'Never fear,' replied Watkins, resolutely, as he made his way to the spot
where the ladies were walking.

'Here's Mr. Tottle, my dear,' said Mrs. Parsons, addressing Miss
Lillerton. The lady turned quickly round, and acknowledged his courteous
salute with the same sort of confusion that Watkins had noticed on their
first interview, but with something like a slight expression of
disappointment or carelessness.

'Did you see how glad she was to see you?' whispered Parsons to his
friend.

'Why, I really thought she looked as if she would rather have seen
somebody else,' replied Tottle.

'Pooh, nonsense!' whispered Parsons again--'it's always the way with the
women, young or old. They never show how delighted they are to see those
whose presence makes their hearts beat. It's the way with the whole sex,
and no man should have lived to your time of life without knowing it.
Fanny confessed it to me, when we were first married, over and over
again--see what it is to have a wife.'

'Certainly,' whispered Tottle, whose courage was vanishing fast.

'Well, now, you'd better begin to pave the way,' said Parsons, who,
having invested some money in the speculation, assumed the office of
director.

'Yes, yes, I will--presently,' replied Tottle, greatly flurried.

'Say something to her, man,' urged Parsons again. 'Confound it! pay her
a compliment, can't you?'

'No! not till after dinner,' replied the bashful Tottle, anxious to
postpone the evil moment.

'Well, gentlemen,' said Mrs. Parsons, 'you are really very polite; you
stay away the whole morning, after promising to take us out, and when you
do come home, you stand whispering together and take no notice of us.'

'We were talking of the _business_, my dear, which detained us this
morning,' replied Parsons, looking significantly at Tottle.

'Dear me! how very quickly the morning has gone,' said Miss Lillerton,
referring to the gold watch, which was wound up on state occasions,
whether it required it or not.

'I think it has passed very slowly,' mildly suggested Tottle.

('That's right--bravo!') whispered Parsons.

'Indeed!' said Miss Lillerton, with an air of majestic surprise.

'I can only impute it to my unavoidable absence from your society,
madam,' said Watkins, 'and that of Mrs. Parsons.'

During this short dialogue, the ladies had been leading the way to the
house.

'What the deuce did you stick Fanny into that last compliment for?'
inquired Parsons,