us acquitted himself--"Maurice, my young
friend, I am and have been a most confounded ass."

"Oh?" said Maurice, interrogatively.

"I think it would relieve me--if I weren't out of practice--to swear.
But I've preached against 'langwidge' so long at the club that I don't
think I could get up the necessary stock of expletives."

"I'll supply you. I shouldn't have thought that there was a lack of them
down in your printing offices about one or two o'clock every morning,
from what I've heard. What is it, if I may ask? Anything wrong with the
Football Club?"

"Football Club! My dear fellow, I have a private life, unfortunately, as
contradistinguished from your everlasting clubs and printing offices."

"It is something about Miss Brooke, is it?" said Maurice, with greater
interest "I was afraid there was something----"

"Why?"

"Oh--well, you must excuse me for mentioning it--but wasn't she--wasn't
she crying as she went out of the room? And she has not been looking
well for the last month or so."

"I suppose you mean that she is not particularly happy here, with her
father?"

Maurice elevated his eyebrows. "Brooke, old man, what have you got into
your head?" he asked, kindly. "You look put out a good bit. Does she say
she wants to leave you?"

"Oh, no, no, 'tisn't that. I daresay she does, though. You know the
whole story--it is no good disguising the details from you. There's been
a wretched little mistake--all my fault, no doubt, but not intentionally
so: the girl came here with the idea that she might not write to her
mother--some nonsense about 'no communication' between them stood in the
way; and it seems she has been pining to do so ever since she came."

"And she never asked you? never complained, or said anything?"

"She broke down over it to-day. I'm ashamed to look her in the face,"
said Brooke, vehemently. "I'm ashamed to think of what they--their
opinion of me is. A domineering, flinty-hearted, unnatural parent, eh,
Maurice? Ogre and tyrant and all the rest of it. As if I ever meant to
put a stop to her writing to her mother! I never heard of such an
unjustifiable proceeding! I never thought of such an absurd idea!"

"Then weren't you very much to blame to allow the mistake to arise?"
asked Maurice, bluntly.

"Of course I was. That's the abominable and confounded part of it. Some
hasty words of mine were misinterpreted, of course. I told you I had
been an ass."

"Well, I hope it is set straigh