everyone said was just what she wanted, going over at the right moment to take possession of a neglected dowager.

Mr. Bowman has a card concealed in his hand, by which to assort his men and women; for Lady Margaret said she "would not trust Bowman the length of his nose." And with this assistance he is near making some sad mistakes. At the last even, he has not assorted all, and is looking a little wildly for someone.

It is a great procession. The Bowmans have always good people: Brindley the Bishop, and Mrs. Brindley; General McCurdie, of the northern district; Hutton Knatchbull, "the Financial Member," and Director of the Bank of England; Wally Pepys; Captain Hogg; Captain Lugard, M.P.; young Lord Patmore, and a few more rank and file; the "young man of the period," the pawns of dinner-parties, who make a good show on the board. What a glistening, what a rustle as we go down! What alacrity of conversation equals that on the stairs? born clearly of a sudden elation after the long delay, the hope deferred. We may admire the human mind for this gift of what may be called "stair-talk." Some men get afraid; and the youth dragged hurriedly but a second before to a girl whom he never saw, whose arm is forced into his, may be pardoned if he find it a little difficult to invent what is appropriate to the balusters.

Lady Margaret always looks glistening with pride and triumph as she sees her guests triumphantly seated about her, her table, her servants, her gold and silver, her state, her meats, her wines. The guests seem to feel no obligation, and disdain any worship.

66

One of Wally Pepys' "good things," said over a cigar, and which, strange to say, did not offend anyone, was this: Very odd-I never feel the same to a man after I have dined with him." This ungracious philosophy was quite characteristic of Mr. Pepys, yet whose life was indeed one long dinner-party.

Diana had fallen to the bow and spear of the young Lord Patmore, a youth in the Royal Horse Guards, not more than two-and-twenty, endowed with every virtue and generous qualification which in the eyes of a London matron could make him deserving of salvation here, or hereafter. The salvation here was through the saving grace of one of her daughters; that more trifling one of hereafter would follow in due course, and indeed was scarcely her business. A lovely estate, two castles, fifteen thousand a-year, a minority that began "seventeen years ago, my dear;" and no female relation in the way; whose control is so necessary for the direction of girls, but so absurd and ridiculous in the instance of males. Could there be conceived a more engaging or gifted specimen of a young man; or one more suited to the pleasing fetters of the married state?

Such a treasure Lady Margaret was not long in marking down for her protégée; and though she really intended that her son Canning should have the little prize, still the professional instinct of the matron,

and the keener instinct of competition with rival matrons, made her strive hard to secure this young nobleman. Where partis find other partis at a house, it induces a sense of decent humility; whereas a single parti, according to the familiar phrase "cock of the walk," is apt to become overset, arrogant, and worthless for matronly purposes. Competition, in a word, is the life, not merely of trade, but of life itself.

Thus it was that Lord Patmore took down our Diana. The diplo matic Canning contrived, however, to have all the benefit of that mysterious prandial connection without its responsibilities, through going down by himself, and in a sort of privateering way getting round to a place near her. The young lord was a very quaint specimen. Had he been in a plebeian marching regiment, he would have furnished diversion to the monotonous idleness of the corps. His glass was always screwed into his eye; and it was certainly unfortunate that so serious a physical defect should so often coexist with a no less embarrassing mental obtuseness. Thus, the young lord was always "peering," and stooping forward to see his way with both mind and body; and though he was successful with the latter, he too often failed in the former.

Diana was infinitely amused with him. She had no matronly ideas. The glorious golden gates of Hymen glittered afar off at the top of the mountain; in sight, certainly, but with whole valleys and gardens between. She welcomed all, and never dreamed of business.

"Did you hear the news?" he said, after a long silence, during which the diplomatic Canning had been chattering on privately to Diana, who had always the greatest respect for his gifts. "A detachment of us are ordered down to Windsor; all of a sudden, you know! You never heard of such excitement. The Duke changed his mind; and at the barracks we never dreamed of it."

