report, seeing that the old hypocrite, getting
next door to light-headed at tne golden
prospect before her, took such liberties with
unearthly names and persons which ought never
to have approached her lips, and rained down
such an awful shower of blessings on Trottle's
head, that his hair almost stood on end to
hear her. He went on down-stairs as fast as
his feet would carry him, till he was brought
up all standing, as the sailors say, on the last
flight, by agravating Benjamin, lying right
across the stair, and fallen off, as might have
been expected, into a heavy drunken sleep.

The sight of him instantly reminded Trottle
of the curious half likeness which he had
already detected between the face of Benjamin
and the face of another man, whom he
had seen at a past time in very different
circumstances. He determined, before leaving
the House, to have one more look at the
wretched muddled creature; and accordingly
shook him up smartly, and propped him
against the staircase wall, before his mother
could interfere.

"Leave him to me; I'll freshen him up,"
says Trottle to the old woman, looking hard
in Benjamin's face, while he spoke.

The fright and surprise of being suddenly
woke up, seemed, for about a quarter of a
minute, to sober the creature. When he
first opened his eyes, there was a new look in
them for a moment, which struck home to
Trottle's memory as quick and as clear as a
flash of light. The old maudlin sleepy
expression came back again in another instant,
and blurred out all further signs and tokens
of the past. But Trottle had seen enough in
the moment before it came; and he troubled
Benjamin's face with no more inquiries.

"Next Monday, at dusk," says he, cutting
short some more of the old woman's
palaver about Benjamin's indisgestion. " I've
got no more time to spare, ma'am, to-night:
please to let me out."

With a few last blessings, a few last dutiful
messages to good Mr. Forley, and a few last
friendly hints not to forget next Monday at
dusk, Trottle contrived to struggle through
the sickening business of leave-taking; to
get the door opened; and to find himself, to
his own indescribable relief, once more on
the outer side of the House To Let.

LET AT LAST.

"THERE, ma'am! " said Trottle, folding up
the manuscript from which he had been
reading, and setting it down with a smart tap
of triumph on the table. " May I venture to
ask what you think of that plain statement,
as a guess on my part (and not on Mr. '
Jarber's) at the riddle of the empty House?"

For a minute or two I was unable to say
a word. When I recovered a little, my first
question referred to the poor forlorn little
boy.

"To-day is Monday the twentieth," I said.
"Surely you have not let a whole week go by
without trying to find out something more?"

"Except at bed-time, and meals, ma'am,"
answered Trottle, " I have not let an hour
go by. Please to understand that I have
only come to an end of what I have written,
and not to an end of what I have done. I
wrote down those first particulars, ma'am,
because they are of great importance, and
also because I was determined to come
forward with my written documents, seeing
that Mr. Jarber chose to come forward, in
the first instance, with his. I am now ready
to go on with the second part of my story
as shortly and plainly as possible, by word
of mouth. The first thing I must clear up,
if you please, is the matter of Mr. Forley's
family affairs. I have heard you speak of
them, ma'am, at various times; and I have
understood that Mr. Forley had two children
only by his deceased wife, both daughters.
The eldest daughter married, to her father's
entire satisfaction, one Mr. Bayne, a rich
man, holding a high government situation
in Canada. She is now living there with her
husband, and her only child, a little girl of
eight or nine years old. Right so far, I
think, ma'am?"

"Quite right," I said.

"Tlie second daughter," Trotfcle went on,
"and Mr. Forley's favourite, set her father's
wishes and the opinions of the world at flat
defiance, by running away with a man of low
origin—a mate of a merchant-vessel, named
Kirkland. Mr. Forley not only never
forgave that marriage, but vowed that he would
visit the scandal of it heavily in the future
on husband and wife. Both escaped his
vengeance, whatever he meant it to be. The
husband was drowned on his first voyage
after his marriage, and the wife died in
child-bed. Right again, I believe, ma'am?"

"Again quite right."

"Having got the family matter all right,
we will now go back, ma'am, to me and
my doings. Last Monday, I asked you
for leave of absence for two days; I
employed the time in clearing up the matter
of Benjamin's face. Last Saturday I was out
of the way when you wanted me. I played
truant, ma'am, on that occasion, in company
with a friend of mine, who is managing clerk
in a lawyer's office; and we both spent the
morning at Doctors' Commons, over the last
will and testament of Mr. Forley's father.
Leaving the will-business for a moment,
please to follow me first, if you have no
objection, into the ugly subject of
Benjamin's face. About six or seven years ago
(thanks to your kindness) I had a week's
holiday with some friends of mine who live
in the town of Pendlebury. One of those
friends (the only one now left in the place)
kept a chemist's shop, and in that shop I was
made acquainted with one of the two doctors
in the town, named Barsham. This Barsham
was a first-rate surgeon, and might have got