man who lived in Brick Court,
and with bated breath listened from the floor beneath to the dialogue
above.

But to continue this life, which he enjoyed so intensely that he had
even lost his desire to gamble, Mike was forced to borrow. Knowing
how such things are bruited about, Mike chose to go to a woman rather
than to any of his men friends. Mrs. Byril lent him twenty pounds,
wherefore he thought it necessary to lecture Hall for one whole
evening on the immorality of ever accepting money from women; and he
remained for weeks in idleness, smoking and drinking in restaurants
and bar rooms, deaf to Frank's many pleadings for "copy." At last he
roused a little, and feeling he could do nothing in London, proposed
to come and stay with Frank in his cottage at Marlow, and there write
the letters.

It was a bright October afternoon, Frank had gone to the station, and
Lizzie, to appease the baby, had unbuttoned her dress. The little
servant-girl who assisted with the house-work was busy in the
kitchen; for the fatted calf had been killed--that is to say, a pair
of soles, a steak, and a partridge were in course of preparation.
Lizzie thought of the partridge. She had omitted soup from the dinner
so that she might herself see to the fish; the steak, unless
something quite unforeseen occurred, Annie would be able to manage,
but the partridge! Lizzie determined she would find an excuse for
leaving the room; Frank would not like it, but anything would be
better than that the bird should appear in a raw or cindery
condition, which would certainly be the case if she did not see to
it. The jam-pudding was boiling and would be taken out of the pot at
a fixed time. And with baby upon her breast, she watched Sally scrape
and clean the fish and beat the steak; then, hearing the front door
open, she buttoned her dress, put baby in his cot, and went to meet
her visitor. Mike said he had never seen her looking so well; but in
truth he thought she had grown fat and coarse; and in half an hour he
had realized all the detail of their misfortune. He guessed that she
had helped to cook the dinner, that the wine had come from the
public-house, that they had given up their room to him, and were
sleeping in some small cupboard-like place at the end of the passage.

Of the many various unpleasantnesses of married life which had
crowded into his consciousness since he had been in the cottage, this
impressed him the most. He went to sleep thinking