At this revelation Diana smiled. She had grown a little out of the old devotion with which she used to receive statements which those who made them thought all-important. This was droll. She had had some training, and was beginning to open her pretty eyes to the absurdities in the world round her. The youth admired her a good deal, and was nearly, what his military brethren called in their elegant dialect, "spooney upon her." There was then a pause.

"Are you going to see the new opera-the what's-his-name-at Covent Garden?" he asked suddenly, as if inspired.

"O yes," said Diana eagerly; "to-morrow night."

"I hope to go too," he said, "only it's so hard to get a place. Docksey offered three guineas for a stall yesterday; he did indeed." "And who's Docksey?" Diana asked, not a little amused.

"O Lord! don't you know Docksey? He's captain in our troop. His father allows him a thousand a-year; and you never saw such a black charger as he has got. Gave five hundred for him!"

This impressed Diana, as indeed did any statement of great price,

size, numbers, &c. Then Mr. Canning Bowman struck in on the other side, and the young Lord Patmore was left to screw his glass into his eye, and peer at anyone round the table, as if it had grown dark of a sudden.

How curious, how miscellaneous the chatter on occasions, save for those "left out in the cold," as it were; the men who had come down ignominiously by themselves, and with a loathing for each other. We hear the bishop's mellifluous voice, never at rest; a holy man, gifted with a surprising duality of nature; able to keep a wary eye on the tenderest dishes, and to talk across the table, and carry on an uninterrupted monologue. Clatter, clatter; bursts of laughter down at the end. Now we hear Mr. Manby, a well-known counsel, who is opposite the bishop, and who is very amusing; a mouldy, weak-eyed barrister, who lives in his chambers as in a family, and likes it; but a man who has the odd notion that to be wearing out health, senses, enjoyment, life itself, to become something at sixty-five or seventy, when health, senses, enjoyment, and nearly life itself, are gone, is a foolish thing; which, indeed, it is no doubt discovered to be, about that time, by many then successful, though they do not own it.

"Talking of that," said the bishop, apropos of something, "I was at an evening sitting, waiting for that Lord Dolby, who has something on about his hobby, you know-the marriage-service, which he wants to be altered, when I heard a speech from one of your people. Really, quite a sensation it produced; the Chancellor told me, going out, he never heard a more exhaustive argument from so young a

man."

"My dear lord, that was a great case; it involves all the 'free men' question, and may affect many an election."

"Exactly. Such eloquence, you know-as the Chancellor said, taken by surprise, for he called on him to go on."

For these things Lady Margaret cared no more than she did for the quadrature of the circle, and perhaps understood them as much; but quá lady of fashion, hostess, &c., she was bound to take official notice. It was astonishing; so curious. And who was this?

Mr. Manby said it was a rising junior, as sound a fellow as they had -Robert Bligh.

Diana eagerly: "O, we know him well! O, he is so clever; and always was. O, I am so glad! You remember Robert ?" she added, turning to Lugard.

"I should think so," he said, smiling; "he put a good deal of money out of my pocket, and, I must say, out of his own."

"O yes," said Mr. Manby; "he fought a very plucky battle down there. But he is sure to do, that man; one of our safest juniors."

Diana was quite excited by these public commendations, and asked Mr. Manby many eager questions about her friend, to that gentleman's

amusement.

VOL. V.

BB

"I know,” he said, "Bligh could have had an Indian judgeship the other day, and a hint was given to him to that effect. And his friends told me he was rather dejected," added Mr. Manby, dropping his voice, "about some love-affair, I think. But of course that was absurd; he was more likely to have a hopeless passion for a contingent remainder or an unexpired term. No, he was disgusted at missing his chance at

that little borough."

"I know it," said Diana eagerly; "we were there at the time. It was so exciting: we were all in it. It was so amusing, and I was so sorry for poor Robert Bligh."

