s to twelve. Valentine has skipped into the garden for
the thirtieth time at least, to beg that Mrs. Joyce and the young ladies
will repair to the dining-room, and be ready to set Mrs. Peckover and
her little charge quite at their ease the moment they come in. Mrs.
Joyce consents to this proposal at last, and takes his offered arm;
touching it, however, very gingerly, and looking straight before her,
while he talks, with an air of matronly dignity and virtuous reserve.
She is still convinced that Mr. Blyth's principles are extremely loose,
and treats him as she might have treated Don Juan himself under similar
circumstances.

They all go into the dining-room. Mrs. Joyce and her daughters take
their places, looking deliciously cool and neat in their bright morning
dresses. Leo drops down lazily on the rug inside the window, with a
thump of his great heavy body that makes the glasses ring. The doctor
comes in with his letters for the post, and apostrophizes Valentine with
a harmless clerical joke. Vance solemnly touches up the already perfect
arrangement of the luncheon table. The clock strikes twelve. A faint
meek ring is heard at the Rectory bell.

Vance struts slowly to the door, when--Heaven and earth! are no
conventions held sacred by these painters of pictures?--Mr. Blyth dashes
past him with a shout of "Here they are!" and flies into the hall to
answer the gate himself. Vance turns solemnly round towards his master,
trembling and purple in the face, with an appealing expression, which
says plainly enough:--"If _you_ mean to stand this sort of outrage, sir,
I beg most respectfully to inform you that _I_ don't." The rector bursts
out laughing; the young ladies follow his example; the Newfoundland dog
jumps up, and joins in with his mighty bark. Mrs. Joyce sits silent, and
looks at Vance, and sympathizes with him.

Mr. Blyth is soon heard again in the hall, talking at a prodigious rate,
without one audible word of answer proceeding from any other voice. The
door of the dining-room, which has swung to, is suddenly pushed open,
jostling the outraged Vance, who stands near it, into such a miserably
undignified position flat against the wall, that the young ladies begin
to titter behind their handkerchiefs as they look at him. Valentine
enters, leading in Mrs. Peckover and the deaf and dumb child, with such
an air of supreme happiness, that he looks absolutely handsome for the
moment. The rector, who is, in the best and