received his words.

9.
WHAT BECOMES OF A SCAPEGRACE AND OF A LOVING GIRL.

Half the world do not know how the other half lives. People could not
imagine how Florian managed to get enough to eat. The truth was, he
very often had not enough. In one of these emergencies he applied to
the College Chap for a loan.

"Why, Florian," was the answer, "this sort of thing won't do: you must
manage to get a living: you can't go on this way."

"That's neither here nor there," replied Florian: "you can tell me all
that some other time when I'm not head over ears in trouble. Help me
out now, and preach your sermons afterward."

The admonition was ill-timed, and therefore worse than useless: Florian
pitied instead of blaming himself, and thought himself more sinned
against than sinning. With a certain air of forgiveness, he repeated
his request.

"It won't do," said the College Chap, "for a man to scatter his money
about just when he's going to be married. You'll have to get along
without me."

The College Chap was betrothed to the old squire's Babbett,--although,
as the readers of Ivo's story may remember, he was not inordinately
fond of her. He had asked for the hand of Buchmaier's Agnes, and had
met with a refusal. This he told wherever he went, calculating that he
must pass for a trump card if people knew he'd had the pluck to try for
the first girl in the village: "they all knew that the richest would
come in for their turn in no time." But they did not come in, and he
contented himself with Babbett.

Like many other spendthrifts, the College Chap was no sooner thrown
upon his own resources than he turned stingy and unfeeling.

It was Florian's misfortune that of all others the College Chap was his
most intimate companion. He could not but say to himself, "He isn't a
bit better than I am: why am I so much worse off?" He quarrelled with
his fortunes more and more, lost his energy, and became morose and
querulous.

Meanwhile Crescence was quite happy. Her father's ill-treatment of her,
though unrelenting, afforded her at bottom more gratification than
regret. She was restored to herself from the moment she had determined
to be his alone whom her heart had chosen. Knowing Florian's
circumstances, she did not scruple to relieve him by all the means in
her power. She took tobacco and other creature-comforts out of the
store, and forced them upon Florian's acceptance. Thoug