 were something ludicrous. " Paradyne's father 
 had been hung for murder," "been transported 
 for forgery," " was now serving out his time at 
 Portland Island," and so on. Perhaps Talbot 
 did well not to mention such to his mother. 
 
 He left her in a comfortable state of uncer- 
 tainty. She did not like to disregard the 
 warning altogether, and yet did not like to act 
 upon it. Neither did she see how she could act 
 upon it; and sat on much perplexed. 
 
 " I will put a question or two plainly to Miss 
 Paradyne, when she comes to-morrow, as to 
 whether there is any private acquaintance 
 between her and Mr. Henry," decided Mrs. Talbot 
 at length. " I am convinced the Paradynes are 
 as nice as they can be : and I don't believe 
 a word against the daughter. It's all the work 
 of those envious boys." 
 
 Utterly unconscious of the storm that was 
 brewing, Mary Paradyne looked forward to her 
 
352 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 engagement; and when the morning and the 
 hour dawned to enter on it, she got ready with 
 alacrity. The young are always so full of hope. 
 
 " If the remuneration were only a little better/' 
 exclaimed Mrs. Paradvne, in her half- fretful, 
 half- resigned way. "Three hours a- day, and 
 luncheon and thirty-four shillings a-month ! 
 What is it ? " 
 
 "Dear mamma, it is better than nothing a 
 month," was the cheerful answer. " When I 
 first knew that the Hills were going away, I 
 feared I might be unemployed for the winter. 
 Something better may arise later : and I am sure 
 I shall like Mrs. Talbot. Miss Brabazon dropped 
 me a hint the other day that perhaps they might 
 engage me for Rose." 
 
 She fastened her bonnet, kissed her mother, 
 and went forth with her bright face. It was not 
 far to go ; only a few doors. Mrs. Talbot came 
 to her directly, and entered on her task, which 
 did not seem an agreeable one — that of putting 
 a few questions in regard to her intimacy with 
 Mr. Henry. But, instead of meeting them — as 
 Mrs. Talbot had anticipated she would — in a 
 calm spirit of refutation, the young lady turned 
 red, grew confused, and gave a faint cry of 
 dismay. It had come upon her so suddenly. 
 
SIR SIMON'S VISITOR. 353 
 
 " Believe me, I do not wish to pain you," said 
 Mrs. Talbot, speaking gently in the midst of her 
 surprise. " Neither would I think of inquiring 
 into any particulars that you may prefer not to 
 disclose. Only tell me that there is nothing in 
 the rumour ; that you and Mr. Henry have no — 
 no — acquaintance in common ; that will be quite 
 sufficient." 
 
 " But I cannot tell it you," replied Miss Para- 
 dyne in her straightforward truth. 
 
 " What the college boys have got hold of, I'm 
 sure I am unable to say," resumed Mrs. Talbot, 
 thinking she could not have been understood. 
 " Nothing very grave : the most tangible charge 
 I can make out is, that you have been seen 
 walking with Mr. Henry. There is, of course, no 
 harm in that ; the harm lies in its being done in 
 secret. Can you refute it, Miss Paradyne ? " 
 
 No, she could not : and she w r as growing sick 
 with fear. Not fear for herself: the reproach 
 that might ordinarily be supposed to arise from 
 such a thing, she never so much as glanced at. 
 Her whole thought was for her brother Arthur, 
 lest the concealment of which he had been guilty 
 in regard to his true name, was becoming known. 
 Mrs. Talbot, feeling both grieved and surprised, 
 pressed the question. 
 
 Orville College. 23 
 
354 
 
 O'RVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " I dare say I may have been seen with Mr. 
 Henry : I did not know it," answered Miss Para- 
 dyne, forced into the avowal, and beginning to 
 tremble. Had it only occurred to her to say, 
 "My mother is cognizant of all I do," Mrs. 
 Talbot might have been satisfied : but it did 
 not. 
 
 There was nothing for it but to part. Mrs. 
 Talbot reluctantly said she could not carry out 
 the engagement, and Mary Paradyne went away 
 to bear home her unhappy tale. As she stood at 
 Mrs. Talbot's door, the bright sun shining full 
 upon her, she became aware how long the inter- 
 view had lasted, for the outdoor boys were quit- 
 ting the college after morning school. George 
 was nearly the first of them, and she drew him 
 into the middle of the road. 
 
 "What is the matter?" cried he, perceiving 
 something strange in her countenance. 
 
 "George," she whispered, "you must go to 
 Arthur " 
 
 " To Mr. Henry," interrupted George, correct- 
 ing her. "You are not half as prudent as I am, 
 Mary. I've told you of this before." 
 
 " To Mr. Henry," she mechanically resumed, 
 her heart beating with a great pain. " Tell him 
 to be on his guard, lest he should be taken 
 
SIR SIMON'S VISITOR. 
 
 355 
 
 unawares. Something is oozing out, I am 
 sure; and Mrs. Tablot has declined to receive 
 me." 
 
 "Declined to receive you ! " repeated George, 
 his honest grey eyes flashing anger. 
 
 "She was very kind in the midst of it, but 
 she said there were rumours abroad connected 
 with Mr. Henry, and if I could not refute them, 
 I must not enter on the engagement. I did not 
 quite understand her," added Mary Paradyne, 
 speaking to herself rather than to George : " but 
 you had better go at once and warn Ar — warn — . 
 you know." 
 
 George laughed at the slip, pushed his trencher 
 jauntily aside, and turned back whistling. Knots 
 of the outdoor boys were advancing. Some shot 
 past him with a bound ; some stole by sheepishly, 
 as if ashamed to cut him ; others walked on 
 deliberately and looked straightforward; a few 
 gave him a hard, bold, insolent stare of non- 
 recognition ; and as he went by the quadrangle, 
 the juniors gathered there turned their backs 
 upon him. 
 
 " It's an awful shame that they should send 
 me to Coventry like this," soliloquized George. 
 " If I thought any one of them set the rest on, 
 wouldn't I leather him ! Never mind, gentlemen, 
 
ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 if I do get the Orville, j r ou'll be more civil 
 to me." 
 
 He was clashing into Mr. Henry's room, when 
 Mrs. Butter interposed, rather less crusty than 
 usual. Mr. Henry was engaged at the moment ; 
 he must call asrain. 
 
 "I'll wait in vour kitchen, Mother Butter," 
 said George, who rarely stood on ceremony. 
 
 a Then you can't," answered Mother Butter, 
 with more haste and decision than the case 
 seemed to warrant. il I've my saucepans on the 
 fire, and you'd be upsetting em. There. Be 
 off." 
 
 As if to end the colloquy, Mr. Henry's parlour 
 door opened, and Miss Brabazon came forth. 
 
 " Rely upon me," Mr. Henry said to her in a 
 low tone ; and George wondered. 
 
 They went into the parlour together, the 
 two brothers, and George delivered his sisters 
 message, adding a comment of his own. " I'd 
 give a guinea to know what's up." 
 
 Mr. Henry pondered over it for a few minutes 
 in silence, leaning his head upon his hand. His 
 face was turned to the searching sunlight, and 
 something unusually wan in its aspect struck 
 George. 
 
 " The better plan will be to declare all ; to 
 
SIR SIMON'S VISITOR. 
 
 357 
 
 put away this half-concealment altogether," 
 observed Mr. Henry. " Mary must not be sub- 
 jected to unpleasantness." 
 
 " Only let me get the Orville," observed 
 George, with a vain schoolboy's light boasting. 
 " I'll crow over some of them then." 
 
 " George ! " 
 
 " I know : you are all for meekness and peace. 
 I should like to pay off some of those fellows. 
 Will you believe that I met half the classes 
 coming here, and not a soul of the whole lot 
 spoke to me ? Something new is arising. I've 
 seen it this week past." 
 
 " I have seen it, too," was Mr. Henry's reply. 
 "George, I used to say you would live this down 
 by dint of time and patience; I thought just 
 after vou got back from France that the time 
 had nearly come. But I have my doubts now. 
 I wish I could have helped you better. Well, 
 I'll think about this matter, and decide on some- 
 thing. You go home to your dinner now." 
 
 Nothing loth to obey, for dinner was as wel- 
 come to him as it is to most schoolboys, George 
 was quitting the room, when Mrs. Butter entered 
 with a small tray, a basin of bread-and-milk on 
 its white cloth. She put it before Mr. Henry 
 and went out again. 
 
358 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " I say/ 5 cried George, " that's not your dinner, 
 is it ? Why, it's nothing but bread-and-milk ! " 
 
 " My appetite is going strangely," observed 
 Mr. Henry. " Slops seem to suit me best 
 now." 
 
 George's great grey eyes flashed out a look of 
 yearning. " Arthur ! you have been starving 
 yourself for us — that we may have plenty." 
 
 " Don't be indiscreet ; there's no Arthur here," 
 returned Mr. Henry, with a light smile. " I am 
 eating bread-and-milk to-day, George, because I 
 feel ill : that's all. Run home." 
 
 Easily reassured — as it was in his age and 
 nature to be — George Paradyne went flying off! 
 In turning the angle by the chapel at a sharp 
 canter, he came full tilt against Sir Simon 
 Orville, who was walking towards his home. 
 
 " Halloa, young sir ! Don't run me down. 1 
 am not a ship." 
 
 George laughed, begged his pardon, and was 
 passing on, when Sir Simon stopped him. 
 
 " Here, George : don't fly off again as if you 
 were wound up by machinery. What is this 
 matter about your not going up for the 
 Orville ? " 
 
 <c I don't understand you, Sir Simon." 
 
 " Are you going up for it ? " 
 
SIR SIMON'S VISITOR. 
 
 359 
 
 " Of course I am, sir. I should like to get it, 
 too. And I don't say I shan't/' he concluded, 
 laughing. 
 
 " Why, what did those young simpletons mean, 
 then ? " cried the knight. " I met a lot of them 
 just now, and Dick Loftus whispered to me you 
 were not going up for the Orville." 
 
 " It is a mistake," said George. " Not that I 
 should go up if the fellows could prevent me. 
 But they can't, you know, sir. Good-bye, Sir 
 imon. 
 
 Sir Simon went on, the matter passing from 
 his mind. Turning into his own grounds, he 
 had been busying himself for some time amidst 
 his cherished autumn flowers, when a servant 
 came out, having apparently just seen him from 
 the house. 
 
 "A gentleman is waiting to see yon, Sir 
 >imon. 
 
 " Bless me," cried Sir Simon, who was too 
 kind-hearted, too simple-minded, ever to keep 
 people waiting unnecessarily, gentle or simple. 
 Who is it, Thomas ? " 
 
 " I don't know, sir. He came in a cab with 
 a portmanteau. He looks like a traveller." 
 
 Sir Simon went trotting off as fast as his short 
 le£>'s would go. The servant went after him. 
 
3C0 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 "It is not Mr. Loftus, Thomas, I suppose? 
 You'd know him." 
 
 " Oh dear, no, sir, it's not Mr. Loftus. It is 
 somebody older than Mr. Loftus." 
 
 Thomas went forward and held open the door 
 for his master to enter. In the tessellated hall, 
 with its bright painted windows throwing out 
 their rich colours in the sunlight, Sir Simon saw 
 a portmanteau and a cloak. He turned to the 
 door on the right, and entered. 
 
 The traveller sat in the shade of the spacious 
 room, the green blinds closely drawn behind 
 him, and for a moment Sir Simon did not recog- 
 nize him. The stranger : a slight elderly man, 
 wearing silver-rimmed spectacles : rose quietly 
 and offered his hand. 
 
 " Don't you know me, Simon ? " 
 
 ft Why — mv goodness me! It's Robert Trace ? ' 
 
( '361 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 MR. TRACE EXPLAINS. 
 
 They sat alone, talking of the present and the 
 past. 
 
 Sir Simon had never been very fond of his 
 brother-in-law ; but, to see him alive, after so 
 long a period of no news, was a great relief ; and 
 he gave him a cordial welcome. Mr. Trace 
 spoke of his unfortunate losses in the United 
 States, but did not go into details ; at least, into 
 details that Sir Simon could make much of. 
 The great scheme, about which he had been so 
 sanguine, had failed, miserably failed, almost 
 before it was organized : and the thousand 
 pounds, so generously sent out to him by Sir 
 Simon, had been swallowed up in the vortex, 
 together with his own funds. After that, he 
 had gone to New York, trying, trying ever since, 
 to redeem his position. He could not do it, and 
 had now come back to Europe, penniless. 
 
 " I thought that Boston affair wa3 a good one, 
 
362 
 
 OKVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 or I should not have sent the money out/' 
 observed Sir Simon. " How came it to fail ? " 
 
 " Mismanagement partly; partly ill-luck/' was 
 the answer of Mr. Trace, curtly delivered. 
 
 u Not your mismanagement, surely ? " cried Sir 
 Simon, who had the highest opinion of his 
 brother-in-law as a business-man. 
 
 "Mismanagement altogether. It was a great 
 deal Hopper's fault. I was a fool ever to have 
 made him secretary to the affair, or to give him 
 power/' added Mr. Trace, with unmistakable 
 animus. " Set a beggar on horseback and we 
 know where he'll ride to.'' 
 
 " What Hopper ? " asked Sir Simon, struck 
 with the name. 
 
 " What Hopper ! " was the tart retort, as if Sir 
 Simon's question were superfluous— as indeed 
 the hearer thought it. Mr. Trace had never 
 been "a good-tempered man. 
 
 a Surely you don't mean the young man who 
 was clerk to you in Liverpool ! " cried Sir Simon. 
 " What took him to America ? " 
 
 Robert Trace raised his eyes from their moody 
 stare on the ground and glanced at his brother- 
 in-law. " You knew Hopper was at Boston 
 with me ! " 
 
 " Not I. How should I know it ? I have 
 
MR. TRACE EXPLAINS. 363 
 
 never heard of the young man from the time of 
 the break-up at Liverpool." 
 
 A. minute's perplexed gaze, and then Robert 
 Trace dropped his eyes again. He had made a 
 false move. But that he had supposed Sir Simon 
 knew of his ex-clerk's presence in America, he 
 had certainly not mentioned him. 
 
 " Hopper told me, more than once, that he 
 wrote to you from Boston, Simon." 
 
 " Henever did — to my knowledge. What took 
 him out there ? " 
 
 " I don't know "—and Mr. Trace's tone changed 
 to quiet civility, the same tone that used to 
 strike on Sir Simon's ear with a false ring. " He 
 walked into the office one morning in Boston, to 
 my great surprise, and asked me if I could help 
 him to employment. It happened that I had 
 been wishing for a clever secretary, or sub- 
 manager, under myself, an Englishman if I could 
 get him ; and I gave Hopper the place. He was 
 sharp, intelligent, up to the work, and had served 
 us well in Liverpool." 
 
 "And by way of rewarding you, he made 
 ducks and drakes of your money and mine ! " 
 
 "He turned out as great a rogue as ever 
 stepped," exclaimed Mr. Trace, an angry red 
 tingeing his cheeks. " I was obliged to go away 
 
364 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 from Boston to avoid him. The man nearly 
 worried my life out. He made out a claim and 
 wanted to enforce it. When he discovered that 
 I had "one to New York he followed me there. 
 I had a world of trouble with him." 
 
 "A claim for what?" asked Sir Simon. But 
 Mr. Trace did not answer at once. 
 
 "Past salary," he presently said, rousing 
 himself out of a reverie. " I had a great deal of 
 trouble with him. The fellow stuck to me like 
 a leech. He claimed a hundred pounds. I 
 would have given it to him willingly, it* I'd had 
 it, to get rid of him. Three several times did he 
 tell me he had written over to you." 
 
 " But why should he write to me ? " 
 
 " I conclude for assistance," replied Mr. Trace 
 after another pause. " I know he said he did 
 write, and it never occurred to me to doubt him. 
 He knew of the money you had kindly sent me 
 in answer to my appeal, and possibly thought he 
 might make one on his own score. He was 
 a great rogue." 
 
 "I think it very possible that he was," 
 returned Sir Simon ; somewhat significantly to 
 Mr. Trace's ear, who had applied the epithet 
 in a more general than a particular sense. 
 " Did it ever occur to you, Robert, to suspect that 
 
MR. TRACE EXPLAINS. 305 
 
 Hopper might have been the guilty man at 
 Liverpool ? Hopper and not Paradyne.*' 
 
 " No/' cried Mr. Trace in an accent of surprise 
 not to be mistaken. 
 
 " That sharp young son of Paradyne's thought 
 it at the time/' observed Sir Simon, who was 
 speaking in accordance with what had been 
 related to him by Mr. Loftus in Boulogne, 
 touching the conversation with George Paradyne. 
 " I don't cast suspicion on the man, mind. I 
 have no reason to do so." 
 
 " Nor has any one else," quietly returned Mr. 
 Trace, taking off his spectacles to wipe them. 
 " A clerk could not have played the game for an 
 hour; I should have found it out at once. Not 
 but that Hopper was villain enough for it." 
 
 " Where is he now ? " 
 
 "Dead." 
 
 " Dead ! " 
 
 Mr. Trace nodded, and broke into a quiet 
 laugh. It jarred on the ear of Sir Simon, and his 
 brow contracted. 
 
 " Don't deem me unfeeling, Simon. I am not 
 laughing at Hopper s death ; which was sad 
 enough ; but at a mistake he made. Never 
 mind that now." 
 
 " I do mind. I want to hear all this. 7 
 
360 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 "I had taken a berth on board the Cultivator, 
 a New York vessel bound for London. Hopper 
 discovered this, and took one also, with the 
 view no doubt of renewing his worry on the 
 passage. I did not sail in her. He did ; and 
 was drowned." 
 
