hter's account, and treated Mark in public as
before. But on occasions when he dined there _en famille_, and sat
alone with his father-in-law over dessert, there was no attempt to
conceal from him that he was only there on sufferance, and those were
terrible after-dinner sittings to the unfortunate Mark, who was
catechised and lectured on his prospects until he writhed with
humiliation and helpless rage.

At Malakoff Terrace the feeling at the discovery of Mark's true
position was not one of unmixed sorrow--the knowledge that he was,
after all, an ordinary being, one of themselves, had its consolations,
particularly as no lustre from his glorification had shone on them.
Mr. Ashburn felt less like an owl who had accidentally hatched a
cherub, than he had done lately, and his wife considered that a snare
and a pitfall had been removed from her son's path. Cuthbert thought
his elder brother a fool, but probably had never felt more amiable
towards him, while Martha wondered aloud how her sister-in-law liked
it--a speculation which employed her mind not unpleasantly. Only
Trixie felt a sincere and unselfish disappointment; she had been so
proud of her brother's genius, had sympathised so entirely with his
early struggles, had heard of his triumphs with such delight, that it
was hard for her to realise that the book which had done so much for
him was not his work after all. But the blow was softened even to
Trixie, for 'Jack' had been making quite an income lately, and in the
autumn they were going to be married and live in Bedford Park. And of
course Mark had done nothing wrong, she told herself, and he knew all
the time what was coming, so she need not pity him so very much, and
she was sure 'Sweet Bells' was nicer than 'Illusion,' whatever people
chose to say, and ever so much easier to understand.

Several days had passed since the announcements with regard to
'Illusion' had appeared in the literary and other periodicals, and
still Uncle Solomon made no sign--a silence from which Mark augured
the worst. One afternoon Mr. Humpage came to see Mabel: he had heard
of the whole affair from the Langtons, and reproached himself not a
little, now that he knew how utterly without foundation had been his
bitterness against Mark. Mr. Humpage did not approach the question
from the Langton point of view, and was not concerned that Mabel
should have married a man who had turned out to be a nonentity. He had
done all he could to preve