of men to which, by his own inadvertent and unconscious expression of feeling and principle, he really belonged, till the developement of this affair. I took up the cudgels for Nubley rather on account of his age and relative position to Cuthbert than for any other reason; but the little dialogue-if that may be so called-in which a third set of thoughts and opinions was developed, had raised the eccentric old gentleman very considerably in my estimation; nor was it unpleasant to me, deserted as it appeared I was by my nearest and only living relation, to find that the sentiments of his oldest friend and long-continued partner were evidently favourable to me.

It never was my habit to look to results or study consequences, but I think one finds, under Providence, that right conduct uniformly meets its reward. When I took the course I adopted towards the man with the horsewhip, I never stopped to calculate what effect my following that which appeared to me to be the straight line might produce upon the worthy old gentleman. If the straight path had led to something which would have offended him in the bitterest manner, should, with equal inconsideration, have taken it. The same in conversation, or remark; as the thing strikes me, out it comes; and although the thought of offending or wounding any human being is farthest from my heart or mind, I find people looking grave and glum because perchance something I have said may have applied to their own particular circumstances, of which I happened to be entirely ignorant, or have referred, by analogy, to some unfortunate blot in their characters, of which I was perfectly unconscious. In this case, I went at Thompson; I saw he was a bully, trying to establish a character, and I felt it my duty to an old man to put myself in the gap, and check what I conceived would have been an unresisted attack; for I certainly did not think my dear old Nubley would have worked himself up into any very resolute resistance against his most obstreperous tenant; whose motives for making the quarrel, I moreover believed to be the persuasion that his ancient landlord would have abated the rent of Chittagong Lodge altogether, by way of compromise for the alleged affront to the ladies. At all events, my mind was made up that Nubley, with all his self-promised activity on the subject, should, under no circumstances, hear more of the affair, until it had been decided.

It is curious to observe how soon a concatenation is formed in the mind when the first link is caught hold of. In all my considerations of Cuthbert's probable future conduct with regard to Mrs. Brandyball, or all my reflections upon his almost

unnatural abandonment of me and mine in her favour, my thoughts had never glanced towards the possibility of Nubley ever becoming a mediator in my behalf with my most inert and immovable brother. The unintentional disclosure of his feelings towards me, at once set me thinking upon a point which certainly had not previously stricken me, and I resolved, after the Thompson seasoning which I was destined to undergo, to lead the good-hearted old gentleman to the subject. Shortly after our conversation, I received a note from Sniggs, of which the following is a copy :—

"Dear Sir,

"I did not like to trespass on you immediately after the melancholy ceremony of this morning to ask you whether you proposed to write, by this evening's post, to Mr. Cuthbert Gurney, or whether I should convey any communication in the letter which I shall despatch to him, in conformity with his directions.

"I should have gone up to Ashmead to ask you this question, but my anxiety not to intrude at such a season hindered me. May I hope that Mrs. Gurney and the dear young ladies are as well as we have a right to expect them to be? Will you be good enough to ask them if they have any thing to send?

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Yours, dear Sir, faithfully,

My boy waits your answer."

66 'S. SNIGGS.

I could not stand this. It would have been perfectly impos sible for me to have been ordinarily civil if I had condescended to enter upon any thing like a detailed reply to what struck me as the grossest insult that had yet been offered to me-whether intentional or not, I did not then take time to consider— but resolved, at all events, not to be betrayed into an angry correspondence, and, equally averse from maintaining a civil one, merely desired the servant to send my compliments, and say there was no answer.

I had, however, no sooner sent this message than I felt vexed, inasmuch as I had not given the girls an opportunity of writing to their father-in-law, an omission, on my part, which I was quite sure would be magnified by Sniggs to the Brandyball into a crime of the first magnitude. I therefore proceeded to the drawing-room where the young ladies were, and informed them that if they wished to write to Montpelier,

Mr. Sniggs would forward their communications under his

cover.

"I think," said Kate, "Mr. Sniggs might have come up himself, considering

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He says," replied I, "that he did not wish to break in upon us on a day of mourning.'

It has been no great day of mourning with me," said Kate; nothing like what it would have been if I had gone to the funeral, and so I shall tell Pappy."

"Then," said I, my patience very rapidly wasting, did you not go, Miss Falwasser?"

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why

"Oh!" said Kate, with more candour than wisdom, "I did not choose to go, because I saw I was to be spited; nothing was to be done that I wished; and I am sure I do not know who was to be studied, as Mrs. Brandyball said, if I was not." "All I ask is," said I, with as much coolness as I could command, "whether you have any thing to write to Montpe

lier."

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No, Uncle," said Kate, "I shall write nothing; but when I get back I shall say a great deal. I know more about things that are going on than some folks think. I do, and—

"And so do I, Miss Kate," said I; "therefore I must beg of you not to exhibit this sort of conduct in my house." "In Pappy's house you mean," said Kate, firing up: "dear me! as if I did not know at all about that! Why, even my maid, Wilkins, knows the whole story."

"Pray," said I, again interrupting her; "let me have no reference to such authorities as the servants, when I am speaking to you upon matters of family interest."