 " Mercy upon us ! " cried Sir Simon. 
 
 " You heard of the calamity, I dare say," con- 
 tinued Mr. Trace, putting on his glasses again. 
 " She went down with every soul on board. We 
 received news of her loss at New York just 
 before I left. Laugh at that ? No. It may be 
 my own fate in going back." 
 
 " Shall you return to the New Country ? " 
 
 " If I can get you to help me once again," 
 boldly answered Mr. Trace. "I came home for 
 the sole purpose of asking you. I shall do better 
 if I p*et another start. I ought to have done 
 well before, but " 
 
 (( But what ? " asked Sir Simon, interrupting 
 the sudden pause. 
 
 " But for ill-luck. Over and over again the 
 chances slipped through my fingers. It was as 
 if ill-luck followed me. We'll talk further of 
 this another day, Simon." 
 
 Sir Simon nodded, and rang the bell for Mr. 
 Trace to be shown to a chamber. 
 
ME TRACE EXPLAINS. 367 
 
 A message was despatched to the college for 
 Raymond, and he arrived in the evening. His 
 astonishment when he saw his father was some- 
 thing ludicrous, so entirely was he unprepared 
 for it, and the pleasure proportionately great. 
 Cold and cynical to the general world, Raymond 
 cared for his father. Raymond poured out his 
 budget of news of the past and present ; it was 
 of various kinds and degrees of interest : and Mr. 
 Trace the elder had his ears regaled with the 
 current history of the Paradynes, and George's 
 presumptuous aspirings to the Orville prize. 
 
 "But we shall do him," cried Trace, with a 
 self-satisfied nod. " Where's Uncle Simon ? " 
 
 Sir Simon's absence had passed unnoticed in 
 their own absorbed self-interest. Mr. Trace 
 could not say where he was. 
 
 Truth to say, there was a something beating 
 on that estimable knight's brain : a little scrap 
 of news that he had read, or seemed to have 
 read, in the newspapers some days before. He 
 thought it related to the ship spoken of by Mr. 
 Trace, the Cultivator : and he was now hunting 
 in every corner of the house for old newspapers 
 which he scanned attentively. But without 
 success. He went back to the room, nodded to 
 Raymond, and sat down in silence, drumming on 
 
368 
 
 OKVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 the table and ransacking his treacherous mem or v. 
 It was so unusual a mood for Sir Simon, that 
 Raymond remarked upon it, asking if anything 
 
 Was amiss. 
 
 " T am trying to recollect something,' 1 was the 
 reply. "Your father has told you, I suppose, 
 Raymond, of Hopper's sailing for home in the 
 ship Cultivator, and her sinking with her 
 passengers- " 
 
 "No. 1 have not told him," interrupted Mr. 
 Trace, so sharply as to startle Sir Simon. ' Why 
 bring it up to him ? " ho more calmly added, 
 appearing to recollect himself. "The ship was 
 lost with every soul on board." 
 
 " But that's just it— that I don't think every 
 soul was lost," explained Sir Simon. " I read an 
 account lately of the landing of some passengers 
 at Cork, who were supposed to have been lost. 
 They were picked up at sea in an open boat, 
 having put oft' from a foundering vessel. It 
 strikes me the vessel was the Ctdtivator", 
 
 " If you are speaking of the Cultivator, from . 
 New York, some of her passengers have been 
 saved, and arc now in England," interposed 
 Raymond. " Mr. Batty, old Gall's partner, had 
 a son on board ; the news arrived of the ship's 
 loss, and the Battys went into mourning; but, 
 
MR. TRACE EXPLAINS. 
 
 369 
 
 a day or two ago, young Batty walked in. 
 Father, what's the matter ? " 
 
 Mr. Trace was standing up, looking like a man 
 scared out of his senses. " Is — Hopper — saved ? " 
 he gasped, rather than asked. 
 
 " I don't know," answered Raymond. " Who 
 is Hopper ? " 
 
 " And if he is ? — you need not be afraid of 
 him over here ! " cried Sir Simon, wondering 
 at the emotion displayed. "It is your father's 
 former clerk at Liverpool that we are speaking 
 of, Raymond," he added to the son. " The man 
 went over to Boston, got put into a good thing 
 there by your father, which failed ; and then he 
 began to worry him for money. Let him come 
 and worry here ! We'll teach him that England 
 is not without laws, if America is." 
 
 Raymond, all curiosity, questioned further, and 
 Mr. Trace could not put a stop to Sir Simon's 
 answers ; though it seemed he would have done 
 so, had there been a decent plea at hand. There 
 was not time for much ; Raymond was unable to 
 stay ; but for the peremptory message, he would 
 not have come out at all that busy evening. 
 Mr. Trace put his hat on to walk part of the 
 way with his son. They struck into the planta- 
 tion, arm-in-arm: it was the shortest way; 
 
 Orville College. 24 
 
370 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 and the moon glimmered cheerily through the 
 trees. 
 
 "You are as tall as I am, Raymond," observed 
 Mr. Trace. 
 
 "And that's not very tall ; I hope to shoot up 
 yet/' answered Raymond. "You should sec 
 Bertie Loftus. But it seems to me that you 
 have grown shorter." 
 
 "As we all do, when age and care come upon 
 us," remarked Mr. Trace. And with that, he 
 relapsed into silence. 
 
 " I hope you have come back rich, sir," resumed 
 Raymond presently, in a tone half jest, half 
 earnest. 
 
 " I have come back not worth a shilling, Ray- 
 mond," said Mr. Trace, momentarily halting as 
 if to give emphasis to his words. " All I had 
 of my own, all I borrowed from your uncle, is 
 lost." 
 
 Something like an ice-shaft shot through Ray- 
 mond in his bitter disappointment. During this 
 many, many months' silence of his father's, fond 
 visions had dawned over him of his coming back 
 a millionnaire. 
 
 " How is it lost ? " he asked, when the shock 
 allowed him to speak. 
 
 " Oh ! in those American securities, and in 
 
MR. TRACE EXPLAINS. 371 
 
 unlucky speculations. I was not clever enough 
 for the Yankees, you see." 
 
 " What was my uncle saying about Hopper ? 
 1 did not understand him." 
 
 " He says that Hopper's saved ; whereas I had 
 thought he was drowned." 
 
 "I meant, sir, about his worrying you. But 
 he did not say Hopper was saved ; only that he 
 might be." 
 
 " Raymond, as surely as that I see those trees 
 around us, so surely do I sec that the man's 
 saved." 
 
 " And what if he is ? " 
 
 " Why, he has it in his power to do me injury." 
 " Of what nature, sir ? " 
 
 Mr. Trace looked upwards, as if searching for 
 an answer. It was a remarkably bright night, 
 and the moonbeams shone on the spectacles. 
 u He says I owe lym money, Raymond ; he might 
 pursue me for it, I suppose, in this country, and 
 give me a world of trouble. Do you recollect 
 him ? " 
 
 *■ Pretty well. I have a sort of general recol- 
 lection of him." 
 
 " Raymond, do you look out for him ; " and 
 Mr. Trace pressed his son's arm to give emphasis 
 to the charge. " A middle-sized man of two- 
 
372 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 and-thirty, or thereabouts, with a pale face and 
 a reddish shade on his brown hair. He was 
 looking shabby when I last saw him, perhaps is 
 more so now. If he is saved, the first thing he'd 
 do w T ould be to come here and w T atch for me by 
 stealth. Keep your eyes open, and warn me." 
 
 " But, sir, do you really owe him money ? " 
 
 " No ; I do not," was the positive answer. " I 
 don't legally owe him a farthing. Nevertheless, 
 I should" — Mr. Trace paused — "I should have 
 some difficulty in proving that here. Were he 
 to press his false claim upon me to the extent of 
 arrest, which is just what he'd like to do, I might 
 languish in prison longer than I care to think of." 
 
 "I will look out," murmured Trace. "I think 
 I should know him. I wish we were not so 
 busy with the Orville. But in a couple of days 
 that will be over." 
 
 " Shall you get that prize ? 
 
 " If Paradyne is put out of it. You heard me 
 say so, father ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes," was Mr. Trace's laconic answer, as 
 if the very mention of the name were offensive 
 to him. 
 
 A silence ensued. Raymond's spirits were 
 down to zero ; his father's were not much higher. 
 As they passed the spot where Mr. Henry came 
 
MB. TRACE EXPLAINS. 
 
 373 
 
 out to meet the stranger, the fact was naturally 
 recalled to Trace's mind : he had not yet suc- 
 ceeded in fathoming the mystery. All in a 
 moment a question darted through him — could 
 that man have been Hopper ? That man was 
 shabby, that man was pale ; that man had a 
 reddish tinge in his hair, and looked about two 
 or three and thirty ; and Trace had heard him 
 speak of a voyage. A conviction that it was 
 Hopper, and no other, took instant possession of 
 him. With his brain beating at the discovery, 
 his heart shrinking with apprehensive fear, Trace 
 halted in his walk, and rapidly told the news. 
 
 " When was this, do you say ? " questioned 
 Mr. Trace in a whisper, as if afraid the very 
 trees might hear. 
 
 " It was last Friday. Five days ago." 
 
 " Had the rescued passengers been landed 
 then?" 
 
 " Oh dear, yes, and had come from Cork to 
 England. Young Batty had." 
 
 "Then, Raymond, it was Hopper," said Mr. 
 Trace, who was looking at matters through his 
 own suspicious glasses ; and his face seemed to 
 turn grey. " Rely upon it, he was trying to 
 ferret out whether I was in the neighbourhood. 
 Who is this Mr. Henrv ? " 
 
874 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Oar German and French master. He's an 
 awful rat. Just the fellow for a sneak to apply 
 to for any dirty information. " 
 
 " You must try to get the truth out of him — 
 whether it was Hopper or not, and if so, where 
 he is now. I'll wait for you here." 
 
 " What — now ? " exclaimed Trace. " I — I don't 
 suppose he'll tell me. I am not friendly with 
 him." 
 
 "Make yourself friendly for the nonce, and 
 worm it out of him," said Mr. Trace imperative!} 7- . 
 " Raymond, I must be at some certainty. This 
 is almost a matter of life or death." 
 
 Raymond went forward without another word ; 
 and with a curious sinking of the heart to which 
 he was totally unaccustomed, and did not know 
 what to make of. This sort of coming home of 
 his father's was so very different from those past 
 lofty visions of his. As to the possible arrest, 
 hinted at, Trace went hot when he thought of it. 
 His father consigned to an ignominious debtors' 
 prison in the face and eyes of the college where 
 he had played first-fiddle ? Why, in appearance 
 it would be half as bad as the past disgrace of 
 that miserable Paradyne ! 
 
 Conning his lesson as he went along- — a civil 
 request to Mr. Henry to satisfy him upon some 
 
MR. TRACE EXPLAINS. 
 
 375 
 
 German terminations that hopelessly puzzled 
 him — Trace at length found himself in Mrs. 
 Butter's garden and close to a young damsel 
 who was dancing in the moonlight. Trace raised 
 
 o o 
 
 his cap : child though she was, the school treated 
 her with due respect as their head-master's 
 daughter. 
 
 " Miss Rose ! What are you doing here ? " 
 
 " I am dancing to keep myself warm." 
 
 " But why are you here at all ? " 
 
 " I came after Emma/' she wdiispered* con- 
 fidentially, with a suppressed laugh. " She is 
 always going to Mother Butter's after tea now, 
 and she'll never let me go with her; it's cold, she 
 says; so I just ran after her to-night. I think 
 there's somebody staying here that Emma comes 
 to see," continued the incautious girl in a still 
 lower whisper : " some friend of Mr. Henry's that 
 dare not go out in the daytime." 
 
 " Some friend of Mr. Henry's that dare not go 
 out in the daytime ! " echoed Trace, repeating 
 the words mechanically, his whole thoughts full 
 of the man who might be there and might 
 be Hopper. " Why do you think so, Miss 
 Rose ? " 
 
 " Never you mind," returned the young lady, 
 with scant ceremony. " I overheard Emma say 
 
376 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 something to Mr. Henry the other day ; but it's 
 nothing to you." 
 
 At that moment the house-door opened, and 
 Miss Brabazon appeared at it, attended by Mother 
 Butter with a candle in her hand. "You will 
 tell Mr. Henry, then, when he comes in," Miss 
 Brabazon was saying to the woman, the words 
 reaching Trace's ear distinctly, as he stepped 
 aside out of view. 
 
 " I will, Miss Emma. He'll be in directly now, 
 and I'll tell him as soon as he comes." 
 
 Miss Brabazon walked away quickly ; Rose 
 allowed her to go some distance and then ran 
 after her with a shout. A few words of sur- 
 prised reprimand echoed on the night-air, and 
 they went on together. Trace followed quietly ; 
 it was just possible he might catch a stray word 
 touching the " friend" of Mr. Henry's: and he 
 knew now that the latter was not in. In the 
 shrubbery that wound round near the chapel, 
 between the cricket-field and the gymnasium- 
 ground, they met Mr. Henry. Trace stepped 
 outside it, behind the bushy laurel trees, and 
 there, rather to his surprise, found himself close 
 to his father, who happened to have strolled to 
 the spot as he waited for his son. Mr. Henry 
 raised his hat as he spoke to Miss Brabazon, and 
 
MB. TRACE EXPLAINS. 377 
 
 the bright moon lit up Iris features with perfect 
 distinctness to the view of the gentlemen watchers. 
 
 " I have left a message for you with Mrs. 
 Butter," said Miss Brabazon. " You will be kind 
 enough to attend to it for me.' 
 
 " I will/' answered Mr. Henry. " Is that you, 
 Miss Rose?" 
 
 " She ran after me, naughty child ! I am 
 taking her home for punishment," returned Miss 
 Brabazon, in a tone between jest and anger. 
 " Good-night." 
 
 They parted. Raymond Trace was hastening 
 after Mr. Henry, when he found his arm detained 
 by his 'father in a firm grasp. "Let me go," 
 whispered Raymond. " That's Mr. Henry. I 
 can fall into conversation with him more 
 naturally as we walk along, than if I made a 
 formal call at his rooms." 
 
 " Who do you say it is ? " breathed Mr. Trace. 
 
 " The German master, Mr. Henry." 
 
 " You are mistaken, Raymond ; the moonlight 
 is deceiving you. It is some years since I saw 
 that young man's face, but I should recollect it 
 amidst a thousand." 
 
 Trace stared. " My dear father, I assure you 
 it is Mr. Henry. I ought to know him ; I take 
 my lessons from him daily." 
 
378 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Do you ! It is Arthur Paradyne." 
 
 u Who ? " almost shouted Trace. 
 
 "Arthur Paradyne; the eldest son. In the 
 summer preceding the crash at Liverpool business 
 called me to Heidelberg. I took a letter of in- 
 troduction to young Paradyne from his father; 
 he was then a junior master at the university, 
 and I saw him often. He used to act as my 
 interpreter." 
 
 "Then he has been amongst us under a false 
 name ! " exclaimed Trace, with considerable 
 animus. 
 
 The father gave a slight laugh. " Pie has 
 found it convenient to be so, no doubt. You 
 must still ask him about this man." 
 
 Trace darted off. He thought he had a great 
 hold upon Mr. Henry in this strange secret, and 
 scarcely could persuade himself to make any 
 show of courtesy whilst he entered on the 
 question of the " German terminations." 
 
 "I could show you with the book in two 
 minutes what it might take me five to explain 
 without it," said Mr. Henry, with his usual ready 
 kindness. "Perhaps you will come indoors 
 with me." 
 
 " Have you any visitor ? " asked Trace, rather 
 abruptly. 
 
MR. TRACE EXPLAINS. 
 
 379 
 
 " Visitor ? — no. I am quite alone." 
 
 " I — fancied — there — was a visitor at Mother 
 Butter's," returned Trace in a hesitating manner, 
 not being sure of his best policy, whether to speak 
 of the visitor openly or not. " A friend of yours, 
 somebody said." 
 
 "Who said it?* 
 
 " Really I cannot charge my memory with that. 
 I saw you meet some — gentleman— in the planta- 
 tion a few days ago ; I thought it might be he." 
 
 " What a fine night it is ! " observed Mr. 
 Henry, courteously ignoring the suggestion, and 
 letting his pupil see that he intended to ignore 
 it. et It is clear and cold enough for a frost." 
 
 " Mr. Henry, would you mind telling me the 
 name of the person you met ? " resumed Trace, 
 perceiving that if he wanted information he must 
 ask distinctly for it. 
 
 "I cannot tell you. I cannot tell you any- 
 thing about him," was the reply. " We will quit 
 the subject, if you please, Trace; it is neither 
 yours nor mine." 
 
 "Where is he now? Will you tell me that? 
 Is he in this neighbourhood ? " 
 
 " Let the subject drop, Trace," reiterated Mr. 
 Henry, with quiet authority. u I say that is no 
 concern of yours or of mine." 
 
380 
 
 ORY1LLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Trace felt himself checkmated ; he had not 
 gone to work in a sufficiently crafty manner, 
 which vexed him. " It may be better that you 
 should satisfy me on this trifle/' he resumed, 
 rather scornfully. " You are in my power." 
 
 " In what manner ? " quietly asked Mr. Henry. 
 
 " I know your secret. I could go to the head- 
 master this moment and say, 'We have a wolf 
 in sheep's clothing amongst us ; a man with a 
 false name.' If he has glossed over other things, 
 do you think he would gloss over that ? " 
 
 " You can try him." 
 