"O, you were there, Miss Gay?" said the lawyer, with an amused look. He saw a spectral witness-box round Diana's chair; and had he been allowed to cross-examine on the spot, might have extracted some curious admissions. Lugard, half suspicious, and only catching part of what was said, had assumed his scornful look.

Lugard was eager to talk of that subject which is dearest to every man-himself. He was full of a great event that was coming on. He had been longing to begin his career as a parliamentary combatant. His father, now a little gouty, had written to him testily, “For God's sake do something, after all the money that has been spent," and he had determined to make a bold plunge, not in a modest speech on some subject, but in "a regular motion." He had anxiously thought of a subject; a little different from the habit of mere practical men who speak because they have a subject; whereas he was looking for a subject in order that he might speak. This idea had quite possessed him. The difficulty was to procure a dramatic one, where there would be a good "part" for Mr. Lugard to play. He had at last found one. He poured it all out to Diana.

"It's the soldiers' wives," he said; "it's shocking the way they are treated-no comforts, no anything. The soldiers are hindered from choosing good ones, and it's a tax on marriage, you know. I am going to move for a committee to inquire into the whole question."

Diana listened with wonder and reverence. How awful, how wonderful this seemed!

"Yes," he went on; "you know it comes from me quite properlya soldier myself, and having lived all my life among soldiers. These poor women! you can have no idea how they suffer; the discomforts, the squalor, their wretched children-and we not allowed to recognise them. O, it is shocking."

So it seemed to Diana, who was quite touched by this new-born sympathy and humanity in the brave Lugard, who had really warmed himself up, by dwelling on the condition of these unhappy camp-followers, rehearsing to himself "fine" passages on their state with which he was to affect the House. Had some of his brethren been present, they would have been infinitely amused, and have "chaffed" him unmercifully; for he had been the one in the regiment who was down on

the "dirty sluttish creatures" who draggled after it, or who was in a rage if any of his men dared to form an alliance of the kind. Richard never thought of this, but expounded to Diana how he would deal with the subject, and even recited choice passages to her. It was to come on the next night, and she must come to the ladies' gallery. "I will take you in myself."

Diana was delighted; anything like an expedition was welcome always; and it was presently settled that Mr. Lugard should come and call for them at a dinner-party where they were going on the following evening.

When the ladies were gone up, the subject was renewed. Bligh was of the barrister's own profession, and the subject was interesting to him.

"I assure you," Mr. Manby said, "it was a most remarkable argument. Begbie, who was on the other side, and in every appeal before the House, said he was perfectly astonished. You know we have our conventional and theatrical successes; a young fellow does fairly and the Bench compliments him, but this was another order of business altogether. A veteran could not have done it better."

“O, I was struck by it myself," said the bishop, "though I only heard a bit, and I asked the Chancellor, whom I know, and he told me."

"I know him very well," said Lugard, who had listened impatiently; "have known him from a boy. A very laborious working mind, and all that, but genius-O, no; dear, no! Industry, yes. I don't want to depreciate him, of course, and I daresay he does his business very well."

*But nowadays, you see," said the barrister, "work is genius. There are so many in the field, and so much false wit, Dutch metal, and all that, and so few able to judge, that we must go back to the original element of value, which is labour."

"O, if you do that," said Lugard with a loud laugh, "better have in Hodge the ploughman, or the pavior out of Fleet-street, who works his dozen hours a-day."

The barrister answered quietly,

"He is working like a navvy at this petition; it is only fair to warn you, Mr. Lugard. Sloper leads for him, and he won't take up anything that's not tolerably safe-or is sure to make it safe."

The bishop had risen, growing rather tired "of this sort of thing," and had glided up to what he called paradise. The gentlemen followed in a sort of skirmishing order, hanging behind each other, and very noisy. When they had got upstairs they found that Lady Margaret was receiving. And indeed the scaling party soon got "blocked" with the force that was advancing from the hall; scaling the glacis in good order, with neat and shining accoutrements, and excellent discipline. The contrast is strange between the flushed diners who are