man exercising her mind independently,
and moreover moving him to examine his own, made him smile. Could a
sweet-faced girl, the nearest to Renee in grace of manner and in feature
of all women known to him, originate a sentence that would set him
reflecting? He was unable to forget it, though he allowed her no credit
for it.

On the other hand, his admiration of her devotedness to Dr. Shrapnel
was unbounded. There shone a strictly feminine quality! according to the
romantic visions of the sex entertained by Commander Beauchamp, and by
others who would be the objects of it. But not alone the passive virtues
were exhibited by Jenny Denham: she proved that she had high courage.
No remonstrance could restrain Dr. Shrapnel from going out to watch the
struggle, and she went with him as a matter of course on each occasion.
Her dress bore witness to her running the gauntlet beside him.

'It was not thrown at me purposely,' she said, to quiet Beauchamp's
wrath. She saved the doctor from being rough mobbed. Once when they were
surrounded she fastened his arm under hers, and by simply moving on with
an unswerving air of serenity obtained a passage for him. So much did
she make herself respected, that the gallant rascals became emulous
in dexterity to avoid powdering her, by loudly execrating any but dead
shots at the detested one, and certain boys were maltreated for an
ardour involving clumsiness. A young genius of this horde conceiving, in
the spirit of the inventors of our improved modern ordnance, that it
was vain to cast missiles which left a thing standing, hurled a stone
wrapped in paper. It missed its mark. Jenny said nothing about it. The
day closed with a comfortable fight or two in by-quarters of the town,
probably to prove that an undaunted English spirit, spite of fickle
Fortune, survived in our muscles.

CHAPTER XXVIII. TOUCHING A YOUNG LADY'S HEART AND HER INTELLECT

Mr. Tuckham found his way to Dr. Shrapnel's cottage to see his kinsman
on the day after the election. There was a dinner in honour of the
Members for Bevisham at Mount Laurels in the evening, and he was five
minutes behind military time when he entered the restive drawing-room
and stood before the colonel. No sooner had he stated that he had been
under the roof of Dr. Shrapnel, than his unpunctuality was immediately
overlooked in the burst of impatience evoked by the name.

'That pestilent fellow!' Colonel Halkett ejaculated. 'I understand
he