friends as a ci-devant jeune homme. He was an individual, at least in appearance, of a type more common on the continent than in the British islands; for he had the courage to indulge in some peculiar eccentricities of costume, especially in the matter of his headgear, to which structure he owed it that the first impression he conveyed to his countrymen abroad was, that he was not an English

man.

Mr. Fletcher, albeit his knowledge of continental languages was limited, was very fond not only of adopting Gallic dress and manners, but also of frequenting foreign seaport towns, and then and there doing a little satisfactory business, in the way of getting a lift in high society, by performing little acts of courtesy to English travellers of repute, who soon knew Mr. Adolphus Raynham Fletcher as a useful man-one, indeed, that it would be hard on some occasions to do without. 'Knows the people at the Custom House, and all that sort of thing' and with

this high praise from helpless ladies and indolent British gentlemen, the ci-devant jeune homme had for some time past driven rather a thriving trade in the merchandize on which he set so high a store.

He had a little money, and he was not in debt. From that he was saved by his inherent parsimony and intense dislike to possible personal discomfort; but he had in one respect acted as he feared with unpardonable rashness, for he had bought Lord George Annesley's acquaintance at the high price of five hundred pounds (in the shape of a loan, of course), and how that money was ever to be repaid, appeared to the uneasy mind of Dolly Fletcher' a daily less solvable problem.

In the meantime the ambitious man took out instalments of his debt, in the shape of constantly recurring 'shows off' of the Duke's spendthrift son as his intimate acquaintance. It was true that Annesley consented to the exhibition with an unwilling mind, and paid

his exacting creditor back, in moments of exasperation, with many a sneer and taunt; but it was Fletcher's cue to ignore these little grievances, and to bide his time, which, considering the desperate state of his tormentor's resources, could not be far distant.

He was, considering that he had begun of late years to (as his sporting friends remarked) 'put on flesh,' a 'showy,' handsome man, for his time of life. A little vulgar perhaps when at his ease, but that was seldom; and certainly chosen as he had been as the escort of neither youth nor beauty-the present was certainly not a moment when the usually obsequious 'Dolly' was likely to be either comfortable in his temper, or very pleasant in his discourse.

The more light-footed and juvenile of the party had reached the house long before the arrival of the somewhat slow-footed Adolphus and his taciturn companion; and Annesley, looking towards them, as, with the hot sun gleaming above their heads, they toiled to

wards the group that waited for them, said jeeringly

"Look at Dolly! It's a fine thing to have troisième jeunesse. I don't expect to be blessed with more than one, or two at most; but there is that youngest of all young boys making the most of his Eté de St-Martin.'

'Some people have no youth,' said Susan, addressing her remark to Aylmer; and I for one can hardly help envying those contentedlooking people who contrive, in some ingenious manner, to feel always young.'

'I cannot say, however,' responded Aylmer, 'that the evergreen we're looking at seems quite happy just at present. How very hot he seems, poor fellow!"

'Miss Brigham,' called out Annesley, with a laugh, 'I want another bet. Will you take the odds on whether Mr. Fletcher wears a wig or not?'

'He's capable of any act of idiotcy,' said Colonel Aylmer; even that of adopting such a fashion as the one you speak of, to conceal

the lapse of years. "Woven lies, made from a dead man's head, to catch live fools," as I once heard a wig described to be.'

'How much?' said Annesley, turning short upon him.

'Nothing

a stupid quotation; and as Mr. Fletcher (look at him, Miss Brigham, for there is no mistake about it) is clearly un homme à marier, I think the less we lonely bachelors pour ridicule upon him the better. Who amongst us, I wonder, is there who has not something about him which offers food for ridicule or contempt?'

It was thus that Colonel Aylmer, in his morbid sensitiveness to his own personal disfigurement, deprecated the harsh opinion of those around him; but to Susan, in whose eyes he most wished to produce a favourable impression, his humility had rather the appearance of resulting from personal vanity and weakness.

She was usually very quick in her observations on character, but, notwithstanding this