ayed immediately by the copious abuse which he showered on us for
not having come before.

"Why, what an unreasonable fellow you are!" said Chesterton; "If you
wanted to see us, why on earth could'nt you come up to college? We can
manage to keep the cold out there, quite as well as in your old castle
here, I fancy; and as neither of us are web-footed any more than
yourself, I don't really see why we are to do all the dabbling about
this precious weather."

"Oh! I forgot; you have not seen the little note of remembrance which
our darling dons were kind enough to send me before they broke up for
the vacation?"

"No--what do you mean?"

"Oh! I'll find it for you in a moment." And he produced a letter
sealed with the college arms, which ran as follows:--

"---- _Coll. Common Room_,
_Dec_. --, 18--.

"The principal and fellows regret to be under the unpleasant
necessity of intimating to Mr Brown, that, although they do not
feel called upon to notice his having fixed his residence in the
immediate neighbourhood of Oxford--a step, which, under the
circumstances, they cannot look upon as otherwise than
ill-judged--he must consider himself strictly prohibited from
appearing within the college walls at any time during the ensuing
vacation."

"Now there's a civil card by way of P.P.C. Don't you call that a
spiteful concoction? Silver and Hodgett's last--and worthy of them. So
now, unless you want me to be rusticated for a term or two, you need
not be over-civil in your invitations. But I'll tell you what you
shall do: Hawthorne shall send over that box of Silvas he had just
opened, (if they are good, you shall order some more,) and I'll keep
that Westphalia you talked about here, if you like, Chesterton; and
then you may come here to breakfast, lunch, or supper, if you
please--but mind, I won't give you dinners; I'm not going to have Mrs
Nutt put upon--or myself either."

We agreed to the terms with some modifications, and proceeded with
some interest to inspect John's domestic arrangements. They were
comfortable, though in some points peculiar. A sort of stand in one
corner, covered with red baise, which supported a plaster bust of our
most gracious majesty, and gave an air of mock grandeur to the
apartment, proved, upon nearer inspection, to be nothing more or less
than a barrel of Hall and Tawney's ale, a