 The equanimity of the voice was so perfect, 
 the manner so unruffled, that Trace began to feel 
 doubtful of his ground. " Can you deny what I 
 say ? " he asked. " I accuse you of being — not 
 Mr. Henry, but Arthur Paradyne." 
 
 " I am Arthur Henry Paradyne, as the head- 
 master knows. Though I wonder how you came 
 to find it out, Trace. In what way does the fact 
 affect you ? " 
 
 " The contact has affected us," foamed Trace, 
 giving way to temper for once in his life, for the 
 cool tone almost drove him wild. "Is it fitting 
 that you, the son of — of — you know who and what 
 — should be placed over us ? I wonder you could 
 dare to stay, knowing you were a Paradyne." 
 
MR. TRACE EXPLAINS. 
 
 381 
 
 " Knowing I was a Paradyne and that you 
 were a Trace, it has made me all the more 
 solicitous to do my duty by you/' came the low 
 answer of emotion. " Oh, Trace ! have you 
 never marvelled why I w r as so uniformly lenient 
 to you, so anxious for your advancement, so 
 solicitous to hide your faults ; always striving to 
 do you good, to get you on, to make your life at 
 college easy ? " 
 
 Trace was not in the least softened. That 
 this long-disliked master should turn out to be 
 Arthur Paradyne, seemed like a personal and 
 positive insult to himself. But he thought he 
 might turn the discovery to present account. 
 
 " You can work a portion of the debt off this 
 instant, if you will, by disclosing to me the name 
 of the man you met." 
 
 <c That I cannot do. Ask me anything else, 
 Trace." 
 
 " Say you will not." 
 
 " The terms are almost synonymous. I may 
 not." 
 
 " That's enough," retorted Trace, turning on 
 his heel. " Good-evening to you, Mr. Arthur 
 Paradyne." 
 
S82 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE OUTBREAK. 
 
 It was the morning following the arrival of 
 Mr. Trace. The boys filed out of chapel : but 
 instead of hindering, lingering, dallying, as it 
 was generally their pleasure to do, those of the 
 first desk threw oft' their gowns with remarkable 
 haste, and rushed into school. As sheep follow 
 their leader, so do boys for the most part go in 
 the wake of their fellows ; and George Paradyne, 
 who appeared to be the only one of the class not 
 acting in concert, and who had rather wondered 
 wherefore the bustle, hastened in also. But he 
 found no place for him. His seat was occupied. 
 By dint of sitting wide instead of close, the first 
 di3sk contrived to fill the whole space. Brown 
 major was before Paradyne's particular com- 
 partment, had got it open, and was disposing his 
 own books and belongings in it. 
 
 " What are you doing with my desk, Brown 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 
 
 383 
 
 major ? " demanded George. " Move down lower, 
 will you ? " 
 
 Paradyne's place now was next to Trace. It 
 had been curious to note in the past weeks the 
 tacit antagonism of the two boys, sitting side by 
 side ; Trace ignoring Paradyne always, Paradyne 
 having no resource but to be ignored. Brown 
 major took no heed to the request, and did not 
 move down. 
 
 " Will you go down, I say, Brown ? I shall 
 have to pull you out if you don't." 
 
 Not a word of answer. The boys had their 
 books out now and were bending over them, 
 putting up their backs as if some great draught 
 were behind. George Paradyne laid hold of 
 Brown to swing him out, when Loftus major 
 interposed. Gall was at home with a temporary 
 indisposition, or it might not have occurred, since 
 the senior was expected to keep peace. Bertie 
 Loftus acted in a degree for him, but assumed 
 little authority. 
 
 " Take your hands off him, Paradyne ; we 
 cannot have a disturbance here." 
 
 i( He is in my place • he is taking my desk," 
 cried George. 
 
 " Look here," drawled Bertie ; " as good be 
 open about the matter. The class tell me they 
 
384 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 don't intend to let you occupy your place again : 
 and if the head-master insists that you should, 
 there'll be a rebellion. But it's thought he 
 won't insist in the face of things. I am not 
 speaking for myself," he continued, idly running 
 his fingers through his luxuriant curls with a 
 cool indifference that might have been laughable 
 but that it was so real, and so characteristic of 
 him. " Being, as may be said, a remotely 
 interested party, I hold myself neuter : I have 
 neither counselled this, nor do 1 join in it. But 
 I can't have a disturbance, you know- Brown, 
 pass me that Homer." 
 
 " Just disclose the meaning of this, will you ? " 
 cried George, speaking to the class collectively, 
 " before I pull Brown major out of my place." 
 
 " Tell him, some of you," drawled Bertie. 
 
 For a moment there was silence : nobody 
 seemed inclined to respond. Paradyne lifted his 
 arm to begin aggression, when Brown major 
 turned round ; speaking, however, civilly. 
 
 " There'd better be no row over this, Paradyne. 
 If you flung me out of the place— which perhaps 
 might turn out to be a bit of mistaken boasting, 
 if we came to try it — another would fill it up. 
 You ought never to have come amongst us, and 
 that's a fact ; there has been a feeling against 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 
 
 385 
 
 you always, but it's only since a day or two that 
 we've known the cause. If I were you, I'd go 
 quietly out at that door and through the college- 
 gates, and have done with it for good. And, 
 upon my word and honour, I say this for the 
 best . it's the only thing left for you to do." 
 
 "If you don't tell me the meaning of this, I'll 
 fling you out, I say," repeated George. " I give 
 you three seconds. One ! two ! " 
 
 " The meaning is, that you can't be tolerated 
 here any longer," interrupted Brown. " Neither 
 may you go in for the Orville." 
 
 " That's not the meaning — that's the result. 
 I ask you for the meaning — the reason — the 
 cause. Are you stupid ? " added George, stamping 
 his foot. 
 
 " Well — you know what your father was." 
 " What was he ? " 
 
 Brown major hesitated. He was of a civil 
 nature, and really did not like his task. To say 
 to a college friend in his teens your father was 
 a swindler — or a forger — or a felon — is not 
 pleasant. There was no time to lose, for the 
 under-masters were coming in. 
 
 " I don't know the rights of it as well as some 
 of them, Paradyne," said Brown, at length. " Of 
 course I'm sorry for you; but we are gentle- 
 
 Orvilie College. 25 
 
386 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 men here. Ask Trace the particulars — or ask 
 Lamb." 
 
 Before another word could be spoken, the hall 
 had to rise at the entrance of the head-master. 
 Instead of taking his seat when he reached his 
 table, he remained standing, and addressed the 
 first desk. 
 
 " Gentlemen, in consequence of the absence of 
 Mr. Henry this morning, the order of studies has 
 been changed. You will go at once to Mr. 
 Baker's room for mathematics." 
 
 There was a moment's lino-erino; ; either in 
 surprise at the command, for it was completely 
 out of routine, or for some other purpose. Could 
 it be that the boys were deliberating, each 
 in his heart, whether then to declare their 
 feud against Paradyne ? If so, nothing came 
 of it. Bertie Loftus led the way through 
 the room, and the rest followed him, including 
 Paradyne. 
 
 Mr. Baker was waiting for them. Mr. Baker 
 was an irascible sort of gentleman who might 
 have settled any dispute, any incipient rebellion, 
 by caning around him indiscriminately. The 
 room was large too, the table spacious, the 
 diagrams on the walls were plentiful, and there 
 was no chance of shutting out George Paradyne 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 387 
 
 from a seat here. So the class had to bottle up 
 its resentment for the present. 
 
 Trace had not outwardly joined in the move- 
 ment by word or look. Not in obedience to the 
 advice given by his father the previous evening, 
 but in accordance with his usual policy. Mr. 
 Trace had casually remarked, " I wouldn't inter- 
 fere with young Paradyne, Raymond, to oppress 
 him. What passed was no fault of his, you 
 know." Advice which Mr. Raymond had not 
 the slightest intention of following. Some in- 
 ward speculation was arising in his mind, touch- 
 ing the cause of Mr. Henry's absence, as just 
 announced. Had he been dismissed ? Had the 
 boast — that the head-master knew who he really 
 was — been a false one, and had Mr. Henry, in 
 consequence of the discovery, forced himself to 
 declare his deceit, and been met by an abrupt 
 dismissal ? Trace would have given his two 
 ears — as they say in France—for the knowledge, 
 but did not see his way clear to getting at it. 
 As if to gratify him, Mr. Baker suddenly in- 
 quired of the class generally, if they knew why 
 Mr. Henry was absent. George Paradyne, who 
 was standing before one of the slates, following 
 out its diagrams, turned round to answer. 
 
 " Mr. Henry is gone out, sir. I went round 
 
388 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 this morning to borrow Ollendorff key from 
 him, and found him away. Mother Butter 
 thought he had gone off somewhere by train." 
 
 " I feared he might be ill," remarked Mr. 
 Baker. " He has looked ill lately." 
 
 "His wicked conscience smited him. 
 He lost his stomach daily ; " 
 
 sang Whitby in an undertone, quoting the lines 
 from a once popular song that Mr. Lamb carolled 
 on occasion for private benefit at bedroom 
 festivals, and protested it had been composed by 
 Tennyson. 
 
 " Mr. Henry had another of those fainting-fits 
 last night when I was reading with him," said 
 George, in answer. ''Mother Butter came in, 
 and asked him what he meant by not getting 
 advice for himself." 
 
 " Attend to your business," roared out Mr. 
 Baker by way of acknowledging the informa- 
 tion. And they did it, one and all ; bottling up 
 their private grievances, as previously remarked, 
 for a more auspicious opportunity, which did not 
 arrive until the close of morning school, so cross- 
 grained and inconvenient a turn did the order 
 of studies take that morning. 
 
 Mr. Henry had taken the train to London, to 
 pay a visit to a noted physician. Not in 
 
TPITC OUTBREAK. 
 
 381) 
 
 obedience to Mrs. Butter's remonstrance, as dis- 
 closed to us by George, but because the time for 
 doing so was come. He had been intending to 
 see a doctor, long and long ; had put it off in a 
 sort of vague dread, as many of us do ; and now 
 it could no longer be delayed ; no, not for a day. 
 As George said, he had had another faintino'-fit 
 the previous night ; but, instead of recovering 
 from it as usual, he had lain all night in pain, 
 his heart fluttering strangely. Medical aid, and 
 that of the best, was necessary now, although he 
 felt well again in the morning. 
 
 The dread was not for himself, but for those 
 dependent on him. Who would help them if 
 his help failed ? The whole night long he lay 
 awake, tormenting himself. With the dawn — 
 daylight does not come early when November 
 is at hand — he rose and took his breakfast. 
 Dropping a note to the head-master, explaining 
 the cause of his absence, he went off by train 
 to London, doing all in a quiet manner. Again 
 and again it had been in his thoughts to go to 
 this gentleman, who was one of fame, especially 
 in diseases of the heart. Very nearly an hour 
 did he wait in the ante-room, before his turn 
 came. 
 
 He was examined, questioned, talked to : and 
 
390 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 then the doctor sat down to his table and took 
 up a pen. But he laid it down again. 
 
 " I am about to write you a prescription ; but 
 I tell you candidly it is not medicine you want. 
 One thing may do you good ; and one thing 
 only. 7 ' 
 
 " What is that ? " 
 
 "Rest. Rest both of mind and body. I do 
 not mean tranquillity only, but entire rest from 
 all kinds of exertion. Great or sudden exertion 
 might be " — the doctor paused ; and, as it struck 
 Mr. Henry, seemed to change the word he had 
 been about to speak — " prejudicial to you; ex- 
 cessively so. You must avoid alike fatigue and 
 emotion." 
 
 " I gather, then, that my heart is not sound." 
 
 " Not quite as sound as could be wished." 
 
 " Is it so unsound as to place me in danger ? " 
 questioned Mr. Henry, his luminous eyes bent 
 earnestly on the physician. " You need not fear 
 to speak freely to me. I have come here to ask 
 you to do so." 
 
 "In a case such as yours there is no doubt 
 danger," replied the doctor. " We can do little. 
 It lies chiefly with the patient himself." 
 
 "What does ?" 
 
 "Well, I had almost said life or death. So 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 
 
 391 
 
 long as he can keep himself perfectly tranquil, 
 the danger is comparatively little." 
 
 "But it is always there, nevertheless, even 
 with tranquillity. Am I to understand that ? " 
 
 " It is. In a degree." 
 
 " I had a friend once ; a fellow-student at 
 Heidelberg, who had heart-disease. The German 
 doctors recommended perfect tranquillity — as 
 you do to me. He followed their advice ; he 
 was of wealthy family, and could do it ; but the 
 disease made rapid strides, and shortly killed 
 him. He lay ill less than a week/' 
 
 "Ah, yes," replied the doctor, evincing no 
 surprise. 
 
 Mr. Henry, who displayed and felt entire 
 calmness throughout the interview, then pro- 
 ceeded to mention the strides his own sickness 
 had been making. He was quite aware of the 
 nature of his (possibly) inherited malady ; recent 
 symptoms had brought the knowledge to him. 
 But, had he been differently circumstanced, in 
 the enjoyment of past immunity from work and 
 care and fear, it might not hava shown itself for 
 years and years. As it was — he frankly spoke 
 o£ what the ending must in all probabilit}^ soon 
 be. The physician did not say much ; it is not 
 usual to do so : but when Mr. Henry went, he 
 
392 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 had gathered that death sooner or later must 
 come to him. It gave him no shock : he had 
 seemed to know beforehand what the fiat would 
 be. 
 
 Notwithstanding, it was altogether a very 
 serious vista, and yet a sensation of strange 
 peace seemed to fill his heart. How he had 
 shrunk from ascertaining the true nature of his 
 disease, from the consequent absolute cessation 
 from toil, which he knew would be imposed, he 
 alone knew. All for the sake of his mother, her 
 home, her interests. Over and over again he 
 had asked himself, who would work for them 
 when he could not. As if the delay would alter 
 the evil, it was for this he had put off seeking 
 to know the truth; he had dreaded it as one, 
 unprepared, dreads death ; and now that it was 
 spoken, instead of the torment and trouble it 
 might have brought, he felt nothing but resigna- 
 tion and sweet peace. 
 
 It was but another great mercy, this feeling, 
 from the loving and merciful Father : and Mr. 
 Henry had learnt to trust Him in all things, with 
 the simple, reliant, undoubting trust that a child 
 feels in its earthly parents ; in darkness as well 
 as light ; in gloom as well as sunshine. Oh, my 
 boys, how I wish I could make you understand 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 393 
 
 what this trust is, and how to acquire it ! It is 
 the one great blessing in life; the only true 
 peace; a pearl of great price. It is a sure and 
 safe refuge ; an ever-present comfort in sunshine 
 and in storm; a resort that is never closed. 
 Every grief, every care, every doubt, had Henry 
 Paradyne learnt to carry there, and he knew 
 that it could not fail him. "Things seem dark 
 and dreary ; I cannot see my way ; undertake 
 for me, Lord ! " had been latterly the burden of 
 his prayer. He never failed to rise up com- 
 forted, to know that God had been with him, 
 lending His gracious ear, listening compas- 
 sionately to his cry : there were times when he 
 seemed to have been talking with Him face to 
 face, a joy so heavenly was diffused throughout 
 his spirits. My boys, you perhaps hold an idea 
 that religion (as it is very commonly called) is a 
 gloomy thing; let me tell you that the real 
 religion, as experienced by those who live thus 
 near to God, is as a very light of happiness. It 
 will not come to you all at once ; but it will 
 surely come with time if you earnestly desire it. 
 Think what it is to possess a refuge always, one 
 that cannot fail you ! In danger and sorrow, in 
 doubt and difficulty, in trouble and storm, there 
 you may go, and kneeling say, " I cannot see my 
 
394 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 way ; I am threatened on all sides ; my fears 
 overwhelm me. Oh, Father of mercies, I put 
 myself into Thy hands; guide me, act for me, 
 love me ! I tell you that, to those who have 
 learnt it, this trust is as a ray direct from heaven, 
 a glimpse of it before its time. With the neces- 
 sity for comfort, comfort had come, and Mr. 
 Henry was at rest. 
 
 He made his way home again. Just as he 
 was entering his house, he heard himself called, 
 and turning, saw Sir Simon Orville. 
 
 " I've come on a fishing expedition," cried the 
 knight, who seemed flurried with the haste he 
 had made. 
 
 " A fishing expedition ! " repeated Mr. Henry, 
 with a smile and air as tranquil as though he 
 had not been on a visit to the physician, and 
 brought that knowledge home with him. Sir 
 Simon gla,nced around, wishing to make sure 
 that no one was within hearing. 
 
 The facts were these. Raymond Trace returned 
 to his father the previous night with the account 
 of what he had been able to do with Mr. Henry ; 
 or rather, what he had not been able to do. Mr. 
 Trace, by some logic of reasoning, adopted the 
 information as a proof that the stranger was 
 undoubtedly Hopper, and went home to Pond 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 395 
 
 Place in a state of mind not to be envied. The 
 chief torment was the uncertainty. If the man 
 in hiding was not Hopper, the inconvenience of 
 going away from him was not to be thought of 
 pleasantly ; for, truth to say, Mr. Trace did not 
 possess so much as a handful of silver to go 
 with : if the man was Hopper, go he must, what- 
 ever the cost. He imparted his doubts to Sir 
 Simon, just relating the story told by Raymond 
 — that there was some one in hiding at Mrs. 
 Butter's, who might, perhaps, be Hopper — and 
 no more. Sir Simon, detecting the anxiety, and 
 a little wondering at it — for, as he reiterated 
 over and over again to his brother-in-law, rogues 
 could not threaten gentlemen in England with 
 impunity — undertook to appeal to Mr. Henry 
 himself the first thing in the morning, and get 
 the matter set at rest. 
 
