VERY HARD CASH.

BY THE AUTHOR OF "IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO MEND."

CHAPTER LII.

BOTH the parted lovers were wretched. Julia
never complained, but drooped, and read The
Psalms, and Edward detected her in tears over
them. He questioned her and obtained a lame
account; she being more bent on screening
Alfred than on telling the truth.

So he called on the other; and found him
disconsolate, and reading a Heathen philosopher
for comfort, and finding none. Edward
questioned him, and he was reserved, and even sulky.
Sir Imperturbable persisted quietly, and he
exploded, and out came his wrongs. Edward said
he was a pretty fellow: and wanted it all his
own way. "Suppose my mother, with her
present feelings, was to take a leaf out of your
book, and use all her power; where would you
be then? Come, old fellow, I know what love
is, and one of us shall have the girl he loves,
unless any harm should come to my poor father
owing to your blunder—oh, that would put
it out of the question, I feel—but let us hope
better. I pulled you out of the fire, and somehow
I seem to like you better than ever after
that; let me pull you out of this mess, too."

"Pull away," cried the impetuous youth.
"I'll trust you with my life: ay, with more
than my life, with my love; for you are the man
for me: reason is always uppermost with you:

Give me the man that is not passion's slave
And I will wear him in my heart's core, ay——"

"Oh bother that. If you are in earnest, don't
mouth, but put on your hat and come over."

He assented; but in the middle of putting on
his coat, made this little observation: "Now I
see how wise the ancients were: yes, friendship
is better than love; calmer, more constant, free
from the heats and chills of that impetuous
passion; its pure bosom is ruffled by none of
love's jealousies and irritabilities. Solem e mundo
tollunt qui tollunt amicitiam."

"Oh, bother quoting; come and shake hands
with Julia." They went over; Mrs. Dodd was
in the City. Edward ushered in Alfred, saying
"here is the other Impetuosity;" and sagely
retired for a few minutes: when he came back
they were sitting hand in hand, he gazing on her,
she inspecting the carpet. "That is all right,"
said Edward drily: "now the next thing is,
you must go back to Oxford directly, and read
for your first class."

The proposal fell like a blight upon the
reconciled lovers. But Edward gave potent
reasons. The delays of law were endless:
Alfred's defendant had already obtained one
postponement of the trial on frivolous grounds.
Now the Oxford examination and Doncaster
races come on at a fixed date, by a Law of
Nature, and admit of no "postponement swindle."
"You mark my words, you will get your class
before you will get your trial, and it won't hurt
you to go into court a first-class man: will it?
And then you won't quarrel by letter, you two;
I know. Come will you do what I tell you:
or is friendship but a name? eh, Mr. Bombast?"
He ended with great though quiet force: "Come,
you two, which is better, to part like the scissors,
or part like the thread?"

Similes are no arguments; and perhaps that is
why they convince people so: Alfred capitulated
to the scissors and thread; and only asked with
abnormal humility to be allowed to taste the joys
of reconciliation for two days: the third found
him at Oxford; he called on the head of his
college to explain what had prevented his return
to Exeter in the October term twelve months
ago, and asked for rooms. Instead of siding
with a man of his own college so cruelly injured,
the dignitary was alarmed by the bare accusation,
and said he must consider. Insanity was a
terrible thing.

"So is false accusation, and so is false
imprisonment," said Hardie bitterly.

"Unquestionably. But I have at present no
means of deciding how far those words apply."
In short, he could give no answer; must consult
the other officers, and would convey the result
by letter.

Alfred's pride was deeply mortified, not less
by a certain cold repugnant manner than by the
words. And there came over his heart a sickening
feeling that he was now in the eyes of men
an intellectual leper.

He went to another college directly, and
applied to the vice-president; the vice-president
sent him with a letter to the dean; the dean
looked frightened, and told him hesitatingly
the college was full; he might put his name