h and poor, high and low. He would not detain his hearers any longer;
all that remained for him to do was to ask Mr. Ventimore's acceptance of
a golden casket containing the roll of freedom, and he felt sure that
their distinguished guest, before proceeding to inscribe his name on the
register, would oblige them all by some account from his own lips of--of
the events in which he had figured so prominently and so creditably.

Horace received the casket mechanically; there was a universal cry of
"Speech!" from the audience, to which he replied by shaking his head in
helpless deprecation--but in vain; he found himself irresistibly pressed
towards the rail in front of the dais, and the roar of applause which
greeted him saved him from all necessity of attempting to speak for
nearly two minutes.

During that interval he had time to clear his brain and think what he
had better do or say in his present unenviable dilemma. For some time
past a suspicion had been growing in his mind, until it had now almost
swollen into certainty. He felt that, before he compromised himself, or
allowed his too generous entertainers to compromise themselves
irretrievably, it was absolutely necessary to ascertain his real
position, and, to do that, he must make some sort of speech. With this
resolve, all his nervousness and embarrassment and indecision melted
away; he faced the assembly coolly and gallantly, convinced that his
best alternative now lay in perfect candour.

"My Lord Mayor, my lords, ladies, and gentlemen," he began, in a clear
voice which penetrated to the farthest gallery and commanded instant
attention. "If you expect to hear from me any description of what I've
done to be received like this, I'm afraid you will be disappointed. For
my own belief is that I've done nothing whatever."

There was a general outcry of "No, no!" at this, and a fervid murmur of
protest.

"It's all very well to say 'No, no,'" said Horace, "and I am extremely
grateful to you all for the interruption. Still, I can only repeat that
I am absolutely unaware of having ever rendered my Country, or this
great City, a single service deserving of the slightest acknowledgment.
I wish I could feel I had--but the truth is that, if I have, the fact
has entirely slipped from my memory."

Again there were murmurs, this time with a certain under-current of
irritation; and he could hear the Lord Mayor behind him remarking to the
City Chamberlain that this was not at