 " This is the third time I have come here this 
 morning, Mr. Henry. You've been gadding 
 about London," good-humouredly added Sir 
 Simon, in supreme unconsciousness of what the 
 " gadding" had been. "And now, as I say, I 
 have come fishing, and I hope you'll not let me 
 throw out my line in vain." 
 
 Mr. Henry led the. way indoors. No one was 
 about ; Mrs. Butter's kitchen-door was shut, and 
 
m 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Sir Simon talked on, believing they were alone, 
 as soon as he was in the passage. 
 
 " My nephew, Raymond Trace, was question- 
 ing you last night, Mr. Henry, as to some man 
 he had seen you with in the plantation. You 
 thought it was impertinent curiosity, no doubt, 
 and very properly refused to satisfy him ; but 
 I want you to tell me. Is there any one staying 
 here in private, or is there not ? And if there 
 is, what's his name ? " 
 
 Mr. Henrv laid his hat and gloves on the 
 table, rubbed his handkerchief across his damp 
 brow : it was strange how a very little exertion 
 would put him into a heat now. and led the 
 way to his parlour. "I wish I could tell you, 
 Sir Simon," he answered, with a smile. " I 
 would have told your nephew had I been able." 
 
 " Can you assure me that there is no one 
 staying in the house ? " 
 
 What was Mr. Henry to answer ? To say 
 There is not, would have been untrue : to say 
 There is, might bring some one trouble. 
 
 " Let me tell you why I ask," cried Sir Simon, 
 who was by far too open-minded a man to 
 succeed in any matter that required craft. " A 
 friend of mine, at present in this neighbourhood, 
 has an idea that he is being looked after for 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 
 
 397 
 
 a debt he owes : he got to hear, by hook or 
 by crook, that some rather suspicious-looking 
 stranger had been seen talking to you, might 
 even be in this house ; he thinks it may be his 
 creditor, and seems to be pretty nearly out of 
 his senses with fright. That's just the truth." 
 
 " I wish with all my heart I had a debtor in 
 this part of the world," cried the voice of a 
 strange head, putting itself in at the door : and 
 the interruption was so unexpected that Sir 
 Simon backed a few paces in surprise. 
 
 ' Why, Tom ! " he exclaimed. " Is it you ? " 
 
 " Yes, it's me," answered Tom Brabazon, for- 
 getting his grammar. "Excuse my having 
 listened. I am not afraid of you, Sir Simon, but 
 what are you asking questions about me for ? " 
 
 "It was not about you I was asking. Is this 
 the friend Raymond saw you speaking to ? " 
 continued Sir Simon, turning to Mr. Henry. 
 
 " Yes, it is. You perceive it was not my own 
 secret." 
 
 "Tell your friend, Sir Simon, that I've more 
 need to run away from him than he from me," 
 interposed Tom Brabazon. "Here I am; under 
 a deuced cloud ; tormenting Mother Butter out 
 of her daily wits, frightening my sister at all 
 sorts of hours, worrying Mr. Henry to fiddle- 
 
398 ORVILLE COLLEGE, 
 
 strings. They are getting up a scheme of 
 emigration for me, Emma and the doctor, but 
 funds run scarce with him just now, and he 
 thinks I'm in Whitecross Street. The safest 
 place going, he says, for me. It won't do to tell 
 him I'm here." 
 
 " I'll contribute to the emigration, Tom," cried 
 Sir Simon, his benevolent eyes glistening. " I'll 
 try to make things straighter for you with the 
 doctor. Mr. Ifenry has been keeping your 
 secret, 1 see." 
 
 "In first rate style, too ■ He has done all 
 sorts of things for me ; borne with my temper 
 when I've invaded his room at night; gone to 
 and fro with messages for Emma; bought my 
 smoke for me, for old Mother Butter said she 
 wouldn't, and stands to it. What a droll man 
 that friend of yours must be, to be afraid of me ! " 
 
 " But, you see, Tom, we thought it was some- 
 body else," returned Sir Simon, who really 
 understood less than ever his brother-in-law's 
 anxiety. But the relief to that gentleman would 
 no doubt be very great. 
 
 Sir Simon, ever good-natured, trotted off h ome 
 to impart the welcome news, and Mr. Henry, not 
 staying to take anything, but saying he would 
 be back immediately, Avent his way to the 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 399 
 
 college. His object was only to report himself 
 back, for he intended to take his duties in the 
 afternoon. Not until the following day should 
 be over — the great one of the Orville examina- 
 tion — would he disturb Dr. Brabazon with his 
 ailments. The sky was blue and somewhat 
 wintry, the leaves were falling, the air seemed to 
 strike upon him with a chill. But that sweet 
 peace, diffusing itself within, was whispering 
 comfort : he might be taken, but his mother — he 
 saw it with a sure prevision — would be sheltered 
 under the good care of God. 
 
 Not redolent of peace, certainly, were the 
 sounds that greeted his ear as he came to the 
 quadrangle, or the sight that met his astonished 
 gaze. His back propped against a pillar, his 
 honest grey eyes flashing with anger, his arms 
 outstretched to ward off blows, was George 
 Paradyne. 
 
 It has been said that no opportunity occurred 
 for an outbreak on Paradyne during morning 
 study. That over, the row began. He was 
 caught up in passing through the quadrangle, 
 on his way home, and surrounded. Yelling, 
 shouting, a hundred inflamed faces were turned 
 upon him at once, a hundred arms were put out 
 aggressively. The seniors, who first raised the 
 
400 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 storm, had not intended it to take this turn, but 
 they were powerless to stem the torrent now, 
 and so some of them went in for it. The boy 
 put his back against a pillar, and stood his 
 ground bravely, fencing off blows as he best 
 could, hitting back again, his whole face glowing 
 with scorn for his assailants, and for the 
 unequal conflict. Suddenly Bertie Loft us ap- 
 peared : he had been indoors, and knew nothing 
 of it : and stood for a moment in astonish- 
 ment. Pushing through the crowd with his 
 great strength, great when he put off his 
 indolence, he took up a position side by side 
 with Paradyne. 
 
 '• Look here, you fellows, I'll have no more of 
 this. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves : 
 I am, for you ; disgracing yourselves in this 
 fashion ! Trace ! Brown major ! Talbot ! Whitby ! 
 — all you strong ones — I call upon you to beat 
 the throng off. Dick, you young fool, be a man 
 if you can ! " 
 
 He spoke with the authority of the acting 
 senior, but he was not obeyed as the real one. 
 The boys' passions were up. None of them saw 
 that a stranger, who happened to be passing, had 
 halted at the great gates to look on, and was 
 standing in amazement. Bertie's words made 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 
 
 401 
 
 some temporary impression, and there came a lull 
 in the storm. 
 
 " Now then," he cried, taking advantage of the 
 silence, " wait, all of you. Let us bring a little 
 reason to bear, and don't go in for this row, as 
 if you were so many Irish jackasses at a fair. 
 Trace, the affair is yours if it's anybody's ; you 
 raised it ; suppose you explain to Paradyne 
 what the matter is." 
 
 " Suppose you explain yourself," retorted Trace, 
 terribly vexed at being thus publicly called upon. 
 
 " It is not my business," said Bertie. " You 
 know, you all know, I have not joined the cabal." 
 
 " Let Paradyne take himself off, and have done 
 with it," roared a voice : and a Babel of tongues 
 followed, each one taking the explanation on 
 itself. The late Mr. Paradyne was called every- 
 thing but a gentleman, some of the names being 
 remarkably choice. George, with flashing eyes 
 and earnestly indignant words, denied the truth 
 of the charges, and stood up as bravely (morally) 
 for his father, as he did physically for himself. 
 He kept his place and defied the whole, Bertie 
 protecting him. 
 
 " Wasn't he a sneak ? Wasn't he a swindler ? 
 Didn't he go in for everything that was low and 
 bad and dishonest, and then poison himself ? " 
 
 Orvilie College. 26 
 
402 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE, 
 
 roared the malcontents, hustling and jostling 
 each other. 
 
 u No ; he was neither a sneak nor a swindler ; 
 he went in for nothing that was bad, and he did 
 not poison himself," retorted George. "Look 
 here — you, Lamb — when you were accused of 
 firing off the pistol that shot the earl, were you 
 not innocent ? " 
 
 " Of course I was innocent," roared Lamb. 
 
 " But your innocence did not prevent your 
 being accused. When that straw man was set 
 blazing to frighten Mother Butter, I had nothing 
 to do with it, as you are all aware, I did not 
 even know of it ; but Baker accused me, and 
 gave me the cane. Well, it was just so with my 
 father. He was accused, being perfectly innocent, 
 and before the proofs of his innocence could be 
 brought forth, before almost he had titne to deny 
 it, before he well understood what the charge 
 was, he died : the excitement killed him. Loftus 
 — and I thank you for standing by me now, and 
 I know you have never worked against me as 
 some of the rest have— I told your father this in 
 Boulogne, and I think he grew to believe me. 
 If you have anything to bring against me, you 
 fellows, bring it ; but you shall not traduce my 
 father. What have you to say, Trace ? " 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 403 
 
 " I am sorry you force me to speak, Paradyne/' 
 returned Trace, his quiet voice, civil still, rising- 
 above the hubbub. " I say that your father was 
 guilty, and that you had no right to come here 
 amongst honest men's sons. We have put up 
 with the companionship ; the head-master forced 
 us to it; and have kept your secret from the 
 rest; and should have kept it to the end but for 
 your attempting to go up for the Orville. It 
 was pure audacity, that, and you were exceed- 
 ingly ill-advised to think of it. No fellow 
 whose father had dirty hands " 
 
 George Paradyne laid his hand on Trace's 
 mouth, sharply enough, though it was not a blow. 
 It was the signal for renewed hostilities. Trace 
 drew away, but many of the others hit out ; 
 Bertie Loftus and George being on the defensive. 
 It was at this moment that Mr. Henry came up ; 
 he interposed with more authority than Bertie 
 possessed ; but the boys turned their derisive 
 backs upon him, and kicked out behind. Mr. 
 Henry was not to be put down : never was 
 authority more uncompromising than his, when 
 'he chose to exert it. He pressed forward and 
 stood before the assailants ; he stopped the blows 
 with his firm but gentle hands, he spoke words 
 of calm good sense, his soothing voice hushed the 
 
404 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 noise and rancour. It was as if magic were at 
 work, or some mesmerist; the angry feelings 
 subsided ; the boys passions were allayed ; the 
 fierce storm became calm. 
 
 " Enough of this for the present. George, you 
 go home. Gentlemen, make way for him if you 
 please. As to the Orville, which, as I gather, is 
 the bone of contention, his going up for it, or 
 the contrary, is for the decision of the head- 
 master ; not for yours. Disperse quietly, every 
 one." 
 
 In after-days, when the boys should think 
 over this little episode in their school life, some 
 wonder might arise in their minds how it was 
 that they had so implicitly obeyed. It is true 
 Mr. Henry made a slight allusion — it was 
 nothing more — to certain divine mandates, that 
 clearly do not enjoin quarrelling and fighting 
 and evil passions; rather, peace and love: but 
 the boys did not at the moment seem to think 
 much of that. It was ever so : come upon what 
 scene of conflict he would, Mr. Henry was sure 
 to turn it into peace. The boys flitted indoors, 
 one and all, Bertie Loftus bringing up the rear ; 
 and Mr. Henry went inside the cloisters and sat 
 down on the base of a stone pillar as if his 
 strength or his breath failed him. George 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 
 
 405 
 
 Paradyne, looking round from the small gate, 
 happened to catch sight of his face, and came 
 back, asking if he felt ill. 
 
 " It's nothing," said Mr. Henry : but the wan 
 face, the panting breath, seemed to belie the 
 words. " Wait a moment, George : I want to 
 speak to you. I think you had better withdraw 
 your name for the Orville." 
 
 "Not I. Look here, Arthur— and I'll be 
 hanged if I care, though they hear me call you 
 so — this attack upon papa makes me all the 
 more resolute to go in and win* Good-bye ; 
 I shall be round this evening." 
 
 George ran on. At the great gates stood the 
 stranger still, looking and listening. A man of 
 thirty, or thereabouts, with reddish hair. As 
 George rushed by, a thought arose that he had 
 seen the face somewhere before : but he was in 
 a hurry, and took no particular notice. 
 
 " A nice row, that, for college gents," cried the 
 stranger, ignoring ceremony. " And so you are 
 George Paradyne ! How you have grown S " 
 
 George stopped, naturally ; and devoured the 
 face with his eves. As the light of recollection 
 dawned upon him, he darted close to the man, 
 and cried out with a great cry : 
 
 " You are Abel Hopper ! " 
 
406 
 
 OBVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " J ust so. But I didn't expect to see you in 
 these parts." 
 
 It was indeed Hopper, the ex-clerk at Liver- 
 pool. The coincidence was curious, had we time 
 to follow it out — that the real Hopper should 
 make his appearance just as the fears of Mr. 
 Trace should have been set at rest as to the 
 false one. 
 
 " You see the life that is mine ; the disgrace 
 ciiat clings to me," panted George, in his 
 impulsive emotion. " If you have a spark of 
 manly feeling, you will speak out and clear my 
 father's memory, even though at the cost of 
 criminating yourself." 
 
 Hopper stared at George with a questioning 
 gaze. " I don't know what you mean," he said. 
 " You must talk more plainly, young sir." 
 
 " Yes, you do know. You know — don't you — 
 that my father was innocent ? " 
 
 " I do know it. He was innocent." 
 
 " And that you were guilty." 
 
 " No ; that I swear I was not." 
 
 The accent wore a sound of truth, and George 
 paused. " Then who was guilty ? " 
 
 Hopper laughed as he crossed the road to the 
 plantation. " We may come at that, perhaps, 
 Master George, by-and-by. All in good time/* 
 
THE OUTBREAK. 
 
 407 
 
 " But it is not all in good time/' cried George, 
 pursuing him. " Oh, come with me to my 
 mother ! She has believed him guilty ; and it 
 has embittered her heart, and changed her 
 nature, and made a misery of our daily life. 
 Only come and show her that he was innocent ! " 
 
 But Hopper only went on all the quicker, and 
 the sound of. George's voice died away in the 
 distance. Mr. Henry had seen and heard nothing 
 of this. Some of the boys were coming out 
 a°;ain with bats in their hands. Trace was 
 one : but he carried a book, not a bat. They 
 wondered what the German was sitting there 
 for. Trace went up to him, and spoke. 
 
 " The part you acted just now was uncalled 
 for, though I did not stop it before the school. 
 Interference on Paradyne's behalf from you is 
 particularly out of place." 
 
 " I think not, Trace." 
 
 "You think not! When you know who you 
 are ! A man who is here under a false name ; 
 whose life is a lie ; is not one to " 
 
 Trace stopped. The boys Were nearer than he 
 thought, and were listening with eager ears. 
 Mr. Henry got up and walked away. 
 
 " Trace, what did you mean ? " came the eager 
 voices. " Who is he ? " 
 
408 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 And Trace told them. Betrayed out of his 
 usual prudence, or perhaps tired of concealment, 
 at last he disclosed the secret he had so recently 
 learnt. It was another Paradyne. 
 
 Another Paradyne ! Another of the brood ! 
 Trace, throwing his head into the air, pointed a 
 finger of scorn after the receding master: and 
 the boys stared in stupid wonder. Another 
 Paradyne i 
 
( 409 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 BEFORE THE EXAMINERS. 
 
 The great day had come, big with the fate of 
 the Orville, All Saints' Day, the First of Novem- 
 ber. In the large hall, made ready for the 
 occasion, wearing their gowns, their trenchers 
 laid beside them, sat the candidates, before the 
 gentlemen who had come from other parts and 
 schools to preside with the masters- of the college. 
 It might, on the face of things, have been almost 
 called a solemn farce, this sitting in conclave, 
 this great examination, confined to one day and 
 to the formal routine of questioning, but that it 
 was known that the true adjudicator of the prize 
 was Dr. Brabazon, who had probably decided 
 beforehand upon the victor. Essays and papers 
 on various subjects had been prepared and given 
 in previously by the candidates ; these haa been 
 examined, and their respective merits adjudicated 
 by the masters in their several departments, 
 whose opinions as to individual merit were con- 
 
410 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 veyed to the head-master in sealed notes. It 
 had been impossible for Mr. Henry to assign the 
 first place in his branches, French and German, 
 to any other than Paradyne; but the just and 
 impartial tone of his mind might be seen by the 
 fact that he had appended to his decision a 
 memorandum, calling the head-master's attention 
 to the fact of George Paradyne's partly foreign 
 education; thus leaving it to Dr. Brabazon 
 whether the proficiency should be allowed to' 
 weigh in the contest. He need not have 
 troubled, for, after all, now that the trial had 
 come, Paradyne did not go up for it. 
 
