Hale one day," replied Mr. Thornton, "and I
think it was about that time."

"Oh, that would be this young Lennox, the
Captain's brother. He's a lawyer, and they
were in pretty constant correspondence with
him; and I remember Mr. Hale told me he
thought he would come down. Do you
know," said Mr. Bell, wheeling round, and
shutting one eye, the better to bring the
forces of the other to bear with keen scrutiny
on Mr. Thornton's face, "that I once fancied
you had a little tenderness for Margaret."

No answer. No change of countenance.

"And so did poor Hale. Not at first, and
not till I had put it into his head."

"I admired Miss Hale. Every one must
do so. She is a beautiful creature," said Mr.
Thornton, driven to bay by Mr. Bell's pertincious
questioning.

"Is that all! You can speak of her in
that measured way as simply a 'beautiful
creature' only something to catch the eye.
I did hope you had had nobleness enough in
you to make you pity her the homage of the
heart. Though I believe- in fact I know, she
would have rejected you, still to have loved
her without return would have lifted you
higher than all those, be they who they may,
that have never known her to love. 'Beautiful
creature' indeed! Do you speak of her as
you would of a horse or a dog?"

Mr. Thornton's eyes glowed like red
embers.

''Mr. Bell," said he, "before you speak so,
you should remember that all men are not as
free to express what they feel as you are.
Let us talk of something else." For though
his heart leaped up, as at a trumpet-call, to
every word that Mr. Bell had said, and though
he knew that what he had said would hence-forward
bind the thought of the old Oxford
Fellow closely up with the most precious
things of his heart, yet he would not be
forced into any expression of what he felt
towards Margaret. He was no mocking-bird
of praise, to try because another extolled what
he reverenced and passionately loved, to outdo
him in laudation. So he turned to some of
the dry matters of business that lay between
Mr. Bell and him as landlord and tenant.

"What is that heap of brick and mortar
we came against in the yard? Any repairs
wanted?"

"No, none, thank you."

"Are you building on your own account?
If you are, I'm very much obliged to you."

"I'm building a dining-room- for the men
I mean- the hands."

"I thought you were hard to please, if
this room was not good enough to satisfy
you, a bachelor."

"I've got acquainted with a strange kind
of chap, and I put one or two children in
whom he is interested to school. So, as I
happened to be passing near his house one
day, I just went there about some trifling
payment to be made; and I saw such a
miserable black frizzle of a dinner-  a greasy
cinder of meat, as first set me a-thinking.
But it was not till provisions grew so high
this winter that I bethought me how, by
buying things wholesale, and cooking a good
quantity of provisions together, much money
might be saved, and much comfort gained.
So I spoke to rny friend- or my enemy- the
man I told you of and he found fault with
every detail of my plan; and in consequence
I laid it aside, both as impracticable and also
because if I forced it into operation I should be
interfering with the independence of my men;
when suddenly this Higgins came to me and
graciously signified his approval of a scheme
so nearly the same as mine, that I might
fairly have claimed it; and, moreover, the
approval of several of his fellow-workmen,
to whom he had spoken. I was a little
'riled,' I confess, by his manner, and thought
of throwing the whole thing overboard to
sink or swim. But it seemed childish to
relinquish a plan which I had once thought
wise and well-laid, just because I myself did
not receive all the honour and consequence
due to the originator. So I coolly took the
part assigned to me, which is something like
that of steward to a club. I buy in the
provisions wholesale, and provide a fitting
matron or cook."

"I hope you give satisfaction in your new
capacity. Are you a good judge of
potatoes and onions? But I suppose Mrs.
Thornton assists you in your marketing."

"Not a bit," replied Mr, Thornton. "She
disapproves of the whole plan, and now we
never mention it to each other. But I manage
pretty well, getting in great stocks from
Liverpool, and being served in butcher's meat
by our own family butcher. I can assure you,
the hot dinners the matron turns out are by
no means to be despised."

"Do you taste each dish as it goes in, in
virtue of your office? I hope you have a
white wand."

"I was very scrupulous, at first, in confin-
ing myself to the mere purchasing part, and
even in that I rather obeyed the men's orders,
conveyed through the housekeeper, than
went by my own judgment. At one time,
the beef was too large, at another the mutton
was not fat enough. I think they saw
how careful I was to leave them free, and not
to intrude my own ideas upon the; so, one
day, two or three of the men- my friend
Higgins among them- asked me if I would
not come in and take a snack. It was a very
busy day, but I saw that the men would be
hurt if, after making the advance, I didn't
meet them half-way, so I went in, and I never
made a better dinner in my life. I told them
(my next neighbours I mean, for I'm no
speech-maker) how much I'd enjoyed it; and
for some time, whenever that especial dinner
recurred in their dietary, I was sure to be
met by these men, with a 'Master, there's
hot-pot for dinner to-day, win yo' come?'