clerk? Just step here for a moment, if you
please, Mr. Burgess."

"It is all quite right, sir," said Hugh,
when this had been done. Then, when
the clerk left the room, he said, with a
slight hesitation, " I don't know how
intimate your knowledge of Mr. Frost's
private affairs may have been, but I cannot
help entertaining an idea that I owe the
recovery of this money mainly to your
influence, Mr. Lovegrove."

"As to my knowledge of the state of
Mr. Frost's private fortune, it is now, I
may say, extremely intimate. But I have
only quite recently learned the existence
of this debt to you. And, Mr. Lockwood,
I make no excuses for my partner. But
I— I—I will confess to you that it hurts
me to hear any one hard upon him. And
there were certain palliations—certain
palliations. His domestic relations were
unfortunate. Upon my word, when I see the
quantity of mischief that women are
capable of causing, I feel thankful, positively
most thankful, that they don't exercise their
power more ruthlessly than they do!"

Hugh smiled. "You have had a happy
experience of the sex yourself, sir," said he.

"Why, yes. My mother was an excellent
woman, and my wife is an excellent
woman, and my girls are good,
soundhearted girls as you'll find any where,
thank God! And I most firmly believe,
Mr. Lockwood, that the young lady whom
you are about to marry is an ornament to
her sex. You love her and respect her
very much now, I have not the least doubt.
But, take my word for it, that you will
love her and respect her more when she
has been your wife some dozen years! Oh,
of course, that seems impossible! Yes, yes,
I know. I suppose you will be married
very soon now?"

"As soon as possible!" said Hugh, with
much energy. " Oh, by-the-bye, Mr.
Lovegrove, I see they are painting out the
name of the firm on your door-post. Are you
going to make any change in the style and
title of it?"

"Yes; a considerable change. Mr. Frost
retires from the business altogether— the
deeds were signed this morning—and the
firm will henceforth be known as Lovegrove
and Lovegrove."

Mr. Lovegrove proceeded to narrate as
briefly as might be the misfortunes that
had, as he said, determined Mr. Frost to
give up business— so much, that is, of his
misfortunes as must inevitably become
matter of public notoriety. He spared his old
partner as much as possible in the narrative.
But he did not by any means spare his old
partner's wife, to whom indeed he was
inclined to attribute everything that had gone
ill, even to the total smash and failure of
the Parthenope Embellishment Company,
which had become matter of public notoriety
within the last week.

Hugh was much shocked. And his good
opinion of Mr. Lovegrove was greatly
enhanced by the feeling he evinced for his
old friend.

"He is really a most superior man, Mr.
Lockwood. I don't know a more superior
man than Sidney Frost is— or was— was,
alas! He is a wreck now, sir. You wouldn't
know him. I want to send him off to
Cannes or Nice, or some of those places
for the winter. He has given up everything
most honourably to his creditors, and
they have not behaved badly. They
understood to a man whose door to lay
the extravagance at. Anything like that
woman! However, it is unavailing to
dilate upon that. But when all is done
there will be a small a small annuity
remaining, which will suffice to maintain
Frost in comfort in some of those southern
places. Ah, bless my soul, what a superior
man he was when I first knew him!"

Mr. Lovegrove did not say that the
" small annuity " was to come entirely out
of his own pocket, and that its amount
caused him sundry twinges of conscience
when he looked at his wife and children.

"Well, Mr. Lovegrove, I hope that one
of the first transactions of the new firm
will be to draw up my marriage settlement.
And I shall ask you to continue to look
after Maud's interests. Perhaps Captain
Sheardown will be the other trustee?"

"I shall be delighted. You intend to
have Miss Desmond's little bit of money
settled entirely on herself?"

"To be sure I do! I won't detain you
any longer. Your time is precious, and I
suppose you can guess in which direction
my steps are to be bent. I long to see
Maudie's face flush and brighten
when I tell her my news. Good-bye."

Maud's face did flush and brighten in a
manner which may be supposed to have
been entirely satisfactory to her lover. But
it also expressed much pity for Mr. Frost
when she heard his story.

Hugh merely informed her that Mr.
Frost had at length paid an old debt that
had been due to his (Hugh's) father; and
that having entertained but slender hopes
of ever receiving the money, he had deemed