 A sort of disturbance took place the previous 
 night about Paradyne. Mr. Jebb, made ac- 
 quainted with the cabal in the quadrangle, had 
 carried the grievance to the head-master, and 
 the candidates were called into the study, Para- 
 dyne excepted. Gall, who had come back, made 
 one of them. Sir Simon Orville was sitting 
 with the master — which was unexpected. The 
 question to be decided was this : was Paradyne, 
 with his burden of inherited disgrace, to be 
 allowed to compete for the Orville with them- 
 selves, who had no such inheritance, and re- 
 pudiated all possibility of disgrace on their own 
 score, present and future, and for their fore- 
 
BEFORE THE EXAMINERS. 41 i 
 
 fathers in the past ? The matter was settled by 
 Sir Simon, who scarcely allowed the head-master 
 to put in a word edgeways, even in acquiescence. 
 He said that if Paradyne was excluded from the 
 trial, his nephews, Loftus and Trace, should not 
 go up for it, nor Gall either, for he should take 
 upon himself to act for his friend, Gall the elder, 
 who was a very particular enemy to oppression 
 in any shape. It decided the question. Gall 
 and Talbot at once spoke up, saying they had 
 never wished Paradyne not to try ; Loftus said 
 the same; Brown major, with round eyes, 
 avowed an opinion that it would be horribly 
 unfair to Paradyne to deprive him of the chance, 
 and he had always privately thought so, though 
 he had gone in for the row against him. Dr. 
 Brabazon dismissed them with a covert reprimand, 
 and Trace, speaking a private word with Sir 
 Simon, learnt that the man whom he had seen 
 with Mr. Henry was not the dreaded Hopper. 
 The news consoled Trace in some degree for this 
 unwelcome decision, and he was uncharitable 
 enough to hope that individual had been drowned. 
 
 But on this, the eventful morning, a note had 
 been delivered to the head-master from George 
 Paradyne, saying he withdrew from the contest. 
 And perhaps the master was not in heart sorry, 
 
412 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 for it put an end to a matter of strife that had 
 been somewhat difficult to deal with. 
 
 How had George Paradyne been won over to 
 do this ? you may be asking in surprise. In the 
 first place, Hopper had — -so to say — eaten his 
 words. George had found out where he was 
 staying, at a small obscure inn beyond the 
 station/ and went to him in the evening, press- 
 ing the man to say who was really guilty. 
 Hopper could only be brought to respond in a 
 joking, derisive sort of way; but insisted that 
 the guilty man was really Captain Paradyne. 
 "You know it was your father, after all," he 
 said emphatically to George ; and his look and 
 tone were so sincere, that George's heart sank, 
 for the first time, with a doubt that it had been. 
 In this frame of mind, his spirit subdued almost 
 to despondency, George went round to Mr. 
 Henry's ; and when the latter urged him again to 
 give up the Orville, George received the advice 
 in silence. 
 
 " You think it right, then, that I should yield 
 to this cabal against me ? " 
 
 " It is not altogether that, George," said Mr. 
 Henry, who w r as lying upon three chairs, and 
 spoke slowly, as if in pain. " They are all 
 against you, and perhaps it is not right that one 
 
BEFORE THE EXAMINERS. 413 
 
 should hold out in opposition to the many. Not 
 on that account would I so strenuously urge it, 
 but on another. There is little doubt that the 
 real contest will lie between you and Trace." 
 
 "And as little doubt that I shall beat him in 
 it," added George. 
 
 " Yes, I believe you would. Well, George, do 
 a generous action and withdraw from it for his 
 sake. Let Trace get it. That past wrong upon 
 him can never be wiped out by us ; but we, you 
 and I, may do a trifle now and then of kindness 
 to him, perform some little sacrifice or other in 
 requital of it. / have been ever seeking for the 
 opportunity since I came here ; it is one reason 
 why I have been always urging you to endurance, 
 rather than retaliation. George, be generous 
 now." 
 
 And George Paradyne was at length won over 
 to this view. His mother, in her haughty resent- 
 ment against the school for their treatment of 
 him that day, had already urged it. The note 
 of renouncement was written to the head-master, 
 and one candidate's chance for the coveted prize 
 was over. It was made known just before the 
 examination began, after the morning service in 
 the chapel. 
 
 " It will be Trace's now," cried the boys, with 
 
414 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 shouts of victory. " Trace, old fellow, here's 
 ■wishing you joy ! The rest might as well give 
 in at once." 
 
 " It is not for the sake of the benefit," dis- 
 claimed Trace, his cheeks wearing their salmon- 
 coloured tinge of satisfaction, " but for the honour 
 it will bring. It would have been out of the 
 just order of things for that tainted fellow to 
 gain it over me." 
 
 Of course. Nevertheless there was a feeling 
 on some of them — led to, perhaps, by a word of 
 Gall's — that it was an unfair thing for Paradvne 
 to have been put out of the trial. 
 
 The long table was removed from the middle 
 of the hall, and the candidates sat across it, 
 before the masters and the gentlemen. One of 
 the masters was not there — Mr. Henry, and it 
 was supposed he was resenting the defeat of 
 Paradyne. Let us leave them to their work. 
 
 The rest of the boys had a holiday; and 
 highly agreeable they found it ; although an 
 order had been appended to the privilege that 
 no noise whatever should be made within bounds, 
 to the disturbance of the examiners. This 
 rendered them a little uncertain what to do with 
 themselves, until it entered into the bright head 
 of Brown minor to propose to "have it out with 
 
BEFORE THE EXAMINERS. 
 
 415 
 
 Mother Butter." About ten of them started in 
 this laudable errand, chiefly second-desk boys. 
 But when they arrived at that estimable lady's 
 residence, they found that she was abroad and 
 her kitchen locked up. 
 
 It was a disappointment. There was no paint 
 conveniently at hand to paint the door green, as 
 they had the cow, or they might have tried their 
 hand at it. They stood disconsolate. 
 
 " Let's take a look at old Henry in his sulks ! " 
 cried Mr. Smart, briskly. w Fancy his not show- 
 ing up at the examination ! " 
 
 "And ask him how he relishes Paradyne's 
 being put out," added Lamb. 
 
 " Won't it be jolly ! " said Dick Loftus, beginning 
 to dance. 
 
 They turned to the door. Mr. Henry's assumed 
 sullenness at Paradyne's defeat was set down 
 partly to the fact that he had coached that 
 gentleman, partly to mortification at the dis- 
 closure that he was not himself, but somebody 
 else. Trace had favoured the school with all 
 particulars. This would be almost &s good fun 
 as Mother Butter. 
 
 " Let's give a postman's knock, or he mayn't 
 open it," whispered Leek, 
 
 A postman's knock they gave ; so far as raps 
 
416 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 upon a parlour-door could imitate that sound. 
 It was not so distinct as might have been, from 
 the fact that too many hands gave it in too 
 many places. Mr. Henry's voice called out, 
 " Come in/' not very distinctly. And in they 
 went. The room was empty, but in the small 
 bedchamber opening from it, the door thrown 
 wide, they saw their master. He was in bed, 
 sitting up in it, not lying, leaning back against 
 some cushions. 
 
 Ah yes, the incapacity had come, all too soon. 
 Had he seen the physician to-day instead of 
 yesterday, there had been no need of the in- 
 junction, to give up work, to stay away from 
 college. The disease had shown itself rapidly 
 and unmistakably ; the power of exertion had 
 left him. And there he lay ; a desperate pain at 
 his heart, and the hectic on his cheeks. 
 
 Appearances were so unlike " sullenness," or 
 anything else they expected to find, that the 
 invading crew stood in sudden discomfiture of 
 spirit. Two or three of them began to back 
 out ; but Mr. Henry held out both his hands 
 with a sweet smile of welcome. 
 
 " I hoped some of you might come to see me 
 this holiday, when you knew I was ill. Thank 
 you all, my dear lads." 
 
BEFORE THE EXAMINERS. 417 
 
 " But we didn't come to see you because you 
 were ill; we didn't know it," cried truthful Dick. 
 "I'm afraid we came for something else. We 
 thought you were stopping away in vexation, 
 sir, because Paradyne was not going up for the 
 Orville." 
 
 Mr. Henry gently shook his head, " It is by 
 my advice that Paradyne does not go up. I 
 should have been vexed if he had. And now 
 tell me how you are spending your holiday." 
 
 He seemed to speak with a slow, faint voice, 
 and breath did not come so freely as it ought. 
 The boys made no answer. They were taking 
 in everything, and had not yet regained their 
 audacity. Lamb had fully meant to address 
 him as Mr. Paradyne, and go in for a sneer, but 
 somehow could not readily get the name out, 
 and felt crestfallen in consequence. 
 
 " Are you staying away on account of illness, 
 Mr. Henry ? " asked Leek. 
 
 " Don't you see that I am ? " 
 
 H But the examination's on ! " cried Leek, who 
 could not understand any illness to be as im- 
 portant as the trial for the Orville. 
 
 " I wish I could have gone," Mr. Henry replied. 
 " I lay very still all night hoping to get strength 
 to appear, but it proved useless." 
 
 Orville College. 27 
 
418 
 
 OftVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " When shall you be well enough to come 
 back to college ? " asked Dick Loftus, in rather 
 a subdued tone. 
 
 Mr. Henry took one of Dick's hands in his; 
 with the other he clasped Leek's. He did not 
 reply at once, only looked out at them all with 
 a strangefy affectionate gaze. 
 
 " Should you miss me very much if I were 
 never to come back again ? " 
 
 " But you are coming back ? " exclaimed Brown 
 minor, leaning forward on the foot of the 
 bed. 
 
 " 1 think not. I fear not. I have thought 
 for some little time now that this might be the 
 ending. But it has come on very rapidly." 
 
 "You don't mean/' hesitated Brown, "that 
 you are — going to die ? " 
 
 " I fear it may be so." 
 
 The boys stood awe-struck. Their hearts 
 seemed to have stopped beating. 
 
 " But, Mr. Henry — what a dreadful thing ? " 
 
 "Oh, boys, it may be a happy thing. God 
 knows what is best for me." 
 
 " Why don't you have a doctor ? " 
 
 " Your friend Mrs. Butter's gone for one now," 
 he answered, with a smile. " And I went to 
 London yesterday morning and saw a great 
 
BEFORE THE EXAMINERS. 419 
 
 physician. It was the cause of my absence from 
 class." 
 
 They remembered the absence quickly enough, 
 and also the row in the quadrangle afterwards, 
 which he had quelled. Had that disturbance 
 anything to do with this sudden increase of 
 illness ? The physician might have said so. 
 
 Going to die ! A terrible shadow, as of re- 
 morse for unkindness rendered, fell upon them 
 as they stood. They called to mind how they 
 had treated him; how uniformly kind and for- 
 giving and generous he had been to them in 
 spite of it, and of the peace he had contrived to 
 shed. 
 
 Leek's conscience began to prick him. " Is 
 your illness caused by the trouble you have had 
 with us boys, Mr. Henry ? " he asked, remember- 
 ing the promise he had given that day in the 
 Strand, and how soon he had forgotten it. 
 
 " No, no. It may have helped it on a little : I 
 can't tell." 
 
 Dick Loftus's heart was collapsing more than 
 anybody's ; it was one of the tenderest breathing. 
 " I wish the time would come over acfain ! " 
 cried the boy, in his flood-tide of repentance. 
 " I've been worse than any of them. I hope 
 you'll never forgive me." 
 
420 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 " Not forgive you ! " cried Mr. Henry, regard- 
 ing him tenderly. " There's nothing to forgive. 
 It seems that you have always been kind to me. 
 You have let me give you many a private lesson, 
 and take your part in many a dispute. Thank 
 vou for it all, Dick." 
 
 " But that has been doing kindness to me," 
 debated Dick. 
 
 " And to do you kindness, Dick, is one pf the 
 things I have lived for," said Mr. Henry, softly. 
 " I am a Paradyne, you know ; I have had a 
 great debt upon me." 
 
 Dick could not see the argument, although 
 Mr. Henry was a Paradyne. Brown minor 
 interposed with an opportune question. 
 
 "Does the head-master know of your illness, 
 Mr. Henry ? " 
 
 " Yes. He is coming round when the day's 
 work is over." 
 
 " Trace will have the Orville." 
 
 " Oh yes, I hope so." 
 
 The boys began to back out. Illness that 
 might be about to terminate in death, no one 
 knew how soon, was what they were not 
 accustomed to. It seemed to strike upon them 
 as disheartening ; not to mention a sense of 
 awkwardness in the manners that was anything 
 
BEFORE THE EXAMINERS. 
 
 421 
 
 but agreeable. They had gone in, impudent and 
 noisy ; they went out humbly on tiptoe. At the 
 garden-gate they encountered Mother Butter, 
 and did not molest her, or pay her a single 
 compliment ; to that lady's infinite astonishment, 
 who came to the conclusion that thev must have 
 been " cowed 99 by a flogging all round. 
 
 Dick Loftus sat down on the stump of a 
 tree in the playground. Dick, for the first time 
 in his life, was gathering sorrow. He did not 
 look at the past in the light Mr. Henry appeared 
 to do, when he spoke of the debt left on him by 
 Captain Paradyne ; but he remembered what the 
 universal kindness (about which he had never 
 previously thought) had been, and he knew that 
 he who had shown it was passing rapidly 
 away. 
 
 With an aching of the heart that Dick had 
 never felt — with the consciousness of that bitter 
 sin, ingratitude, breaking its refrain on his brain, 
 Dick started to his feet again, and dashed after 
 Brown minor, taking a knife from his pocket as 
 he ran. It was a recent acquisition, bought with 
 some money that Dick had been saving for the 
 purpose, and prized accordingly. Mr. Brown 
 was astride on the gymnastic-pole. 
 
 " Look here, Brown : you wanted to buy my 
 
422 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 knife for three shillings the other day, and I 
 laughed at you. You shall have it now. It 
 cost four-and-sixpence." 
 
 Brown minor, a regular screw at a bargain, 
 took the knife in his hand for a critical examina- 
 tion. " I wouldn't give that now, Dick. You've 
 used it." 
 
 " I've not hurt it," answered Dick. " I haven't 
 a penny in my pocket," he continued ruefully ; 
 * I want money for something, or I wouldn't sell 
 it. What will you give ? " 
 
 " I don't mind two shillings." 
 
 Dick tossed over the knife and held out his 
 hand for the money. Brown gave eighteen- 
 pence ; it was all he had about him, he said, and 
 promised the other sixpence later. Dick took 
 the cash and started off to the shops. Half-an- 
 hour later Mr. Henry was disturbed by his 
 sudden entrance with a cargo of treasures. 
 
 Three sour oranges, but the best Dick could 
 get ; an apple ; some almond rock ; two bath 
 buns ; an ounce of cough lozenges ; and Captain 
 Marryat's novel " Snarley-yow," which he had 
 gone in trust for. These several articles he 
 tumbled out upon the bed. 
 
 " If you Avill try an orange, or a piece of the 
 rock, Mr. Henry, you'll be sure to like them," 
 
BEFORE THE EXAMINERS. 423 
 
 said Dick earnestly. " And the book's first-rate. 
 You'll laugh y ourself into fits over it." 
 
 Mr. Henry caught the boy's hands, his eyes 
 glistening with dew : " Thank you very much, 
 Dick ! God bless you. This kindness does me 
 good.*' 
 
 He did not damp the generous ardour by 
 saying that the purchases would be useless to 
 him : rather did he seem to make much of the 
 collection in his grateful good-nature. And Dick 
 Loftus, wringing the delicate hand, turned tail 
 and bustled out again ; for his eyes were glisten- 
 ing too. 
 
 » 
 
424 
 
 OR VILLI! COLLEGE, 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 FALLING FROM A PINNACLE. 
 
 You might decidedly have thought that Mr. 
 Raymond Trace was treading upon air. But 
 that it was almost dark — for the examination 
 had only terminated when the shades of evening 
 fell — his bearing might have excited the admira- 
 tion of his fellows. His back was upright, his 
 face was lifted ; pride and self-sufficiency puffed 
 him out. He had come out well before the 
 examiners, and there could be no moral doubt 
 that the prize would be his. Talbot had also 
 done well : they were about on a par : but Trace 
 and every one else knew that Talbot, his junior 
 in the college, would not be preferred to him. 
 The examiners had complimented him ; the head- 
 master had shaken hands with him ; Trace felt 
 elevated to the seventh heaven, and was walking 
 forth to impart the glorious news at Sir Simon's. 
 
 Treading upon air. His gown was thrown 
 back from his shoulders, his trencher sat jauntily 
 
FALLING FROM A PINNACLE. 425 
 
 on his head, his boots creaked, his feet seemed 
 not to touch the ground. Just before he turned 
 in at Sir Simon's gate, he saw two people turn 
 out of it, and recognized George Paradyne and 
 his mother. Trace vouchsafed no notice what- 
 ever, and thought it very like their impudence 
 to be there. George, who did not recognize him 
 at the first moment, ran after him inside the 
 grounds. 
 
 " Have you gained the prize, Trace ? " he 
 asked, as he caught him up. 
 
 "It has not pleased the head-master to 
 proclaim who has gained it or who has not," 
 answered Trace, turning, and speaking with 
 the same sort of accent he might have used to 
 a dog. 
 
 " But I suppose you feel sure of it ? " 
 
 " I have felt that all along. I am sure now." 
 
 "That's right," cried George, heartily. "I am 
 glad I gave up to you ! If I have been secretly 
 chafing over it all day, I'm thankful now." 
 
 " Glad you gave up to me ! " retorted Trace. 
 " You did not give up to me ; you were forced to 
 give up because you couldn't help yourself." 
 
 " I gave up to you, indeed, Trace ; that you 
 might get it. It was through Mr. Henry ; he 
 persuaded me : and I'm heartily glad of it as 
 
426 
 
 OHVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 things have turned out. Good-bye, old fellow ! 
 I won't keep you now ; but I'll stand by you 
 through all, Trace. Mind that." 
 
 Scarcely according a moment's thought to the 
 ambiguous words, except to resent their insolence, 
 Trace gave his shoulders a shake, metaphorically 
 shaking off George Paradyne, and went on his 
 way of triumph. Ah, boys ! how often when we 
 are at the very height of prosperity, is a fall at 
 hand ! As you go through life you will remark 
 it. That was the last hour of pride to Raymond 
 Trace. 
 
