"I come down here," said Mr. Cater, in a
loud voice, "at great personal inconvenience;
so does Mr. Dawkins. It is very strange conduct,
very. I was led into the suit by
misrepresentation. I pursued it with but one view,
that of a fair and profitable compromise. The
other side offers that now, and yet this wrong-
headed, this insane young man, declines. Bui
I shall insist on it," added Mr. Cater, with great
heat.

"We shall be beaten like hacks, if we go on,"
said his colleague.

During this discussion, Mr. Tillotson,
standing irresolutely at the door, turned several times
to go, but was firmly restrained by the hand
of Mr. Tilney being laid upon his arm in a
mysterious and meaning manner. Now he
spoke.

"I am afraid," he said, " I am listening to
matters of private interest—very unwillingly, I
assure you. Mr. Tilney was kind enough to
ask me up, but I can come another time."

The two young ladies, who had, indeed, been
taking note of the strange gentleman, whom only
the warmth of the discussion prevented their
rising and welcoming, said, with expostulation,
"Mamma! Oh!"

"Mr. Tillotson, my dear," said Mr. Tilney,
hastily introducing him. " Sit down there, next
to Mrs. Tilney."

"I shall withdraw from the thing," went on
the solicitor—"my mind is made up—unless
terms are come to; such handsome terms, too.
Why, it's insanity!"

"You may say that," said Mr. Tilney, shaking
his head. " Why, when one of the Dook's own
tradesmen—a saddler fellow—sent in his bill,
why, I declare"—here Mr. Tilney interrupted
himself, and put the hollow of his hand to his
ear with great caution, as if it were a sea-shell—
"there he is. I know his step. Yes, it's
Ross."

"Ah! well," said the solicitor, half satisfied,
"this is something better. But if he don't
settle——-"

The door was opened sharply, and a young
man entered roughly; a young man with great
tossed brown hair, and a nose with a very high
strong ridge, and an angry, if not habitually
sulky, expression. He had his hand up to the
side of his cheek, and he stood with his other
hand on the door, looking round on the crowd
of people.

"Well," he said, " what is all this? What's
to do? So you've come down, Cater? I told
you you might come, if you liked, but it's no
use."

Mr. Tillotson was looking at him earnestly,
and with astonishment; so earnestly, that the
young man took notice of him, then started a
little, and fixed a dogged defiant challenging
look on him. Mr. Tilney strode up hastily.

"Let me introduce. Old Sam Lefevre always
said, 'Let us know our company, and have done
with it.' Mr. Tillotson, Mr. Ross. God bless
me! Ross, my boy, what's wrong with your
cheek?"

"What's wrong!" said the other, angrily,
putting down his hand. "There, look, all of
you! A great sight, isn't it? I suppose a man
can fall down and cut himself, or a boy in the
street throw a stone? Ah! if I catch that boy
again, won't I scourge him!"

"Good Heavens! William," cried the girls,
"what is it? You are dreadfully hurt!" And
indeed he appeared to be, for there was a great
purple line running along his cheek up to his
ear.

He gave them a look of fury. "Never mind
me," he said; "isn't there business going on
here? Just leave me alone. That's all."

"I am sorry," said the solicitor, "but we
must go into this at once. As I wrote to you,
a compromise is offered in your case, now ripe
for trial at the present assizes. Mr. Bacon was
with me this morning. He offers to share
the lands in dispute; that will give over a
thousand a year to each party. What on earth
drives them to propose such a thing, I cannot
conceive. They must be mad! Mr. Paget,
our junior, thinks so too. We have not a stick
or a leg to go upon."

"That was what Mr. Paget said in our office
—his very words," added Mr. Dawkins.

"Of course we'll settle?" asked Mr. Cater, a
little nervously.

"Oh, of course," said Mr. Tilney. "A thousand
a year! My goodness! A thousand! It
is noble! Of course he will."

"Of course I will!" said Mr. Ross, ironically.
"Oh, you seem to settle the thing readily
enough among you. Then of course I won't.
My mind's made up, and, whether I live or die,
whether I am assaulted by ruffians in the street
or no, I'll fight the thing out to the last. You,
attorneys! Why, you don't know your own trade!
Why would they be so eager to compromise?
Don't you see the confession of weakness?
I shall go on! I'll fight them till I drop, or go
to a jail! I'll have every shilling, or not a
shilling!"

"What madness!" said Mr. Cater, starting
up. " Then you'll go on by yourself, sir, and
you'll settle with me, sir, at once, and get
another solicitor. I'll risk no more for such a
madman. Confession of weakness! Why, Mr.
Paget told us the reason. Why, you know, the
defendant is a young orphan girl, who wants no
law. But take your own course, sir."

At this moment, with the young man standing
up, his eyes hot, his cheeks glowing, and
the ugly scar looking as if it were about to burst
open from the force of the angry blood within—
with the two solicitors scowling legally at him
with set lips—with Mrs. Tilney and her family
rustling their dresses from " flouncing"
indignantly in their chairs, the door opened softly,
and what seemed to Mr. Tillotson a vision, a
divine spirit of peace and soft tranquillity,
seemed to glide in to compose these angry
elements. She stood a moment with her hand on
the door, brought with her silence and stillness,
and a converging of all the angry faces on
ier.