certainly had not thought, when he descended from his chariot like
a young Bacchus in quest of his Ariadne, that he should so soon be
enabled to repeat the tale of his love. But there he was, confronted
with Ariadne before he had had a moment to shake his godlike locks or
arrange the divinity of his thoughts. "Mr. Spooner," said the maid,
opening the door.

"Oh dear!" exclaimed Ariadne, feeling the vainness of her wish to fly
from the god. "You know, Mary, that Lady Chiltern is up in London."

"But he didn't ask for Lady Chiltern, Miss." Then there was a pause,
during which the maid-servant managed to shut the door and to escape.

"Lord Chiltern is up in London," said Miss Palliser, rising from her
chair, "and Lady Chiltern is with him. They will be at home, I think,
to-morrow, but I am not quite sure." She looked at him rather as
Diana might have looked at poor Orion than as any Ariadne at any
Bacchus; and for a moment Mr. Spooner felt that the pale chillness of
the moon was entering in upon his very heart and freezing the blood
in his veins.

"Miss Palliser--" he began.

But Adelaide was for the moment an unmitigated Diana. "Mr. Spooner,"
she said, "I cannot for an instant suppose that you wish to say
anything to me."

"But I do," said he, laying his hand upon his heart.

"Then I must declare that--that--that you ought not to. And I hope
you won't. Lady Chiltern is not in the house, and I think that--that
you ought to go away. I do, indeed."

But Mr. Spooner, though the interview had been commenced with
unexpected and almost painful suddenness, was too much a man to be
driven off by the first angry word. He remembered that this Diana was
but mortal; and he remembered, too, that though he had entered in
upon her privacy he had done so in a manner recognised by the world
as lawful. There was no reason why he should allow himself to be
congealed,--or even banished out of the grotto of the nymph,--without
speaking a word on his own behalf. Were he to fly now, he must
fly for ever; whereas, if he fought now,--fought well, even though
not successfully at the moment,--he might fight again. While Miss
Palliser was scowling at him he resolved upon fighting. "Miss
Palliser," he said, "I did not come to see Lady Chiltern; I came to
see you. And now that I have been happy enough to find you I hope you
will listen to me for a minute. I shan't do you any harm."

"I'm not afraid of any harm, but I cannot think that you ha