 He rang grandly at the hall-bell — as became a 
 senior fellow who was above the ordinary run of 
 mortals, and had just gained the Orville. " Is 
 Mr. Trace in the dining-room ? " he asked of 
 Thomas, rubbing his shoes on the inner mat, and 
 handing him his gown and trencher. 
 
 A simple question, however proudly put; but 
 Thomas answered it in a peculiar way. He 
 dropped his voice to a confidential whisper, and 
 laid his forefinger on Trace's shoulder, as if 
 there were some mystery in the house. 
 
 "He's not here, Mr. Raymond. He is safe 
 off." 
 
 " Safe off! " exclaimed Trace. " What do you 
 mean ? " 
 
FALLING FROM A PINNACLE. 
 
 427 
 
 " He is gone, sir. I let him out at the back- 
 lawn window, with his carpet-bag, as soon as it 
 was dusk." 
 
 Trace stared at the man. " What is he gone 
 for ? " 
 
 " There's some trouble afoot, Mr. Raymond, 
 and your father has gone away out of it. He was 
 looking like a ghost. Mr. Loftus is telegraphed 
 for, and we think he may get here to-night by a 
 late train." 
 
 "But what is the trouble?" asked Trace, a 
 vague feeling of dismay stealing over him. 
 
 Thomas shook his head. " I don't rightly 
 know what it is, sir. A man of the name of 
 Hopper brought it, I fancy ; and he's in there 
 now with Sir Simon " — nointin^ to the dining- 
 
 to o 
 
 room. "I dare say you can go in, Mr. Ray- 
 mond," he added, advancing to open the door. 
 " Mrs. Paradyne has just gone." 
 
 It had been an eventful day. While Raymond 
 Trace was flourishing his acquirements and his 
 proficiency before learned men, fate, so cross- 
 grained at times, was working elsewhere no end 
 of ill. On the hearthrug, when he went in, 
 stood Sir Simon and Hopper. Hopper left them, 
 and Sir Simon prepared to enter upon an ex- 
 planation. Trace sat down to listen ; a moisture, 
 
428 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 as of some awful dread, breaking out upon his 
 brow. 
 
 It appeared that Hopper had been dodging 
 about the neighbourhood the past day and part 
 of this one, stealthily looking after Mr. Trace, 
 and endeavouring by covert inquiries to ascertain 
 whether or not he was in it; a plan he adopted 
 for certain private reasons, rather than apply 
 boldly at Sir Simons, and make open inquiry. 
 He could learn nothing. No one had seen any 
 such person about, as he described Mr. Trace to 
 be. This afternoon, he met Mrs. Paradyne close 
 to her house, and she caused him to enter. Full 
 of her griefs and grievances, she spoke out un- 
 reservedly, especially of this latter grievance of 
 George's treatment about the Orville prize ; that 
 he should have been forced to put himself out of 
 it that young Trace might win. 
 
 Hopper listened. He seemed struck with the 
 injustice done to the boy. He could but sympa- 
 thize with Mrs. Paradyne — who had been kind 
 to him in the days gone by, when he was a poor 
 friendless clerk — and her misfortunes ; with her 
 changed face, with the tears that she once in her 
 life let fall, overcome by the old associations his 
 presence brought ; and in a rash fit of generosity, 
 he avowed solemnly to her that the misfortunes 
 
FALLING FROM A PINNACLE, 429 
 
 were unmerited, for her late husband was not 
 the guilty man. He appeared to repent of 
 this confidence almost as soon as given, and 
 went away, asking her to keep it strictly to 
 herself. 
 
 Keep it to herself! not Mrs. Paradyne. The 
 disclosure had fallen on her in the light of a 
 revelation ; the belief maintained in her husband's 
 guilt swept itself from her mind at a single 
 stroke, and she marvelled at her credulous blind- 
 ness. It seemed to change the current of her 
 life's blood, this knowledge; to restore to her 
 the energy she had lost. Never so much as 
 giving a thought to Hopper's request for secrecy, 
 deeming it wholly unreasonable, Mrs. Paradyne 
 took her way to Sir Simon Orville's, requested a 
 private interview, and told her tale. Sir Simon, 
 impressed by the energetic words, caught up the 
 conviction that the unfortunate Captain Para- 
 dyne had been really innocent. He could not 
 call Mr. Trace to the council, because that 
 gentleman had gone to London by train, and 
 had not yet returned. 
 
 '•'And who was guilty? — who was guilty, my 
 dear lady ? " cried Sir Simon. " Did Hopper tell 
 you that ? " 
 
 " No ; he would not say. I pressed the question 
 
430 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 urgently on him/' continued Mrs. Paradyne ; 
 " but could get no answer. All he said was, 
 that it was inconvenient just yet to disclose it." 
 
 " The guilty man was himself," said Sir Simon. 
 
 " I do not think so," answered Mrs. Paradyne. 
 " His manner did not strike me as that of a 
 guilty man." 
 
 Sir Simon nodded, but did not by words 
 maintain his opinion. He quitted the room, 
 took prompt measures, and in a very short time, 
 Mr. Hopper found himself under convoy to Pond 
 Place, somewhat against his will. 
 
 There, very much to his surprise, he was 
 accused by Sir Simon of the past frauds. At 
 first Hopper laughed at it; but he soon found 
 it a matter all too earnest; that he was about to 
 be consigned to the protection of the law. In 
 self-defence he made a clean breast of the truth, 
 and avowed that the real culprit was — Robert 
 Trace. 
 
 Sir Simon Orville felt something like a stag 
 at bay. He listened to the particulars as a man 
 in a dream : never, never had his doubts touched 
 on this. And Mr. Trace, who returned home 
 during the recital, and was told by Thomas that 
 Sir Simon was engaged on business, went straight 
 to his chamber, all unconscious that the business 
 
FALLING FROM A PINNACLE. 
 
 431 
 
 concerned him, and that he had been seen to 
 enter and was recognized by Hopper. 
 
 "I suspected Mr. Trace from the very first/' 
 observed Hopper, continuing his story to Sir 
 Simon. " A singular occurrence, though trifling 
 enough in itself, led to my doing so : and I 
 thought it was beyond the range of probability 
 that Mr. Paradyne, so simple-minded and 
 honourable, could be guilty. But Mr. Paradyne 
 died before anything could be proved or dis- 
 proved, and the guilt was supposed to have died 
 with him. Mr. Trace hushed the matter up. 
 People said how lenient he was; but I looked 
 upon the leniency, which was foreign to his 
 usual mode of doing business, as another reason 
 for doubting him. I was not sure, but I quietly 
 set to work to track out my clue ; I had one to 
 go upon ; and I tracked it out surely and safely. 
 The result was what I had anticipated — Robert 
 Trace was the guilty man. Never, sure, was 
 one so lucky before ! Had Mr. Paradyne only 
 lived four-and-twenty hours, the farce could not 
 have been kept up. Ask him, Sir Simon, whether 
 I am right or not," concluded the worthy Hopper. 
 " I know he is here." 
 
 "If you knew all this, why did you not 
 denounce him at the time ? " growled Sir Simon, 
 
432 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE 
 
 who was feeling terribly scandalized by the 
 whole thing. 
 
 " Because he had sailed for America before I 
 had finished tracking it out." 
 
 " And you followed him there ! and worried 
 his life nearly out of him, trying to make your 
 own game ! I see now ; I understand it all," 
 added the aggrieved knight, his thoughts going 
 back to the half-explanations of Hopper's con- 
 duct and claims that had been given him by Mr. 
 Trace. 
 
 "Any one else would have done the same in 
 my place, sir," was the excusing answer. "It 
 was better for him that I should keep the affair 
 hushed up, than proclaim it." 
 
 " And the Paradynes have lain under the guilt 
 all this time ! " groaned Sir Simon. " What on 
 earth did he do with the money ? " he added, the 
 problem striking him. 
 
 " Ah, well, that's best known to himself," cried 
 Hopper. "He had it. He went into ventures 
 under another name, for one thing." 
 
 " Into ventures ? " 
 
 " Speculations, and that," explained Hopper. 
 " Lots of folk do the same nowadays, more than 
 the world knows of. If successful, they grow 
 into millionnaires, and their friends can't make 
 
FALLING FROM A PINNA CLF. 
 
 433 
 
 out how; if unsuccessful, there comes a smash. 
 Ask him, sir, whether it's not all true that I 
 have told you. I saw him come up that path a 
 few minutes ago." 
 
 Sir Simon Orville had no need to ask. A 
 conviction that the man did indeed speak the 
 truth was within him, sure and certain as a 
 revelation. He followed Mr. Trace to his 
 chamber, and accused him, speaking quietly and 
 sadly ; and Mr, Trace, finding that Hopper was 
 below, felt scared out of his senses. The time 
 for denial was past : Robert Trace, believing 
 himself overtaken by the destiny that seemed 
 so long to have been pursuing him, did not 
 attempt to make any. Sir Simon, locked in 
 with him, saw how it was — that the hunted 
 man was, and had been all these years, at his 
 ex-clerk's mercy. 
 
 "I never intended to accuse Paradyne," said 
 Mr. Trace, with abject lips. " Loftus got meddling 
 with the accounts, a thing he had not done for 
 years, and found something was wrong. For 
 appearance 5 sake, I was obliged to go through 
 the books with him ; and then to agree with 
 him that fraud must be at work. It was Loftus 
 who accused Paradyne ; there was no one else 
 whom it was possible to suspect ; it was Loftus 
 
 Orville College. 28 
 
434 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE 
 
 who ordered him to be taken into custody : and 
 I could not say the man was innocent without 
 betraying myself. Then came Paradyne's sudden 
 death, and I let the guilt rest upon him." 
 
 Sir Simon interposed with but one question. 
 " What became of the money ? " 
 
 " Private speculations/' answered Robert Trace. 
 " There you have the whole." 
 
 Yes; Sir Simon had the whole, and now, a 
 little later in the day, Raymond Trace had it. 
 Mr. Trace had made his escape from the house 
 at twilight, while Hopper was still detained with 
 Sir Simon. Hopper showed every wish, as far 
 as hints went, to compromise the affair ; meaning, 
 that for a sum of money he would hush up Mr. 
 Trace's part in it. Sir Simon dismissed him 
 when Raymond entered : Mr. Hopper gave his 
 address at the inn, and went away in confidence ; 
 leaving, as he supposed, Mr. Trace the elder and 
 Sir Simon to talk over any offer they might feel 
 inclined to make him, 
 
 Sir Simon disclosed the whole to Raymond ; 
 there was no possibility of its being kept from 
 him. The boy — if it be not wrong to call him 
 so — sat very still on a low chair, feeling as if the 
 world, and everything in it bright, and honest, 
 and desirable, were closing to him. If ever a 
 
FALLING FROM A PINNACLE. 435 
 
 spirit was flung down on its beam-ends from an 
 exalted pinnacle, it was that of Raymond Trace, 
 
 " You cannot go in for the Orville now, Ray- 
 mond," said Sir Simon to him, in a low tone, 
 breaking a long and miserable pause. 
 
 Raymond glanced slightly up. " I have gone 
 in for it ; and gained it." 
 
 " My boy, you know what I mean. You must 
 give up the gain." 
 
 The same thought had been beating itself into 
 Trace's conscience. A bitter struggle was there. 
 " You would have let Paradyne gain it and wear 
 it, Uncle Simon, when you thought his father 
 guilty ! " 
 
 "True. But there is a difference in the 
 cases." 
 
 As Raymond Trace saw for himself. He sat 
 with his pale face bent, his cold fingers uncon- 
 sciously pressing his hair off his brow. Sir 
 Simon, sorry to his heart for the signs of pain, 
 laid his own hand compassionately on the cold 
 one. 
 
 " Raymond, this disgrace is no more your fault 
 than it was young Paradyne s. Take my advice : 
 look it in the face, now, at first; do your best in 
 it ; in time you may live it down. "Let it be the 
 turning-point in your life. You have not gone 
 
436 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 in — I use the language of your college fellows — 
 for a strictly straightforward course : begin and 
 do so now. It will be as certain to lead you 
 right in the end, as the other will lead you 
 wrong. Begin from this very hour, Raymond." 
 
 "I'll do what I can," was the subdued answer. 
 " Where's my father gone ? " 
 
 " I don't know where until he writes to me. 
 Raymond ! your mother, poor thing, knew the 
 truth of this." 
 
 Raymond looked up questioningly. 
 
 " I am sure of it. I can understand now her 
 bitter sorrow, the shivering dread that used to 
 come over her, her anxiety that I should be kind 
 to the Paradynes. She seemed always to be 
 living in a sort of fear. The knowledge must 
 have killed her." 
 
 Trace shivered in his turn. Yes, the know- 
 ledge of her husband's guilt, and the fear of its 
 coming to light, must have killed her. 
 
 " Have you sent for Mr. Loftus, Uncle Simon ? " 
 
 " Hours ago. Thomas telegraphed for him/' 
 
 Raymond rose. It was time for him to go. 
 He must show himself at college, and attend 
 evening service at chapel as usual. On festivals 
 especially there might be no excuse, and this 
 was All Saints' Day. The examination had not 
 
FALLING FKOM A PINNACLE. 437 
 
 done away with duties, neither did this private 
 blow of his own. A thought crossed his mind 
 to write a note to the head-master, and never go 
 back to college again : but it was not feasible. 
 Better, as Sir Simon said, face it out. If he 
 could bring himself to do it ! 
 
 The contrast almost overwhelmed him — be- 
 tween this walk out and the recent walk in. 
 He placed his back against a tree in the long 
 avenue, wondering if any misery since the world 
 began had ever been equal to this. As he stood 
 there, the cruelty of his behaviour to the Para- 
 dynes came rushing over him in very hideous- 
 ness. Mr. Henry had once put an imaginary 
 case to him — " Suppose it had been your father 
 who was guilty ? " — and that now turned out to 
 be reality. Trace's line of conduct was coming 
 home to him; all its hard-heartedness, all its 
 sin: a little forgiving gentleness towards the 
 Paradynes, a little loving help to bear their 
 heavy burden, would have cost him nothing; 
 and, oh ! the comfort it would have brought to 
 him now, in his bitter hour. As a man sows, so 
 must he rean. 
 
 They were filing into the robing-room when 
 lie got in. Gall said something about his being 
 late, but Trace took no notice. He had his 
 
438 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 gown on already, and stood near the door to 
 take up his place. 
 
 " Have you heard the news ? ' asked Gall. 
 
 " What news ? " was the mechanical response. 
 
 " About Mr. Henry. He is dying." 
 
 " Dying ! Mr. Henry ! Who says it ? " 
 
 " It is quite true, unhappily ; he will never 
 get up from his bed again," answered Gall. 
 There was no time for more explanation : the 
 masters were approaching, and the organ was 
 already playing in the chapel. 
 
 Once more Trace sat in his place, listening to 
 the lessons as one in a dream. How applicable 
 the first of those lessons was to his present state 
 of mind, he alone could feel. Gall read it, with 
 his soft, clear voice that in itself was music. It 
 was the fifth chapter of Wisdom to the seven- 
 teenth verse. The following are the parts that 
 struck Trace particularly, but you can look out 
 the whole for yourselves, and see whether it was 
 or was not likely to come home to one acting as 
 Trace had done, suffering as he suffered, repent- 
 ing as he repented. Mr. Henry, dying, was in 
 his mind throughout; or rather, not Mr. Henry, 
 but Arthur Henry Paradyne. 
 
 " Then shall the righteous man stand in great 
 boldness before the face of such as have afflicted 
 
FALLING FROM A PINNACLE. 439 
 
 him, and made no account of his labours. When 
 they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible 
 fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of 
 his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked 
 for. And they, repenting and groaning for 
 anguish of spirit, shall say within themselves, 
 This was he whom we had sometimes in derision, 
 and a proverb of reproach : we fools accounted 
 his life madness and his end to be without 
 honour : no w is he numbered among the children 
 of God, and his lot is among the Saints ! . . . 
 
 " What hath pride profited us ? or what good 
 hath riches with our vaunting* brought us ? All 
 those things are passed away like a shadow, and 
 as a post that hasteth by : and as a ship that 
 passeth over the waves of the water, which 
 when it is gone by, the trace thereof cannot be 
 found, neither the pathway of the keel in the 
 waves. 
 
 "Even so we in like manner, as soon as we 
 were born, began to draw to our end, and had 
 no sign of virtue to show ; but were consumed 
 in our own wickedness. For the hope of the 
 ungodly is like dust that is blown away with 
 the wind ; like a thin froth that is driven away 
 with the storm ; like as the smoke which is 
 dispersed here and there with a tempest, and 
 
440 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 passeth away as the remembrance of a guest 
 that tarrieth but a day. But the righteous live 
 for evermore ; their reward also is with the Lord, 
 and the care of them is with the Most High. 
 Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom, 
 and a beautiful crown from the Lord's hand : for 
 with his right hand shall He cover them, and 
 with His arm shall He protect them." 
 
 Gall's voice ceased. And Trace thought verily 
 that lesson had been specially appointed by Fate 
 to bring his works home to him. In a few 
 minutes there came another shock; one "in 
 grievous sickness " was solemnly prayed for : and 
 he knew it was Mr. Henry. Caring little now 
 whether he were discovered breaking the rules, 
 or not, Trace went after chapel to pay a visit to 
 Mr. Henry. Before he escaped, the boys were 
 upon him with their congratulations. It was the 
 first opportunity afforded them since the day's 
 examination. Trace winced awfully. He wished 
 to respond, "I shall not avail myself of the 
 Orville, though I may have gained it," and thus 
 begin at once to herald in the blow of exposure. 
 But his heart and his voice alike failed him : he 
 could not speak the words to that sea of faces. 
 
