nd in the tennis-court was a brass statue of the goddess
Venus----"

("Mine _ought_ to be brass, from her goings on," thought Leander.)

"And while he played he took off his finger-ring and put it upon the
statue's hand; a mighty foolish act, as you will agree."

"Ah!" said Leander, shaking his head; "you may say that! What next,
sir?" He became excited to find that he really was on the right track at
last.

"Why, when the game was over, and he came to get his ring, he found he
couldn't get it off again. Ha! ha!" and the old man chuckled softly, and
then relapsed once more into silence.

"Yes, yes, Mr. Freemoult, sir! I'm a-listening; it's very funny; only do
go on!"

"Go on? Where was I? Hadn't I finished? Ah, to be sure! Well, so Paris
gave _her_ the apple, you see."

"I didn't understand you to allude to no apple," said his puzzled
hearer; "and it was at Rome, I thought, not Paris. Bring your mind more
to it, sir; we'd got to the ring not coming off the statue."

"I know, sir; I know. My mind's clear enough, let me tell you. That very
night (as I was about to say, if you'd had patience to hear me) Venus
stepped in and parted the unfortunate pair----"

"It was a apple just now, you aggravating old muddle 'ed!" said Leander,
internally.

"Venus informed the young man that he had betrothed himself to her by
that ring" ("Same game exactly," thought the pupil), "and--and, in
short, she led him such a life for some nights, that he could bear it no
longer. So at length he repaired to a certain mighty magician
called----Let me see, what was his name again? It wasn't Agrippa--was it
Albertus? Odd; it has escaped me for the moment."

"Never mind, sir; call him Jones."

"I will _not_ call him Jones, sir! I had it on my tongue--there,
_Palumbus_! Palumbus it was. Well, Palumbus told him the goddess would
never cease to trouble him, unless he could get back the ring--unless he
could get back the ring."

Leander's heart began to beat high; the solution of his difficulty was
at hand. It was something to know for certain that upon recovery of the
ring the goddess's power would be at an end. It only remained to find
out how the other young man managed it. "Yes, Mr. Freemoult?" he said
interrogatively; for the old gentleman had run down again.

"I was only thinking it out. To resume, then. No sooner had the magician
(whose name as I said was Apollonius) come to the wedding, than he
promptly conjectured the bride to b