'Isle had forgotten Jenny Aiken's presence. He turned to look at her,
and the Scotch Hebe was plainly more amused than shocked at what she
was witnessing. Had L'Isle forgotten also his appointment to-morrow
morning at Alcantara? Perhaps not. But had Sir Rowland Hill now
appeared and demanded his opinion of the Andalusian levies, L'Isle
would have told him that he had no leisure to think of him or them.

But all sublunary pleasure has an end. Supper was over, and L'Isle
could devise no excuse for lingering here, but the pleasure of
listening to Lady Mabel, who seemed willing to amuse him as long as he
staid. After a pause, divining that he was about to take leave of her,
she said suddenly: "What an unreasonable fellow Sir Rowland Hill must
be! Because he cannot find any one to execute his delicate commissions
half so well as you do, he must be thrusting them all upon you! Does
he take you for a Popish saint, endowed with pluripresence, and able
to be in Andalusia, at Badajoz, Elvas, and Alcantara, all at one
time?"

"Not exactly so," said L'Isle, a good deal flattered at this
speech. "He has indeed tasked me well, at times doing other men's
work; but it is all in a good cause, you know; and I never objected to
these tasks till now--My Lord, I hear, set out for Alcantara early
this morning, taking Bradshawe and Conway with him."

"Yes! they rode merrily off this morning," said Lady Mabel in a gay
tone. "A summons to Alcantara breaks the monotony of their life here,
and they were eager to meet Sir Rowland. I hear that these conferences
with his officers always conclude with a capital dinner. That sallow
Major Conway, with his fastidious appetite, and his Calcutta liver,
will appreciate the excellence of the _cuisine_. I have heard Colonel
Bradshawe dilate, with enthusiasm, on Sir Rowland's choice selection
of wines. Papa, too, will meet some new people there, which will give
him an opportunity of once more undergoing his three years of siege,
famine, and bombardment in Gibraltar thirty years ago, and of uttering
a new edition to the expedition to Egypt, in which he will again put
Sir Ralph Abercromby to a glorious death in the arms of victory. They
tell me, Sir Rowland, too, dearly loves these occasions for repeating
his favorite lecture on strategy and grand tactics. But you must have
heard it so often, that you can repeat it _verbatim_ to me, if you
have nothing more entertaining to say."

"I hope I could find topics