 Sitting up in bed, as he had been all day, his 
 Prayer-book open, and a candle on the stand by 
 
FALLING FROM A PINNACLE. 441 
 
 his side, was Mr. Henry. He put out his hand 
 and drew Trace near; his face lighting up with 
 the happiest smile. 
 
 "You have come to tell me the good news! 
 Thank you for thinking of me. I am so glad 
 that you have gained it ! " 
 
 " No/' said Trace, in a voice half husky, half 
 sullen, " I did not come for that." And there he 
 arrived at a pause. His task was very un- 
 palatable. 
 
 " I have been reading the First Lesson for the 
 evening/' remarked Mr. Henry. " What a beau- 
 tiful one it is ! A real lesson. One of those 
 that seem to speak direct to our hearts from 
 God." 
 
 A colour as of dull salmon tinged Trace's 
 cheeks. But for the loving light thrown on him 
 from the earnest eyes, large and more luminous 
 than of yore, he might have thought there was 
 a covert shaft intended for him. 
 
 u I came to speak to you, Mr. Henry : perhaps 
 I ought now to say Mr. Paradyne. Circumstances 
 have occurred which— — Have you heard any 
 particular news ? " broke off Trace. 
 
 " Only the good news that you have gained 
 the Orville. Dr. Brabazon has been with me, 
 and he whispered a little word in my ear. I 
 
442 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 seem to feel so thankful. George will not have 
 given up in vain, either. He said to me last 
 night — with a rueful face, as an argument 
 against what I was urging — f But suppose one of 
 the others should get it, and not Trace ?' It is 
 all as it should be." 
 
 Trace recalled George Paradyne s recent words ; 
 he understood them now. He understood, un- 
 happily, the other words — " Mind, Trace, I'll 
 stand by you through all." George had come 
 forth from Sir Simon's, having learnt what he, 
 Trace, was then in blissful ignorance of. " Why 
 did you urge Paradyne to give up to me ? " he 
 asked of Mr. Henry. 
 
 " Knowing me now for Mr. Paradyne's son, you 
 will understand how heavily that past calamity, 
 entailed upon you, has lain on me. If I could 
 only have wiped it off — I was always thinking — 
 have atoned for it in any way ! And I could do 
 nothing. It was but a slight matter for George 
 to withdraw from the Orville. And besides, you 
 know the cabal was so great against his trying 
 for it." 
 
 The words went down into Raymond Trace's 
 uneasy conscience ; that debt seemed as nothing, 
 compared with the one now thrown on him. He 
 dashed into his explanation. 
 
FALLING FROM A PINNACLE. 
 
 443 
 
 " Circumstances have occurred which show me 
 how very wrong and mistaken my resentment 
 against you and George has been. I will not 
 allude to them; I'm not up to it to-night; but 
 you will hear soon enough what they are. And 
 I came round to say that I'm sorry for it ; that 
 I repent of it in a degree which no words could 
 express. You were prayed for in chapel to- 
 night/' continued Trace, after a pause. "The 
 report in the school is that your case is hope- 
 less." 
 
 " It is quite so, I fear." 
 
 Trace paused, as if to get up his voice, which 
 seemed like himself — very low. " You will say 
 you forgive me before you die ? " 
 
 " The need of forgiveness lies on my side," said 
 Arthur Paradyne, pressing the cold hand with a 
 grateful pressure. " If you were a little resentful, 
 it was but natural. Say you forgive my poor 
 father ! " 
 
 "Don't!" cried Trace, with a sort of wail. 
 " I'll come in again another time, when you have 
 learnt to understand better." 
 
 " One moment," said Mr. Henry, detaining 
 him. "You seem to have some great sorrow 
 upon you to-night. Is it so ? " 
 
 " Sorrow ! " bitterly echoed Trace. " Ay ; one 
 
444 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 that will last me my life. A sorrow, to which 
 yours has been as nothing/ 5 
 
 " I have been picturing you as so full of joy 
 this evening. Trace, you have gained the Orville. 
 I know it." 
 
 " Yes. But I shall give it up to-night." 
 
 " Give up the Orville ! " 
 
 " I cannot help myself. Good-bye." 
 
 Mr. Henry was curious, but he would not 
 question farther. Trace's hand was still a 
 prisoner. " When pain is too fresh to be spoken 
 of, Trace, there is only one thing to do," he 
 gently whispered. " I learnt it." 
 
 " Yes. What ? " asked Trace, rather vacantly. 
 
 " Carry it to God. And then in time you 
 will learn that it came down to you from Him; 
 came in love. One of those mountains that lie 
 in the road to heaven, so sharp to the feet in 
 climbing them, so good to look back upon 
 when the summit is gained, the labour done. 
 Good-night." 
 
 The low persuasive accents lingered on Ray- 
 mond Trace's ear as he went out into the night ; 
 the suffering, kind, gentle face rested on his 
 memory. God help him ! God pardon him for 
 the additional thorns he had gratuitously cast on 
 this young man's already thorny path. What 
 
FALLING FROM A PINNACLE. 445 
 
 a wicked spirit had been his ! He had sown 
 thorns and nettles and noxious weeds; and, in 
 accordance with the inevitable law of Nature, 
 they had come up to sting and pierce him. 
 
446 
 
 OBVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 IN THE QUADRANGLE. 
 
 Almost sooner than perhaps even Trace antici- 
 pated, was Mr. Henry (one can't help adhering 
 to the familiar name) to be enlightened ; for, as 
 Trace went out of Mrs. Butter's, Mrs. Paradyne 
 went in. Ah, could he ever forget his astonish- 
 ment at what then took place. She fell on her 
 knees at the bedside ; and, pouring out the news 
 she brought, besought him, with tears and kisses 
 and heartfelt lamentations, to forgive her. To 
 forgive her for her conduct to him ! That past 
 calamity, five years ago, falling on her with the 
 fury of an avalanche, seemed to have suddenly 
 changed Mrs. Paradyne's nature. The sense of 
 disgrace had warped every kindly feeling of her 
 heart, and brought out all there was within her 
 of selfishness. She had been a proud woman, 
 secure in the self-esteem that arises from a 
 consciousness of ever striving to do well. The 
 blow seemed to have dried up all affection, 
 
IN THE QUADRANGLE. 
 
 447 
 
 except for George, her youngest-born, whom she 
 had ever passionately loved : and her time was 
 spent in silently, sometimes openly, reproaching 
 the husband who had so wronged her. Her 
 letters to her eldest son in Germany grew few 
 and cold; she accepted as her due w^hat aid he 
 could send, returning scanty thanks for it. 
 When, four years later, he came to Orville, she 
 scarcely received him patiently. She resented 
 his having advised the removal of George to 
 Orville College, now that it was known the 
 Loftus boys and Trace were at the same ; and 
 she, from motives of policy, forbade him to own 
 relationship with them, or to call her mother. 
 Were it disclosed that he was a Paradyne, he 
 might no longer be able to work for them. He 
 must go to the house but once in a way, and 
 then as an acquaintance. But for the ordeal of 
 sorrow he had been passing through for four 
 years, these cruelties might have well-nigh 
 broken Arthur Paradyne's heart. As it was, 
 they were but additional drops in the cup of 
 bitterness he was draining. 
 
 But when the astounding news that her 
 husband had been innocent burst upon Mrs. 
 Paradyne, she woke up from her nightmare. 
 With the lifting of the stigma from their heads, 
 
448 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 all her former kindly nature (it had not been 
 very great) returned ; the hard scales fell from 
 her eyes and heart, and she saw how selfish, nay, 
 how cruel, had been her treatment of her eldest 
 son. In almost the self-same hour, she received 
 tidings that his sickness — in which she had 
 previously only half-believed — had increased 
 alarmingly ; she heard the report that it might 
 end in death. And here she was on her knees 
 at his bedside ; the tears streaming from her 
 eyes, kisses from her lips, pouring forth the 
 blessed news, just heard, and beseeching him to 
 forgive her; to love her as of yore. It seemed to 
 him that he was repaid for all. 
 
 Morning rose. Standing in the quadrangle, 
 that favourite place of theirs, under the early 
 November sun, were the college boys, George 
 Paradyne making one of them. Strange and 
 startling tidings had just been disclosed to them. 
 The gainer of the Orville, so universally assumed 
 to be Trace, might probably turn out to be some 
 one else. 
 
 For Trace had thrown up the prize, and 
 quitted the college . 
 
 Thrown up the Orville Prize ? Quitted the 
 college ? The throng stared stupidly at one 
 another, unable to understand it. And yet it 
 
IN THE QUADRANGLE 449 
 
 must be true ; for the announcement had come 
 to them from the head-master. 
 
 The truth was, poor Raymond Trace, after 
 a whole night's battling with his mortified spirit, 
 had found himself utterly unable to face the 
 disclosure that must be made. If not made at 
 once, it must inevitably, as he knew, come out 
 later. At six o'clock that morning he was with 
 the head-master ; and before seven he had gone 
 out from the college gates, never to return. At 
 present the boys were in ignorance of any ill ; 
 and would be kept so as long as was possible* 
 A report arose, its origin not altogether clear, 
 that Trace was called thus suddenly away by 
 some stupendous business in which his father 
 was engaged in America. The boys were 
 repeating this over to each other, in full belief 
 of its veracity. 
 
 The substance of their conversation reached 
 the ears of two gentlemen who were advancing 
 unobserved, arm-in arm : Sir Simon Orville and 
 Mr, Loftus. " Called away on sudden business ! " 
 repeated Sir Simon. n Let 'em think it. As 
 good, that, as any other passing plea. Poor 
 Raymond ! " 
 
 Bertie Loftus was the first to catch sight of his 
 father. Bertie was as ignorant of recent events 
 
 Orville College, 29 
 
450 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 as the youngest boy there. He went up with 
 a glow of pleasure on his face, hardly believing 
 the vision could be real. Dick, dashing in, gave 
 the first question. " Papa ! what have you come 
 for ? " 
 
 Mr. Loftus, his tall, slender figure and hand 
 some face presenting a contrast to Sir Simon's, 
 made a sign for the boys to gather round .him, 
 and drew George Paradyne to his side. " Sir 
 Simon telegraphed for me on a matter of 
 business," he said to his sons. (i But " — turning 
 to the throng — " I have come here this morning 
 to perform an act of justice : one which has been 
 delayed so long through ignorance on my part 
 and fraud on another's, that it seems to me as if 
 vengeance must cry aloud to Heaven. Gentle- 
 men, you have heard of the frauds that George 
 Paradyne's father was accused of perpetrating. 
 Within a few hours we have discovered his 
 innocence. He was innocent as I ; and more so : 
 for I, by my culpable negligence, and mistaken 
 trust in another who was guilty, contributed to 
 the mistake. This boy" — laying his hand on 
 George's shoulder — " has been reproached by you 
 as the son of a man of crime : let me tell you, as 
 I do before Heaven, that his father was a good 
 and honourable gentleman; a brave soldier of 
 
IN THE QUADRANGLE. 451 
 
 his queen; a faithful servant of One who is 
 higher than any queen." 
 
 "He has been treated like a dog amidst you," 
 impatiently broke in Sir Simon, drowning the 
 more temperate words of Mr. Loftus, and turning 
 himself about in his own fashion. u You have 
 behaved cantankerously to him, like a cross- 
 grained set as you are ! and now you'll have to 
 eat humble-pie and be ashamed of yourselves* 
 I wouldn't own any of you ; that I wouldn't." 
 
 In spite of the hard words, there was a 
 humorous sound of excuse in them ; the boys 
 detected the good-feeling, laughed, and began to 
 cheer. Mr. Lamb put on his meekest face and 
 drew a little aw r ay ; and then called out that the 
 college would not have known anything about 
 Paradyne, neither have thought of being hard 
 upon him, but for Trace. 
 
 " Just so," cried Sir Simon. " Trace is 99 
 
 Mr. Loftus laid his hand upon his impulsive 
 brother-in-law, who might have been about to 
 declare more than was necessary. It was not 
 noticed. The excitement was rising ; the hubbub 
 was great. A hundred hands were held out to 
 shake Paradyne's, in atonement for the past ; a 
 contrast to the scene of the previous day, when 
 the same hands were put forth to strike him. 
 
452 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 They shouted, they threw their caps in the air : 
 they felt, and with shame, how badly they had 
 behaved to him throughout, how mistaken they 
 had been. George met the hands with his own 
 ready one, with his frank and generous smile ; 
 not the least malice entertained he. But there 
 was a world of pride in the self-sustained move- 
 ment with which he threw back his head ; in the 
 quiet, self-reliant words he spoke : 
 
 "I always said, you know, that my father was 
 innocent." 
 
( 453 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXV, 
 
 AT PEACE. 
 
 He was dying very peacefully and quietly, very 
 happily surrounded by his friends. Sir Simon 
 Orville went in continually, blustering rather at 
 first, because Mr. Henry — as they still, from old 
 custom, generally called him- — would not be t 
 moved to Pond Place, to be made much of for 
 the closing period of his life, and depart out of 
 it in luxury. 
 
 " The exertion might be too great for me/' he 
 said, clasping Sir Simons hand gratefully. He 
 sat up in bed still; most likely w T ould to the 
 last. " I am better here in my own poor home, 
 where the boys can run in and out at will, 
 Thank you for all, Sir Simon." 
 
 " But I can't make up to you for the fraud, 
 I can't do the slightest thing towards it," remon- 
 strated Sir Simon, who was altogether in a state 
 of repentance for the past, and what it had 
 brought forth — as if it had been any fault of 
 
454 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 his. " But for that miserable brother-in-law of 
 mine, you might have been hale and healthy 
 now, and flourishing in the world." 
 
 " God knows what is best," was the cheering 
 answer of Arthur Paradyne, the same he had 
 made to Trace. And Sir Simon saw that it 
 must be best : for there was a serene light of 
 peace in the eyes, in the face altogether, that 
 worldly honours, be they great as they will, can 
 never bring. 
 
 " He has been leading me through the wilder- 
 ness in His own way," continued Mr. Henry, 
 scarcely above a whisper, " But for the dreadful 
 trouble that fell upon me, I might not have 
 found my road thus early : and then where 
 should I have been now ? The doctors think, 
 you know, that under the most prosperous 
 auspices I could not have lived to be thirty, 
 Oh, Sir Simon, God sees and knows what w r e do 
 not see, and He has been guiding me home." 
 
 " You could be surrounded by so many more 
 comforts at Pond Place," resumed Sir Simon, 
 when he had overcome a troublesome cough. 
 
 " But not with more love. I have everything 
 I want, and see how my friends come round me. 
 Not an instant am I left. Before one goes, 
 another comes. Sometimes," he added with a 
 
AT PEACE. 
 
 455 
 
 gay smile, " they arrive as if it were a levee, and 
 we have to borrow Mother Butter's kitchen 
 chairs. My mother and Mary are almost always 
 here ; Dr. Brabazon and his daughter come, my 
 pupil Rose comes, the masters come, the boys 
 come, and you come, you know, Sir Simon. 
 How could I be better oft" ? " 
 
 " I should have liked you to get well and live, 
 that I might do something for you ; set you up 
 in a coach-and-four, or some little thing of that 
 sort," contended Sir Simon, with an expression 
 of face, half cross, half piteous. 
 
 Mr. Henry shook his head with a smile : 
 coaches-and-four don't always bring happiness 
 with them, or drive their owners on the best 
 road to it. " Could any one have been more 
 bountiful than you, Sir Simon ? You have — — " 
 
 " Tush ! " crossly interrupted Sir Simon. " Is 
 it not my duty to do it, as Robert Trace cannot ? 
 It would be a second fraud on my part if I 
 didn't." 
 
 The allusion was this. Sir Simon Orville had 
 hastened to announce his intention of refunding 
 to Mrs. Paradyne, and with interest, the three 
 thousand pounds her husband had put into the 
 Liverpool firm, and which had been lost in the 
 vortex, Not only that j he avowed that George's 
 
456 
 
 OR VILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 future education and career should be his 
 care. 
 
 u Why did you not confide in me ? " cried Sir 
 Simon. " Why did you not tell me you were a 
 Paradyne ? I'd have helped you on." 
 
 Tell you. Sir Simon ! It seemed to me 
 always a species of fraud on my part to receive 
 the many little favours you were ever wishing 
 to show me." 
 
 i( The odd thing to me is, that you should 
 have so fully put credence in your father's guilt/' 
 observed Sir Simon. " Knowing him as you 
 did." 
 
 A slight flush, as of remorse, shone in the 
 fading cheeks. No opportunity had been given 
 him of believing otherwise. His mother, so 
 impressed with it herself, had succeeded in 
 imparting her impressions to him, beyond pos- 
 sibility of doubt. 
 
 " Where is Raymond Trace, Sir Simon ? " he 
 asked in a whisper. " I should so like to have 
 seen him again. He said he would come, but 
 he did not." 
 
 f( Well, I'll tell you," said Sir Simon con- 
 fidentially. " Robert Trace is in hiding about 
 twenty miles off, and Raymond with him : they 
 are not out of England, as some suppose; Hopper 
 
AT PEACE/ 457 
 
 for one. When the explosion arose, we were all 
 confused together ; as was only natural. Robert 
 Trace thought he must escape from Hopper ; and 
 I — to say the truth— winked at it. It was not 
 my place to show 'em up to the Lord Mayor; 
 
 and if a thousand pounds or so But never 
 
 mind that now. When we came to talk matters 
 over sensibly and coolly, I and Mr, Loftus, we 
 saw that he could not be made criminally 
 responsible, except Mr. Loftus chose to do it, for 
 the frauds had been against the firm ; and other 
 liabilities were all paid. We have privately seen 
 Robert Trace (mind this is between ourselves) 
 and advised him to face it, and I think he will. 
 He says he'll be made a bankrupt." 
 " And Hopper ? " 
 
 " Hopper w 7 ill be floored — as he deserves to be. 
 Not a single penny shall he get out of me." 
 
