, say, by the jackal.
The little story was told, therefore, without the mention of any
names. Mr Maguire had read other little stories told in another
way in other newspapers, of greater weight, no doubt, than the
Littlebath _Christian Examiner_, and had thought that he could
wield a thunderbolt as well as any other Jupiter; but in wielding
thunderbolts, as in all other operations of skill, a man must first
try his 'prentice hand with some reticence; and thus he reconciled
himself to prudence, not without some pangs of conscience which
accused him inwardly of cowardice.

"Not long ago there was a lady in this town, loved and respected by
all who knew her." Thus he began, and then gave a not altogether
inaccurate statement of the whole affair, dropping, of course, his
own share in the concern, and accusing the vile, wicked, hideous,
loathsome human heart of the devouring lion, who lived some miles
to the west end of London, of a brutal desire and a hellish scheme
to swallow up the inheritance of the innocent, loved, and respected
lamb, in spite of the closest ties of consanguinity between them. And
then he went on to tell how, with a base desire of covering up from
the eyes of an indignant public his bestial greediness in having made
this dishonest meal, the lion had proposed to himself the plan of
marrying the lamb! It was a pity that Maguire had not learned--that
Miss Colza had not been able to tell him--that the lion had once
before expressed his wish to take the lamb for his wife. Had he
known that, what a picture he would have drawn of the disappointed
vindictive king of the forest, as lying in his lair at Twickenham he
meditated his foul revenge! This unfortunately was unknown to Mr
Maguire and unsuspected by him.

But the article did not end here. The indignant writer of it went on
to say that he had buckled on his armour in support of the lamb, and
that he was ready to meet the lion either in the forest or in any
social circle; either in the courts of law or before any Christian
arbitrator. With loud trumpetings, he summoned the lion to appear and
plead guilty, or to stand forward, if he dared, and declare himself
innocent with his hand on his heart. If the lion could prove himself
to be innocent the writer of that article offered him the right hand
of fellowship, an offer which the lion would not, perhaps, regard
as any strong inducement; but if the lion were not innocent--if, as
the writer of that article wa