e was given to Mr.
Oaklands, which had been brought by a groom from the Hall, with a
message that the gentleman who had left it was waiting at the inn in the
village for an answer. Mr. Oaklands began to read it in his usual quiet
way, but no sooner had he thrown his eye over the first few lines
than his cheeks flushed, his brow grew dark, and his face assumed that
fearfully stern expression which I have heard you describe, but had
never before seen myself. As soon as he had finished reading it he
crushed the paper in his hand, and sprung up, saying hurriedly, 'Is
Frank------?' He then took two or three steps towards the door, and I
thought he was coming to consult you. Suddenly, however, some new idea
seemed to cross his mind, and, stopping abruptly, he strode towards
the window, where he remained for a few moments, apparently buried in
thought. At length he muttered, 'Yes, that will be better, better in
all respects'; and turning on his heel, he was about to quit the room,
leaving his hat on the table, when I ventured to hand it to him, saying,
'You are going without your hat, Mr. Oaklands'. He started at the sound
of my voice, and seeming for the first time to recollect that I was in
the room, he took the hat from me, begging pardon for his inattention,
and adding, 'You must allow me to postpone our Italian lesson
till----till to-morrow, shall we say? I find there is a gentleman
waiting to see me.' He paused as if he wished to say more, but scarcely
knew how to express himself. 'You saw,' he continued, 'that is--you may
have observed that--that in fact there was something in that note which
annoyed me--you need not say anything about it to Mrs. Fairlegh; she
is rather given to alarming herself unnecessarily, I fancy,' he added
~201~~with a faint smile; 'tell Frank I shall not be at home till dinner
time, but that I shall see him in the evening.' He then shook my hand
warmly, and, holding it for a moment in his own, fixed his eyes on my
face with a strange, half-melancholy expression that frightened me,
and once more saying 'good-bye,' he pressed his hat over his brows, and
bounding across the lawn, was out of sight in an instant. His manner
was so very odd, so unlike what it generally is. Dear Frank, what is
the meaning of all this? I am sure there is something going to happen,
something--"

"You silly child," replied I, affecting a careless composure I was
far from feeling, "how you frighten yourself about nothing. H