that old Huffle Scuffle has given it out of his own
head?" said Fisher.

"Indeed he has," said Johnny; "and bade God bless me into the
bargain."

"And you didn't give him the oysters?" said FitzHoward.

"Not a shell," said Johnny.

"I'm blessed if you don't beat cock-fighting," said Cradell, lost in
admiration at his friend's adroitness.

We know how John passed his evening after that. He went first to see
Lily Dale at her uncle's lodgings in Sackville Street, from thence
he was taken to the presence of the charming Madalina in Porchester
Terrace, and then wound up the night with his friend Conway
Dalrymple. When he got to his bed he felt himself to have been
triumphant, but in spite of his triumph he was ashamed of himself.
Why had he left Lily to go to Madalina? As he thought of this he
quoted to himself against himself Hamlet's often-quoted appeal of the
two portraits. How could he not despise himself in that he could find
any pleasure with Madalina, having a Lily Dale to fill his thoughts?
"But she is not fair to me," he said to himself,--thinking thus to
comfort himself. But he did not comfort himself.

On the next morning early his uncle, Mr. Toogood, met him at the Dover
Railway Station. "Upon my word, Johnny, you're a clever fellow," said
he. "I never thought that you'd make it all right with Sir Raffle."

"As right as a trivet, uncle. There are some people, if you can only
get to learn the length of their feet, you can always fit them with
shoes afterwards."

[Illustration: "As right as a trivet, Uncle."]

"You'll go on direct to Florence, Johnny?"

"Yes, I think so. From what we have heard, Mrs. Arabin must be either
there or at Venice, and I don't suppose I could learn from any one at
Paris at which town she is staying at this moment."

"Her address is Florence:--poste restante, Florence. You will be sure
to find out at any of the hotels where she is staying, or where she
has been staying."

"But when I have found her, I don't suppose she can tell me
anything," said Johnny.

"Who can tell? She may or she may not. My belief is that the money
was her present altogether and not his. It seems that they don't mix
their moneys. He has always had some scruple about it because of her
son by a former marriage, and they always have different accounts at
their banker's. I found that out when I was at Barchester."

"But Crawley was his friend."

"Yes, Crawley was his friend; but I don't know that fif