 " But he will make Mr. Trace's fraud known, 
 out of revenge, Sir Simon ! " 
 
 " It is known already, known by this time to 
 the very length and breadth of the land. You 
 don't suppose Mr. Loftus would suffer your 
 father's name to lie a day under its obloquy ! 
 Not he : if Loftus has a proud nature, it is a 
 just one. And so is Bertie's." 
 
 " And generous too," cried Mr. Henry, his face 
 
458 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 flushing with its old pleasant light. " Bertie 
 never once insulted George by a look or a word ; 
 but stood by him quietly in many ways, smooth- 
 ing things for him. He will make a good and 
 brave man. He comes here every day to sit 
 with me. I think the duel did him good. It 
 took some of the assumption out of his spirit." 
 
 Down sat Sir Simon with a burst of laughter. 
 That duel, now that he had overcome the horror 
 it brought to him at the time, was a rich joke. 
 Gall and Bertie winced at its remembrance still. 
 But they had been firm friends since. 
 
 The days went on. Mr. Henry had more 
 visitors than he sometimes knew what to do with. 
 His mother was. there often; Mary occasionally, 
 as she could spare time from her occupations with 
 Miss Kose Brabazon, whose resident governess 
 she was now. Mrs. Paradyne was eating the 
 bitter fruit of repentance: the mistaken line of 
 conduct she had pursued to him, her eldest and 
 dutiful son, grew harder and harder to reflect 
 upon. She could not say so; it distressed him 
 too much, and she sat chiefly in silence, letting 
 him hold her hand, yearningly wishing she might 
 recall the past. Too late ; too late. She could 
 not stop the course of the rapid disease; she 
 could not prolong his life, or bring back the 
 
\ 
 
 AT PEACE. 
 
 450 
 
 isolated days lie had been condemned to pass, or 
 the weary nights of labour in which he had 
 wasted his delicate frame : the sensitive spirit 
 had been wounded to the quick; the tender 
 heart flung back upon itself. It had been all 
 good for him, no doubt ; necessary adjuncts to 
 that process of purification his spirit had been 
 unconsciously undergoing for its coming flight to 
 a better world, but for which Mrs. Paradyne 
 could never forgive herself. The deceit she had 
 forced him to observe in regard to his identity 
 had told upon him, there was no doubt, more 
 than any other untoward circumstance : and 
 Mrs. Paradyne had the comfort of knowing that 
 she had helped on the end. He was, so to say, 
 living a lie ; it was altogether wrong, unjustifi- 
 able, little better than a fraud on the head-master ; 
 and neither his health nor his natural integrity 
 could bear up against it. And so, Mrs. Paradyne 
 sat by his bedside in silence ; she and her aching 
 heart. Now that the relationship was known, 
 people could trace the likeness in their faces; 
 which had once puzzled Miss Brabazon. 
 
 And there was another who could, come and 
 sit by him, and take his hand ; and, closing the 
 door, read to him words from the Book of Life — 
 and that was Dr. Brabazon. The doctor saw the 
 
4(30 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 prize that he was losing : he knew now, if he 
 had never known it before, how valuable Mr. 
 Henry's precepts had been in the school, and the 
 peace he contrived to shed around amidst war- 
 ring elements. Other things were known to the 
 doctor now : the sojourn of his ill-doing son in 
 the house, and the kindly friend Mr. Henry had 
 been to him. It seemed to have made Tom into 
 a better man; and he went off to Australia in 
 a spirit of reformation that Mrs. Butter, in a 
 satirical spirit, " hoped would last." 
 
 Kose ran in and out at will, bringing him 
 flowers. One day she came to him with a great 
 trouble — Emma had found her love-letters, and 
 she was never, never to write or receive any 
 more. Well, Mr. Henry said smiling, as he 
 pushed her pretty hair off her brow, she was 
 certainly growing too old for it. 
 
 Emma Brabazon would come sometimes, and 
 lift the little table to the bedside, and make tea 
 at it. She was cheerful now, gay even, for a 
 great care had been removed from her ; she would 
 call him Dr. Henry, or Professor Paradyne, and 
 laugh over that past suspicion connected with 
 the gold pencil, now safe in the head-master's 
 pocket. She confessed to him that she had had 
 great fears, at the time Lord Shrewsbury was 
 
AT PEACE. 
 
 4G1 
 
 shot, that it might he her brother who had fired 
 the pistol. " Not intentionally, to do harm, you 
 know," she added ; " but he was often down here, 
 wandering about the plantation, in the hope of 
 meeting me and getting money from me, and it 
 was so easy for him to have picked up the pistol." 
 
 " Be at rest," said Mr. Henry. " It was not 
 your brother." 
 
 Miss Brabazon was surprised at the assured 
 tones. " You know who it was ? " 
 
 " It was one of the college boys. Do not 
 ask me more, for that is all I can say." He 
 intended to carry the secret with him to his 
 grave ; and might have done it, had it lain alone 
 with him. 
 
 Of all his casual visitors, he liked best to sec 
 the boys. He would cause them to sit close to 
 him, and talk pleasantly of the journey of life on 
 which, after this half-year, some of them would 
 be entering. Not one but treasured his words; 
 not one but would remember them to profit in 
 .the busy battle to come. 
 
462 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 • - 
 
 A bay in December. The fine old hall was 
 decorated as for a festival. Ordinary signs and 
 appurtenances were put out of it; desks were 
 not ; books, slates, ink, canes, all had disappeared. 
 The boys wore their gowns ; the masters were 
 all suavity; and James Talbot, Earl of Shrews- 
 bury, had a bit of blue ribbon in his buttonhole, 
 the badge of the Orville Prize. From his chair 
 of state the head-master had just announced him 
 as the victor, and decorated him with its sign. 
 It had been virtually known for some weeks 
 that Talbot would have it, but this was the 
 formal investiture. 
 
 The term was drawing to its end ; Mr. Henry, 
 in his proximate dwelling, was drawing near 
 to his. On the day but one following this, 
 the school would disperse. Gall, Loftus major, 
 Brown, Talbot, and others who have less con- 
 cerned us, were quitting the place for ever. Mr. 
 
THE END. 
 
 463 
 
 Henry had been considerably better for sonic 
 days; he had been up, and even walked in the 
 garden. It was the flickering of the candle 
 before going out. 
 
 Mr. Trace had just sailed for America, taking 
 Raymond with him. The full particulars of the 
 past frauds had been for some time known ; and 
 the unhappy man had never come out of hiding. 
 He had nothing to fear, legally or criminally, 
 but he could not face the world* Not until this 
 morning, when the news of their sailing for New 
 York reached the boys, had they given up the 
 hope that Raymond might come up to say fare- 
 well. And Mr. Lamb, as you will see, intended 
 to take advantage of the fact of his departure. 
 Hopper had disappeared from Orville; no one 
 knew or cared where. Sir Simon had made short 
 work of his refusal to give him money : though 
 it was very generally suspected that he had 
 again substantially assisted his brother-in-law, 
 Robert Trace. 
 
 The ceremony of formally investing Talbot 
 with the bit of blue ribbon was over, and the 
 masters left the hall. Up rose the boys with 
 their shouts of congratulation. 
 
 " Long live the Earl of Shrewsbury ! " 
 
 The earl laughed, and held his hands above 
 
464 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 his head. " Don't hail me," said he, jestingly; 
 " I have only stepped into another's cast-off 
 shoes. Trace gained the prize." 
 
 "If hailing goes by deserts, you should hail 
 Paradyne," interposed Gall. " But for his with- 
 drawal, Trace would have come oft" second-best. 
 I know it." 
 
 "I'll shake hands with the whole of you with 
 pleasure as Trace's deputy," heartily called out 
 George Paradyne. 
 
 Lamb stepped forward. Never had his face 
 been more virtuous, his voice so candid. " I 
 can't let the opportunity pass without declaring 
 a thing that is in my keeping," he smoothly 
 began. " In that matter of the pistol, fifteen 
 months ago, when Lord Shrewsbury was shot — « 
 you all remember it well. It was Trace who 
 did it." 
 
 Gall wheeled round on Lamb. The rest stood 
 in wonder, listening for more. 
 
 (l And it was Trace who inked Paradyne's 
 Latin essay," continued the estimable young 
 man. " I saw him do that, and I know he did 
 the other. As he is gone, it's as well the truth 
 should be known. Trace was a sneak. 5 ' 
 
 A good swinging blow in the chest, which 
 sent Mr. Lamb staggering backwards. Tt came 
 
THE END. 465 
 
 from Bertie Loftus. Never before had Bertie 
 been seen to strike gratuitously. 
 
 " You are the sneak/' he said to Lamb. (l Can't 
 you let a fallen fellow alone ? Trace is in mis- 
 fortune, and absent. But for that, you wouldn't 
 have dared to traduce him, you coward." 
 
 ? It was he who fired off the pistol," roared 
 Lamb, smarting under the blow. " I swear it 
 was. There ! It's only lately I got to suspect 
 it, and I taxed Trace with it the morning he left, 
 and he couldn't deny it : he didn't seem to care 
 to ; he was too down. You hold your row, Loftus 
 major." 
 
 In dodging away from Bertie, Mr. Lamb con- 
 trived to back amidst the throng, and tread 
 upon their feet. It only wanted that to set 
 them on. This last announcement, so exceed- 
 ingly characteristic of him, was as the climax of 
 his sins, and they thought the time had come to 
 pay him out. Trace had never been a favourite ; 
 and perhaps he really had something of the 
 sneak about him ; but this did not make Lamb 
 less of one. Hissing, pushing, striking, calling 
 him every derisive name they could think of, 
 they all set upon the miserable Lamb. And 
 Bertie helped in it. 
 
 His ears were tingling, his hair was pulled, 
 
 Orville College. 30 
 
466 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 his eyes were smarting. Suddenly the onslaught 
 was interrupted. Some one had interposed to part 
 them, and so stopped the fray. One look round, 
 and the boys fell back in very astonishment. 
 
 It was their dear old master, Mr. Henry — for 
 dear in truth he had become to them. A little 
 worn, shadowy, looking taller than he used ; but 
 with the same kind and gentle face, the same 
 loving gaze from the luminous eyes. Sir Simon 
 stood behind. 
 
 " I thought I would try to get as far once 
 more ; and my good friend, Sir Simon, helped 
 me with his arm," said Mr. Henry, speaking so 
 very quietly that a sudden hush seemed to fall 
 upon the room. " But I did not expect to find 
 you thus" 
 
 As if in excuse, and perhaps a little ashamed 
 of the turmoil, a score of voices avowed the cause. 
 Lamb stood to his creed ; and Sir Simons ears 
 were regaled with Raymond Trace's private 
 misdoings in the past. Perhaps it did not 
 much surprise him. 
 
 " It does not excuse Lamb," said Gall, his eyes 
 flashing indignation on the latter, who stood 
 cowering behind. 
 
 " It was Lamb who told about the smoking 
 that time," called out Leek with indignation. 
 
THE END. 
 
 467 
 
 "He's a wretched coward." And the boys 
 began to hiss again. 
 
 " Forgive him for my sake/' said Mr. Henry, 
 throwing oil on the troubled waters. "Next 
 term he w T ill do better perhaps ; he will have 
 learnt a lesson." 
 
 " He'd better not come back ! he'd better not 
 show his face here again ! " growled the boys. 
 
 "I'm not coming back," retorted Lamb. 
 
 " But to think that Trace— " 
 
 ' Hush, hush," interrupted Mr. Henry. "We 
 must have peace and pleasantness to-day. How 
 can we expect mercy for our own faults if we do 
 not show it to one another ? If you only knew 
 how pleasant it is to do a kindness instead of an 
 injury ! Try it, Lamb, in future." 
 
 Lamb's only answer was to steal out of the 
 room surreptitiously, as quickly as his stiffness 
 allowed. He had not enjoyed his bonneting. 
 Sir Simon Orville went up to Talbot, and 
 fastened a gold watch and chain to his waist- 
 coat. 
 
 " My present comes opportunely," he remarked, 
 u since you were on the subject -of the pistol, 
 You may remember that I offered a gold watch 
 and chain to whoever tracked out the shooter of 
 Talbot. But what do you think I did, boys ? 
 
468 
 
 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 — I'm nothing better than a plain old goose, 
 you know — I went and bought the watch and 
 chain, never supposing but some one would turn 
 up to win it the next day. He didn't turn up, 
 and I've had it by me ever since, lying useless. 
 It crossed my mind once to give it to my friend 
 Onions here "—with a nod to Mr. Leek — " for 
 his services in a certain duel you've heard of, 
 but I hadn't it with me in Boulogne; and, 
 besides, he has a handsome gold watch of his 
 own. So then I determined to keep it for the 
 winner of the Orville; and I've brought it. It 
 seems consistent with poetical justice that it 
 should be Talbot's at last, since he was the one 
 damaged by the shots. Long life to you, my 
 brave earl, to wear it out ! " 
 
 "Not to me, sir," said the earl, flushing with 
 delight, but just and generous in the midst of it. 
 "It is true I have got the Orville, but Paradyne 
 merited it. He gave up the contest voluntarily 
 —and he has not a watch anv more than I 
 have." 
 
 " I'll take care of Paradyne," said Sir Simon, 
 with a significant nod. " He'll miss neither the 
 watch nor the Orville, and he goes to Cambridge 
 when you go to Oxford. I'm a plain man, and 
 like Cambridge best. Wear your watch with 
 
THE END. 4G9 
 
 content, my boy : your name is on it, and you 
 have deserved it." 
 
 A deafening cheer followed Sir Simon as he 
 went out. Mr. Henry stayed behind. Sitting 
 down on a bench, he gathered them round him, 
 his low clear voice echoing on their ears and 
 hearts with a strangely peaceful echo, as he 
 talked of the journey he was so, close upon ; of 
 the one they must all take in their turn, and 
 of many little things that would speed their 
 packing up for it. In the middle of this, to the 
 general consternation, Dick Loftus broke into 
 sobs, and dropped his head upon Mr. Henry's 
 arms. Dick came to himself in a few moments. 
 Feeling intensely ashamed, he made a feint of 
 carrying off* things with a careless hand. 
 
 " Don't you go and die yet. We shouldn't 
 like it, you know. Wait till w r e are off. And 
 couldn't you leave us something as a legacy ?" 
 
 " Oh yes ! leave us a legacy," cried the rest, 
 ready for any suggestion of that sort. 
 
 "A legacy?" repeated Mr. Henry, smiling. 
 " Very well. What sort of legacy ? " 
 
 They ran over different articles, each in his 
 mind, from a gold watch and chain like Lord 
 Shrewsbury's, to a lock of Mr. Henry's hair. 
 But nobody mentioned one thing in particular. 
 "Anything you like," said the boys. 
 
470 
 
 OPtVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 He smiled still, and rose ; shaking hands with 
 each of them, saying a tender word of encourage- 
 ment to all ; and went out leaning on Gall's arm, 
 Bertie walking on the other side. Ah, what a 
 contrast it was ! They, so full of life, of its 
 interests and passions ; he, so near its close. 
 
 Nearer than they thought. On the following 
 morning, when they were at breakfast, crowing 
 over the premature departure of Mr. Lamb, who 
 had declined to face the school ao-ain, the head- 
 master walked in and imparted the news. 
 
 They were allowed to go and see him. He 
 lay on the bed where he had died. His face 
 was perfectly beautiful from its look of intense 
 peace, almost as if a halo of glory were around 
 it. No wonder: he had gone to the God and 
 Saviour whom he served. With hushed breath 
 and softened hearts, they stood gazing on him, 
 very conscious just then that their time must 
 also come. He had but gone on a little while 
 in advance — as he told them the previous 
 afternoon in the college hall. 
 
 They were returning to their homes that day 
 or the following: to their Christmas festivities, 
 the puddings, the games, the gaieties, all to be 
 merry. Some few would never come back to 
 Orville College; they were about to be launched 
 
THE END. 
 
 471 
 
 forth on their several ways of life. A tempting 
 prospect to look forward to : but a conscious 
 voice within them was whispering that he was 
 happier in his early death than they who had 
 yet to battle with the world. God defend them 
 in it, and keep them for Himself! As He had 
 kept him who lay there. 
 
 ! And the promised legacy ? As they filed 
 noiselessly out, a folded paper was put into 
 Gall's hand. It was headed " The legacy to my 
 dear friends and pupils." He had sat up in bed 
 the previous night to write it. It proved to be 
 a small portion of the thirteenth chapter of St. 
 John, in his own beautiful handwriting, and 
 signed with his full name, "Arthur Henry 
 Paradyne." 
 
 "Anew commandment I give unto you, that 
 ye love one another : as I have loved you, that 
 ye also love one another. By this shall all men 
 know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love 
 one to another." 
 
 Gall reverently folded the paper, and they 
 passed out of the house, putting on their 
 trenchers. "We'll have it framed," said he, "and 
 hang it in the hall. Us senior fellows will be 
 gone, but we can come in sometimes and look 
 at it." 
 
472 ORVILLE COLLEGE. 
 
 Oh, boys! my dear young fellow- workers for 
 whom I have written this story ! Do you 
 strive, earnestly and patiently, to do your duty 
 in this world ; and take that legacy home to 
 your hearts ! 
 
 THE END. 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECOMES, 
 
r