ing violently, to make up for which I kissed her
abruptly (getting very wet in so doing), pulled down the bell-rope in
obedience to the dictates of a sudden inspiration that she would be
the better for a maid-servant, and left her in one of the most fearful
states of confusion on record, flurried into a condition of nerves
which set camphor-julep completely at defiance, and rendered trust in
sal-volatile a very high act of faith indeed.

While Oaklands and I were walking up to the Hall, we overtook Coleman
returning from shooting wild-fowl. As we came up with him, Oaklands
seized him by the shoulder, exclaiming:--

"Well, Freddy, what sport, eh?"

"My dear Oaklands," returned he gravely, removing Harry's hand as he
spoke, "that is a very bad habit of yours, and one which I advise you to
get rid of as soon as possible; nobody who had ever endured one of your
friendly gripes could say with truth that you hadn't _a vice_ about
you."

"For which vile pun it would serve you right to repeat the dose,"
replied Oaklands, "only that I am not in a vindictive mood at present."

"Then you must have passed the afternoon in some ~381~~ very mollifying
atmosphere," returned Freddy, "for when I met you three hours ago,
you seemed as if you could have cut anybody's throat with the greatest
satisfaction."

The conscious half-cough, half-laugh, with which Oaklands acknowledged
this sally, attracted Coleman's attention, and mimicking the sound,
he continued, "A--ha--hem! and what may that mean? I say, there's some
mystery going on here from which I'm excluded--that's not fair, though,
you know. Come, be a little more transparent; give me a peep into the
hidden recesses of your magnanimous mind; unclasp the richly bound
volume of your secret soul; elevate me to the altitude of the Indian
herb, or, in plain slang--Young England's chosen dialect--make me 'up to
snuff'."

"May I enlighten him?" asked I.

"Yes, to be sure," replied Oaklands; "I'll go on, for I am anxious
to speak to my father. Freddy, old boy! shake hands; I'm the happiest
fellow in existence!" so saying, he seized and wrung Coleman's hand with
a heartiness which elicited sundry grotesque contortions, indicative
of agony, from that individual, and, bounding forward, was soon lost to
sight in the deepening twilight.

"And so, you see," continued I, after having imparted to Coleman as much
as I considered necessary of the state of affairs, a confidence which he
receiv