'And supply--'

'May I trouble you to hand this tea to Mr. Tibbs?' said Mrs. Tibbs,
interrupting the argument, and unconsciously illustrating it.

The thread of the orator's discourse was broken. He drank his tea and
resumed the paper.

'If it's very fine,' said Mr. Alfred Tomkins, addressing the company in
general, 'I shall ride down to Richmond to-day, and come back by the
steamer. There are some splendid effects of light and shade on the
Thames; the contrast between the blueness of the sky and the yellow water
is frequently exceedingly beautiful.' Mr. Wisbottle hummed, 'Flow on,
thou shining river.'

'We have some splendid steam-vessels in Ireland,' said O'Bleary.

'Certainly,' said Mrs. Bloss, delighted to find a subject broached in
which she could take part.

'The accommodations are extraordinary,' said O'Bleary.

'Extraordinary indeed,' returned Mrs. Bloss. 'When Mr. Bloss was alive,
he was promiscuously obligated to go to Ireland on business. I went with
him, and raly the manner in which the ladies and gentlemen were
accommodated with berths, is not creditable.'

Tibbs, who had been listening to the dialogue, looked aghast, and evinced
a strong inclination to ask a question, but was checked by a look from
his wife. Mr. Wisbottle laughed, and said Tomkins had made a pun; and
Tomkins laughed too, and said he had not.

The remainder of the meal passed off as breakfasts usually do.
Conversation flagged, and people played with their teaspoons. The
gentlemen looked out at the window; walked about the room; and, when they
got near the door, dropped off one by one. Tibbs retired to the back
parlour by his wife's orders, to check the green-grocer's weekly account;
and ultimately Mrs. Tibbs and Mrs. Bloss were left alone together.

'Oh dear!' said the latter, 'I feel alarmingly faint; it's very
singular.' (It certainly was, for she had eaten four pounds of solids
that morning.) 'By-the-bye,' said Mrs. Bloss, 'I have not seen Mr.
What's-his-name yet.'

'Mr. Gobler?' suggested Mrs. Tibbs.

'Yes.'

'Oh!' said Mrs. Tibbs, 'he is a most mysterious person. He has his meals
regularly sent up-stairs, and sometimes don't leave his room for weeks
together.'

'I haven't seen or heard nothing of him,' repeated Mrs. Bloss.

'I dare say you'll hear him to-night,' replied Mrs. Tibbs; 'he generally
groans a good deal on Sunday evenings.'

'I never felt such an interest in any one in my life,' ejaculated Mrs