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"I am sure," said the angry girl, “I am not of your family, - and so Mrs. Brandy ball has told me and taught me; and as

for"

“Oh, Kate, Kate, dear Kate!" said Jane, "do not go on talking so.

"Talking," said Harriet: "she may talk if she pleases; but, Gilbert, send her back to school in the morning, when I hope an account of her conduct will induce your brother to order her some severe punishment."

"Thank you, my dear," said Kate, with the most impudent look at my poor wife; "but I am not going to be sent any where by you. When I choose to go, and Mr. Sniggs chooses to take me back, I shall go.'

"Mr. Sniggs," said Nubley, who had witnessed this scene, struggling with a sort of convulsive effort to stop it, "Mr. Sniggs, my little dear, need not trouble himself about it; I

will take charge of you and your sister to Bath the day after to-morrow-little imp deserves to be whipped, and shall be if I prevail. I cannot to-morrow-deuce take Thompson !—but the day after we will make the journey."

"I won't go," said Kate, bursting into tears.

"My little dear," said Nubley, "you shall. You'll forgive me, Mrs. Gurney—poor dear soul, I hope I shan't frighten her -eh?-you'll forgive me; but I have been the friend and partner of Cuthbert Gurney for nearly forty years-eh-don't you see?—and lost a deuced deal of money by his stupidity— eh-don't you see?-yes-and have the highest regard for him. I want to go to Bath—not I, I hate the white-bottomed tea-kettle-eh-don't you see?—I want to go to Bath—eh.”

“Well,” said Kate, looking daggers at him, "then go to Bath; but I-————”

"You shall go with me, my little dear-ch-little divil,” said Nubly. "Where's the use of paying for two sets of horses?—I want to see your Pappy, as you call him—eh—no relation of hers-eh-and so I will take all the responsibility; and you may tell Sniggs-very gentlemanly man, my dear -pill-gilding puppy-eh—that he may write what he has to say; but that you and Jane—eh—nice, little quiet thing she would be if taken care of here-ch-don't you see?-will go with me.

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"I shan't, Sir," said Kate: "

99
Pa-
"my

"Now don't," said Nubley, "don't say you won't, because you will-eh-nothing is so unpleasant to look at, as a young lady in a passion-eh-except an old one— -what! don't you

see?"

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I do not wish to go at all," said Jane, clinging to Harriet. "Then you may stay and be a beggar," said Kate.

"Kate," said my wife, with as much placidity as I could have hoped to see, "conduct and conversation like these are extremely unbecoming. Mr. Nubley is not only the oldest friend your father-in-law has, but has been, for a great number of years, intimately connected with him in business: surely you do not mean to prefer Mr. Sniggs, who has accidentally become acquainted with us from our living here, to a gentleman, whose intimacy has existed with your family for such a Consider- 33 length of time.

"I do consider," said Kate; "and I am sure the kindness of Mr. Sniggs to poor dear Tom❞—and here a flood of tears by way of grief gave vent to feelings of a very different nature.

"Oh, he is a very good doctorer," said Nubley," and means to be paid for his pains-eh-not to speak of the cherry bounce

-eh-don't you see, my dear ?—we all know his merits, and I mean to explain them all to your dear parent by proxy-eh -that's a good joke!-eh-don't you see? But why we are to waste twice the sum for post-horses in carrying you back to Bath, because you don't like to travel with me, I don't understand as for Jenny, if she likes to stop, she shall, if Mrs. Gurney likes to keep her. I'll make her excuses."

"I do like to stop," said Jane, and burst into tears as her sister had just before done, but with this trifling difference, that hers were genuine.

"I am sure, Miss Jane," said Kate, "you must have some very particular reason for liking to stop.'

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May-be I have," said Jane, in a tone of irritation and passion which I never had before observed in her: "but if I have, it is because I love my Aunt and my Uncle, and love quiet, and goodness, and peace."

"Ah!" said Kate, "you must love something else to prefer this dull hole to Bath."

"Whatever I love," said Jane, straining her eyes out of their sockets. "I am not in love with a dancing-master.'

The world was at an end; nothing but main force hindered Kate from inflicting summary injustice upon her poor sister, who by this most unexpected denunciation had destroyed at a blow all the secresy and mystery with which we had invested this curious attachment, and laid open an affair of the most unquestionable delicacy.

"Jane," said I, "don't talk in this way; a joke between yourselves is all very well, but

"Oh, Uncle, no," said Jane "it is no joke. I–

Jane, I'll kill you," said Kate, "I will-I'll tear your eyes out-I won't stop here a moment, that I won't, now I know they know it all: that's the reason my letters-but I won't speak-I won't stop-I will go-I'll drown myself, I will." And out of the room rushed Kitty.

"Go after her, Harriet," said I; "soothe her-get rid of this joke-for joke it is. Jenny, you should not put your sister into these passions, you know her temper."

Harriet was really alarmed, and ran after the violently impassioned girl.

"I only spoke the truth," said Jane, "and Wilkins will tell you the same.'

"A dancing-master!" said Nubley, "why she's a babyeh-tum-ti-ty-te-doodly-di-a dancing-master! well, if ever! -oh! if my old woman gets hold of this-eh-what! that little man that lives here, with the red hair and the pumps?"