The true northerner., 1879-01-31


join in the laugh, but maintained a grave
composure they had never noticed in
him before.
Nor was il laughing matter some-
where else. The news of that morn
ing's interruption flew apace, with va
rious additions and amendments. Thus
improved upon, it reached the ears OF
Mr.. st. Leger, who lived but a few miles
off, and it created profound sensation,
so much so that, instead of spending
the afternoon with the Freres, as ex-
pected, he took himself off and was never
seen by them again. 1t was discovered
that Tom Tyler's version had been cor
rect after good radiance for Mary Frere;
but heart trihed with and wronged can
never quite recover itself.
For time Sam was almost reverent-
ly treated at home. They felt the force
of his simple explanation why he had
chosen such a singular way of uttering
his suspicious, that it was because they
would only have laughed at him if he
had told them," and were a little
ashamed of themselves. But the old
habit revived after a while, as old hab-
its, both family and personal, so easily
do, and Sans brains were held as cheap
as ever, except by Mary, who was drawn
to him more than ever. and by his
mother, who never ceased to ponder in
her heart, as only mothers do, the
meaning of that display of firm intelh-
gence and almost fierce affection.
"I1l tell you what it means,' said her
brother to Mrs Frere one day when she
was talking to him about it-he was
lawyer in London, old John Quicksett,
of Gray's Inn, who could see thing as
shrewdly as most people-"it means
this, that Sam has got heart and u
head, but his head is more out of the
way than usual, and can only be got at
through his heart, like an old-fashioned
bedroom that can only be reached by
going through another Look here,
sister, / like amazingly that story of the
banns-it's grand. Not that there was
anything clever in what he did, just the
reverse; it might have been a most
stupid mistake; but this is what takes
my fancy so, the firmness of purpose, a
far higher quality of mind than mere
cleverness, that could make the poor
fellow face everything he did for the
sake of the sister he loved. There
must be something in one who could
run the gantlet like that, when his heart
was once fairly unlocked, and 1 think l
have the key
Il always thought so," cried Mrs.
Frere, greatly delighted.
well, let me try. I'll run away with
Sam, and make lawyer of him. What
do you say?"
The grinning was epidemic round the
table after it was known that Sam was
to be lawyer. His brothers and sisters
could hardly look at first without smil-
ing; it did seem so droll, so absolutely
contrary to every notion they enter
tanned of him. Had he sat before them
in full naval costume as Admiral of the
Channel feet, it would hardly have
struck them as being more unlocked for
and preposterous. Uncle Johns pres
ence saved Sam from collective banter
ing, though the old lawyer was too wise
to make any fuss about the matter; but
when Sam was clone with his brothers
and sisters he he'd q hard time of it,
though all was, as usual, in perfect good
humor.
At first Sam had, of course, to go
through the usual drudgery of law
yer's Office, in which, if it be possible for
every one to shine, he certainly did not.
His blunders were awful, and provoked
the wrath or ridicule, as the case might
be, of his fellow-clerks, who were all
well seasoned and somewhat ancient
men. But his uncle never found fault
with him. The most he said when some
frantic bungle was brought to his notice
was, "Sam, do this over again; you
know you can do it great deal better
than that" And, sure enough, it was
done better the second time. In short,
his uncle began with, and, in spite of
every discouragement, persevered in,
the plan of trusting him. And by de-
grees he found the more he trusted him
the better he did, and the more he
treated him as if there were something
in him the more he got out of him. Had
Sam nothing in him to begin with the
plan could not have answered.; bat this
was just what his uncle believed,
namely, that there was something in
him, but it had been systematically
laughed down and sat upon from super
fetal considerations, and that it could
be brought out by total change of ex-
ternal influence and treatment. And
now his powers began to show them
selves and to expand, just as a shrub
that had been stunted and blackened
from want of room and uncongenial
soil begins to throw out vigorous shoots
when transplanted to ground that suits
it and where it has space to grow.
"Sam," said Mr.. Quicksett, one day,
Eve shall oil of us be away the whole
afternoon, and must leave you in charge
of the Office. If that fellow Choker
should come, mind, you're not to let him
see anything
As the fates would have it, Choker
did come. Perhaps Mr.. Quicksett
knew he was coming. Possibly Mr..
Choker, who was a sharp and not very
scrupulous professional opponent of
his, had made himself aware of the un-
protected state of the Office in Gray's
Inn, and he brought with him man
that looked every inch prize-fghter.
Is Mr.. Quicksett in-no? Well it's
of no consequence. / merely called to
see as matter OF form one or two