d her work, and in so doing glanced for a moment at her
son. His eyes were upon her face, but he seemed to have said all he had
to say.

"I always feel," said Mr. Bennet, in a tone and with an expression as if
he were looking at something very far away, "as if King Arthur must have
lived in the tropics. There is that sort of weird, warm atmosphere in the
romance. Where is Ellen? Shall we read some more in this little edition
of the old story?"

He laid his hand, as he spoke, upon a small copy of old Malory's Romance
of Arthur. It was a kind of reading of which he was especially fond, and
to which the rest were always willing and glad to listen.

"Call Ellen," said he to Gabriel; "and now then for King Arthur!"

As he spoke the door-bell rang. The next moment a young man, apparently
of Gabriel's age, entered the room. His large melancholy black eyes, the
massive black curls upon his head, the transparent olive complexion, a
natural elegance of form and of movement--all corresponded with what Mr.
Bennet had been saying. It was evidently Edward.

"Good-evening, Little Malacca!" cried Gabriel, gayly, as he rose and put
out his hand.

"Good-evening, Gabriel!" he answered, in a soft, ringing voice; then
bowed and spoke to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.

"Gabriel doesn't forget old school-days," said the new-comer to Mrs.
Bennet.

"No, he has often told us of his friendship with Little Malacca,"
returned the lady calmly, as she resumed her work.

"And how little I thought I was to see him when I came to Mr. Newt's
store," said the young man.

"Where did you first know Mr. Lawrence Newt?" asked Mrs. Bennet.

"I don't remember when I didn't know him, Madam," replied Edward.

"Happy fellow!" said Gabriel.

Meanwhile Miss Ellen had probably found the mysterious something which
she had left up stairs; for she entered the room, and bowed very calmly
upon seeing Edward, and, seating herself upon the side of the table
farthest from him, was presently industriously netting. As for Edward,
he had snapped a sentence in the middle as he rose and bowed to her, and
could not possibly fit the two ends together when he sat down again, and
so lost it.

Gradually, as the evening wore on, the conversation threatened to divide
itself into _tetes-a-tete_; for Gabriel suddenly discovered that he had
an article upon Hemp to read in the Encyclopedia which he had recently
purchased, and was already profoundly immersed in it, while Mr. and Mrs.