le touch of sentiment, which she never neglected to repeat, when
opportunity offered, in his presence. She repeated it with so serious an
air, so precisely as if it were an original notion which had just then
occurred to her, that Barndale winced under it every time she used it.
His mind was quite made up on this matter. He would go away and forget
her. He believed she liked him, in a friendly sisterly sort of way,
and that made him feel more hopeless. There were evidences enough to
convince you or me, had we been there to watch them, that this young
lady was caught in the toils of love quite as inextricably as this young
gentleman; but, with the pigheaded obstinacy and stupidity incident to
his condition, he declined to see it, and voluntarily betook himself to
misery, after the manner of young men in love from time immemorial. A
maiden who can be caught without chasing is pretty generally not
worth catching; and cynics have been known to say that the pleasure
of stalking your bride is perhaps the best part of matrimony. This our
young Barndale would not have believed. He believed, rather, that the
tender hopes and chilling fears of love were among the chief pains of
life, and would have laughed grimly if anyone had prophesied that he
would ever look back to them with longing regret. We, who are wiser,
will not commiserate but envy this young gentleman, remembering the
time when those tender hopes and chilling fears were ours--when we were
happier in our miseries than we have now the power to be in our joys.

The Lelands came at last, and Barndale had got the particular form of
love's misery which he most coveted. The old gentleman was cordial, the
old lady was effusive, the awakener was what he had always been, and
Lilian was what she had always been to Barndale--a bewildering maddening
witchery, namely, which set him fairly beside himself. Let it not be
prejudicial to him in your judgment that you see him for the first time
under these foolish circumstances. Under other conditions you would
find much to admire in him. Even now, if you have any taste for
live statuary, you shall admire this upright six feet two inches of
finely-modelled bone and muscle. If manly good-nature can make a handsome
sun-browned face pleasant to you, then shall Barndale's countenance find
favour in your eyes. Of his manly ways, his good and honest heart, this
story will tell you something, though perchance not much. If you do not
like Barndal