Litchfield enquirer., 1860-06-14

for the purpose of billeting myself upon you ) I met Leslie this morning, who told me c ) your party. And -" (hcre he made al
 anaccountable pause, J." But since I an here, will you allow me to send messag, to my servant to bring my things here t, dress? Twill save me the trouble of goin. homc" "Ay, to be sure; Laurent will be her. presently, and he shall send somebody |, hm.'
 Had Sir Harry been in state of mind tt think to any purpose, he would have though that considering the terms on which they had stood for some time past, all this wal very strange.
 I By the time Laurent had finished dressing his master, MaxwelPs servant arrived; anC Sir Harry descended to the drawing-room tt receive his guests, leaving his friend to per form the duties of the toilette.
 Another pin, Ward" said Maxwell tt his servant. Plague on the inventor of this tie! it requires as many pins as the frock O Q boarding school romp" Bat Ward hay ing exhausted all the pins ill Sir Harry! cushion, his master opened first one drawer and then another, till coming to that ir which the Baronet had deposited the letters he was astonished at perceiving that the let ter on the top of the pile was addressed te Lord Dashmere, arho aoas Co De of Me part9 that afternoon, and the next beneath to him. self! In addition to these were letters ad dressed to his agent, to lis solicitor, and tc his aunt, Lady Mary whom he had offended beyond all hope of pardon.
 This is very strange!" He continued his search "Good God !-Ward-I have no farther occasion for you: you may go Unless am at home by one, you needn't --yes--you had better be in waiting for me----tllat's all.-Stay--call hackney. coach ately-don't bring it to the door, but wait with it at the corner of the street,
 The guests were all assembled, and Lau, rent announced that dinner was served.
 Let Mr. Maxwell know," said Sir Harry
 Mr. Maxwell, sar, beg you shall not wait for him. He go home for something hc forget, but shall return before the soup be re- move." A knock at once announced the re- turn of Mir. Maxwell, SO that no delay oc- cured.
 Sir Harry Highayer, as is well known, was one of the most agreeable table companions of the day. He was man of ready and pleasant wit; and, whatever may have been his faults at other times and in other places, 1 (and numerous and grave indeed they were, he Was faultless at the head of his own table. l Never the retailer of other mems stories, and seldom the hero of his own, he entertained u i mortal aversion for your mere story-teler. The original sin," he used to say, has en- tailed curse on all the pleasures of life, and story telling is the curse Of conyiviuIity Tho nonsense of the moment is d thousand times preferable to the most exquisite piece of wit, ready cut and dried for the occasion, that ever was ntterred, or the best ready-madc story that was ever told" Me held nese to be subversive of mrth (of cheerfulness it ccr- tainly is, instead of an assistant to, or an evidence of, it: and, strange as it may ap- pear, he could not endure coarse joke, or ,sn obscene story. Let us," he once said, let us show some consideration for the ne- cessities of our interiors: let us abandon to tnkers such incentives to mirth-thc poor devils require something as relish to their beer; we shall lose nothing by the surrender; for, for my part, can't fancy that they go well with the elegant, delicate flavor of fine wine" To do Sir Harry justice, he was not beast
 The dinner went off pretty much the same way as dinners of the kind generally do. But some circumstances occurred, of too re- markable a character to pass without men, tion. It is true that, with the exception of Mr. Maxwell, they made no very deep im- presson on any one present {; yet, at one or two of those circumstances, not one of tine party but felt, more or less acutely, what might, not inaptly be termed a momentary shock of astonshmcnt. No one could be a fairer talker than Sir Harry he allowed opportunity to every one for taking his share in the conversation :; he never, as it were, elbowed himself in :; but ayailed himself adroitly, and apparently without effort, of the first opening. Upon this occasion, how ever, he tailed hrouga every one that at tempted to speak he talked almost inces- santly and, indeed, seemed to be uneasy when he was constrained even to short in- terval of silence. He spoke, too, in a loud, overpowering tone of voice, altogether con trary to his usual habit and his gayety, ordinarily so distinguished by its suavity and its subordination to the dictates of good taste, was boisterous in tine extreme, and sought to maintain itself by recourse to expedicnts the most commonplace. Again, it was observed that, oftener than once he filled bumper, drank it of, and filled again before he passed the wine.
 There was some question about arranging Vauxhall party for the following evening, and Mir. Maurice B., not perceiving that their host was whispering Laurent, who had just entered the room with mes- sage to him, turned around and abruptly inquired, Highayer, where shall you be to- morrow night?" Sir Harry, turning sudden ly at the question, fixed his eyes (which seemed to distend to twice their natural size) on the speaker. set his teeth firmly to- gether, and uttered short, convulsive, fend-like laugh, as his only reply; at the same time grasping Laurent by the fesby part of the arm. A death-like silence en- sued; not soul present but felt thrill of horror! Lord Dashmore, indeed, who was raising his glass to his lips, involuntarily threw it upward with such force, that it struck the ceiling and fell in fragments to the floor Poor Laurent, sinking almost on his knees, while tears of agony were forced from his eyes, naturally and pathetically cried out in his own language, Mais, mon Dieu Monsieur, rous me fastes mat--rous me flutes naal, vous dis:e" Sir Harry ye- linquished his hold, drew his hand across his forehead, filled bumper, carelessly reproach