Year: 1868

ough Hunt Ball and Rattleborough,
as beftted the occasion, was mployed
in holding high festival The large
room of the Egerton Arms was full,
and the company as select as the most
fastidlous could wish. There were
representatives from all the great
families Of the county, and the cream
of the society of the town of Rattle
borough itself, not to mention a score
or SO of unattached males who had
established themselves in the Egerton
Arms and IN various lodgings in the
place, for the express purpose of being
in the immediate vicinity of the far
famed marlborough hounds.


1t was TO the very best of this So
ciety that Mr.. Oliver Henley belonged
"a gentleman young in years, and
comfortably off in the matter of mon
ey-a barrister, member of the Inner
Temple, burdened with no briefs, nor
with the necessity or intention of get
ting any His father was still living
but ne had already come into a very
respectable little property; and, as
was natural for a gentleman in the
flower of existence as he was--tO- wit
seven-andtw twenty years of age-was
bent on enjoying himself accordingly.
With this highly laudable object in
view, he had made his debut in the
Battleborough district; and by his
good riding, genial manners and gen
erous habits, which a comfortable bal
ance at ones bankers makes easy
enough, he had produced decidedly
favorable impression upon those whose
estimation was usually considered
worth having. Henley had had a
day with the hounds, which he had
enjoyed most thoroughly; and he was
just at present engaged in talking
over It's events with a newly made
acquaintance, and at the same time
passing kind of running commentary
upon the dancers as they whirled past
him.


Now, Mr.. Henley" said the Wig
orous ballroom whip, will you choose
your partner? l can Introduce you
to any one you like"


8 Who is that young lady there ?
She has Just sat down. The one with
the wonderful amount of black hair,
and"


Miss Devonport," was the prompt
reply. \ wonderful nice girl
dances capitally. Let me Introduce
you"


And after Henley had gone through
the Lancers with Miss Devonport, he
q tt,ot tlI-
not exaggerated. Miss Devonport,
ne discovered, was a very nice girl
so nice a girl that he made up his mind
to get all the dances with her that
she would give him. If Oliver Hen
lev had been asked to give an account
of himself he would, in all probabili-
ty. have described himself as the most
unjmpressionable fellow in the world.
He had become bored with hirtation
and his days of heavy love-making
were over. Experts, however, in the
diagnosis of love-making will tell you
that it is precisely persons of Hen
ley's self-reliant and defiant nature
who are most apt to fall victims to
the tender passion and if Oliver Hen
lev had not had such a consummate
belief IN his own powers, 1t is proba-
bic that it would have occurred to
him. more than once IN the course of
his conversation with Miss Devon
port, that he was trenching upon dan
gerous ground When a gentleman
finds himself telling his partner the
history Of his life, interspersed, here
and there. with touches half-pathetic
and halfcynical, 1t may be as we'll
that he should take heed unto his
WAYS at once, although such relations
are often Comparatively ly meaningless.


According to your own account,
Mr.. Henley, YOU must be a terribly
rolling stone, said Miss Devonport


Il feel myself 50, Miss Devonport
"a rolling stone which gathers no
moss. but longs to do So


There was a certain amount of
vaguene.s in the latter part of this
remark. But somehow it had seemed
the natural thing TO say and Henley
made ii in tone which was express
i've Of depth of feeling rather Won
derful in so cautious and unsentImen-
tai a man. He was almost astOnished
and half angry with himself when the
words had escaped him. He looked
confused-why, he did not exactly
know. Unfortunately. however, locks
are a good deal more eloquent than
speech still more unfortunately, the
looks were not uunoticed by Miss
Devonport Somehow or other the
remark. sufficiently meaningless as It
was. seemed to have established a kind
Of understanding between Miss Dev-
onport and Mr. Henley, and when
Miss Devonport's carnage was an
nounced-Miss Devonport, senior, the
Young ladv's aunt-it seemed quite
natural to Henley to offer his arm to
escort her thither, and for Miss Dew
onport to accept it.


Miss Devonport," said Henley,
Just before he handed her in, " / won
der shall we meet again p


:. Why not. Mr.. Henley p


But the aunt at that moment came
up, and am disposed to think that
gentle pressure of uniuten-
tional Of course-served as species
of reply.