Year: 1875

ment closed up, and family ana &C


quaintances at the seaside or tn


races, but as there was no alterna


tive l made the best Of the situation


threw myself on the mercies of


restaurant keeper, and affected soli


tary walks under the dusty trees OF


dreary little park, frequented al


sundown by gushing young girl


who walked with arms affectionate


" intertwined, and chattering-nurSC


maids, wheeling preambulators fo


hours over the scorching gravel anC


ci' ders, or leaving the tired, help


less babies to sob unavailingly OF


the damp ground, crumbling gin


gerbread to the greedy cricketS anC


grasshoppers, while the nurses, gay


with cherry-cclored ribbons ant


chignons, fiirted with the attendant,


who Joined them bye and bye. Sit


ting in the almost deserted restau.
rant one sultry morning over :
wretched omelette, bad coffee, and
worse appetite, l was surprised and


delighted beyond measure to see Hal


Terry, as jovial an old chap as ev-
er drew breath, hooking his hat up
on the dingy wall.


The surprise, and perhaps the
pleasure of the meeting, was mutu-
al, and Hal and l had at one time
been great cronies, as the Scotch
say, and were still the best friends
in the world.


"Well now," said Terry joining,
fortunes with me at table poking at
the cruets and mustard pots in his
jerky nervous way, this is really too
good, you know; and l haden't the
slightest anticipation of meeting one
here l knew, at this season. l got
in last night. Am going for run
up to Hampshire during these bla-
zes. l can't stand it any longer; !
am wasting away by inches, as the
song says; something must be done.


He weighed $50 pounds if he
weighed an ounce.


We talked on different matters,
until my friend. had devoured a very
respectable breakfast; and | had
made an end of mine, and gone so
far as to order fresh round of
toast. Halls voracity was infections
he had u commercial travellers ap-
petite, and ! enYied him.


"And what is to hinder your join
ing me in a fortnight fshing's and
cunning I should like to know, old
man. Como, you must go; its capi-
tai sport, and you can run over to
Cape May and bring your sisters
home in September. I'll guarantee
a smashing good time if you go with
me-"


''No doubt of it" 1 said, with a
slight feeling of regret. 81 should
like nothing better, but the fact is,
l am tied up here for six weeks at
least, and it will be too late then
for Hampshire" "


Itold Hal briefly the reasons why
1 could not accept his excellent offer
and receive his commlseratiOn.


''It's really too bad, just when a
chap had been looking forward to
getting away from counting rooms,
and the dull routine of office life
And there's the responsibility, l
wouldn't be left as you are for a
whole bag full of daeats; in charge
of another mans affairs. The place
might be broken into you know; a
lot of things might happen, and of
course, you will be held more or less
accountable. But you're steady
going old dormouse, and can put up
with no end of discontinue"


| don't know why l did so; an
impulse 1 could not have checked
made me turn my head just then
and look at a man who occupied
table but few feet from where we
sat.


A sallow-visaged man of thirty
five or six, with close cut, wiry black
hair and a pair of restless black eyes,
which, at that moment, were gazing
intently at me, over the top of pa
per he held in such a strange posi-
ton as to convince me he was not
reading. l regretted turning so
as there was something in
the appearance of this man which
rather disconnected me for a moment.
fancied he had been silently listen
ing to the conversation, though it
might have been purely fancy, for
outside of having seen him on one or
two occasions in the eating house,
he was perfect stranger to me,
and my affairs could not possibly be
of any interest to him. eff Pm not
down at Griffords by six, old boy,
this p. M, you may meet me here,
and We'll have dinner together, and
run about town a little; l 90 away
tomorrow" said my friend, drawing
on a pair of pearl colOred kids,
which he wore winter or summer;
they were characteristic of the man.
had glanced at the dark-haired per-
son on my way out. He was obServ-
ing as closely, he had taken a
more than passing glance ut me. He
slightly an1 assumed q
careless attitude He might have
mistaken me for another, and so he
passed completely from my mind
and Terry and l parted, with the
understanding that we were to meet
again at six, either at my place or
the eating house.


Things went confoundedly all day;
check books mislaid and the ship,
ping clerk absent the whole of the
not unusual circum-
stance of late-until with worrying
and badgering wished myself on
the shores of the Red Sea, and was
not in particularly fine humor
when time to shut up. -.


Hal had ordered the subStantlais
and declared himself on the point OF
starvation.


81 had voted you 4 bore, jamie
son. and given you just five minutes
grace; after that the banquet would
have. been n wreck.


1t was not possible to talk shop,
or to hold ill-humor, in the face of
Terry's fine spirits, and | had for
gotten by the time the wine came on
that there ever was a Solomon Grit